Category Archives: Column

Backing the Underdog: The Truth About World Cup Upsets and Surprise Winners

By 11v11 Site Editor , 08th June 2026 at 10:15 AM (11v11 blog)

The World Cup is always a great occasion for football fans, not only because of the long four-year wait for the next tournament, but also because it provides a story that takes the world by surprise each time around. Whether it’s a shock group-stage elimination, such as Germany’s in 2018, or an unexpected run into the latter rounds, as seen with Morocco in 2022, there is always at least one team that catches fire. When these moments arrive, it’s not…

0 Comments

Read More

From Turnstile to Tap: How Fans Have Always Paid to Follow Football

By 11v11 Site Editor , 08th June 2026 at 9:55 AM (11v11 blog)

The 1937 Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park drew 147,000 supporters through the gates. Every one of them paid in cash, queued in person, and handed coins to an attendant before the turnstile clicked. The financial transaction between a fan and the game was about as simple as it got. Eight decades on, that relationship has been through several complete reinventions, and the pace of change is still accelerating. For anyone who tracks football's history through data and records, the…

0 Comments

Read More

World Cup 2026: Five group stage games worth watching

By 11v11 Site Editor , 06th June 2026 at 7:46 AM (11v11 blog)

Football bettors will be in their element over the next few weeks as the 2026 FIFA World Cup is staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expanded 48-team line-up will generate increased activity on World Cup betting sites, with 104 games scheduled to be played from June 11 to July 19. Read on as we look at some of the standout fixtures during the group stage, starting with an intriguing game involving one of the co-hosts. Mexico vs…

0 Comments

Read More

Why Is the 2026 World Cup So Different From Every One Before It?

By 11v11 Site Editor , 03rd June 2026 at 6:16 AM (11v11 blog)

Anyone who followed Qatar 2022 and assumes the next tournament will look familiar is in for a surprise. The 2026 World Cup rewrites a lot of what fans have taken for granted since the 1990s, and the questions piling up around it deserve straight answers. Here are the ones people keep asking. How many teams are playing, and why the jump? Forty-eight. That is sixteen more than the thirty-two who contested Qatar. FIFA expanded the field to open the door…

0 Comments

Read More

Patrice Evra Makes His Presence Known in the New Stake Video Before the World Tournament

By 11v11 Site Editor , 02nd June 2026 at 7:39 AM (11v11 blog)

Big football tournaments and fun promotional videos have always gone hand in hand. Before the big world tournament in 2026, leading online crypto casino Stake has released an amazing, star studded commercial as a part of their “It’s all at Stake!” promotion. One of the players featured in the video is Patrice Evra. Joined by his yellow Stake ambassadors, Iker Casillas, Sergio Aguero, and Eden Hazard, they interact with the protagonist Cabrzy and give them some interesting bets to include…

0 Comments

Read More

How British football history shaped casino games

By 11v11 Site Editor , 01st June 2026 at 2:34 PM (11v11 blog)

Football and gambling have been two deeply intertwined activities in the UK since the first time the sport became popular. As stadiums filled across industrial Britain, bookmakers quickly understood that football offered the perfect combination of passion, unpredictability, and mass appeal. Football became part of Britain’s entertainment industry, influencing lotteries, pools, casino products, and eventually online gaming platforms inspired by iconic players and historic moments. What once began as wagers placed outside stadiums eventually moved into the world of digital…

0 Comments

Read More

How Does World Cup 2026 Differ From Every Tournament Before It?

By 11v11 Site Editor , 01st June 2026 at 6:16 AM (11v11 blog)

If you watched Qatar 2022 and assumed the next World Cup would look more or less the same, you're in for a surprise. The 2026 edition rewrites a chunk of the rulebook, and a lot of fans are heading into June with questions they didn't have to ask four years ago. Here are the ones that come up most often, answered plainly. Why are three countries hosting it? Most World Cups belong to a single nation. Russia had 2018 to…

0 Comments

Read More

Messi Vs Ronaldo – The Final Showdown

By 11v11 Site Editor , 30th May 2026 at 8:07 AM (11v11 blog)

There are already many talking points developing ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, but one of the main ones revolves around two of the greatest players ever to play the sport. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will make their final appearances at the World Cup, and it’s being pitched as a final showdown between the long-term rivals. The End Of An Era Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for a long time, were the two best players in…

0 Comments

Read More

World Cup 2026: Qatar bid to upset the odds this summer

By 11v11 Site Editor , 28th May 2026 at 12:33 PM (11v11 blog)

Qatar will head into the 2026 FIFA World Cup as one of the bookmakers’ favourites to make an early exit from the tournament. For football fans inclined towards online sports betting, odds of 1/2 to finish bottom of Group B will likely be an enticing proposition. However, despite being drawn against Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the 2022 hosts will believe they can make progress. Securing qualification has changed the narrative While sportsbooks operators are generally accurate when they…

0 Comments

Read More

The Dynamic Nature of World Cup Betting

By 11v11 Site Editor , 28th May 2026 at 8:17 AM (11v11 blog)

The FIFA World Cup remains one of the world's most dynamic events. Not only due to the action on the field but also because of continuous developments in the betting markets. Unlike usual leagues that last for many months, the World Cup packs the drama and pressure of this type of event in two-three weeks. While advancing from the group stage through the final, odds never stay stable. They fluctuate in accordance with the developments and changing expectations of bookmakers…

0 Comments

Read More