Nearly a third of all goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup have come in the final 15 minutes of play. That stat alone is interesting for football fans. For crypto markets, it’s turning into a money printer.

The tournament’s late-goal trend, which includes dramatic last-minute strikes from players like Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo and Japan’s Daichi Kamada, is creating exactly the kind of volatile, high-stakes environment that prediction markets thrive on. And the numbers back it up: Polymarket’s cumulative trading volume surpassed $2.8B as of mid-June 2026, with World Cup markets driving a meaningful share of that activity.

Late goals, early profits

Here’s the thing about a tournament where 29% of goals arrive…