Next week, Mexico hosts South Africa in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup. If you’re thinking about which stocks to buy that might benefit from the event, you’re in luck because the UK market has quite a few.
Straight away, I can think of Guinness maker Diageo, supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury’s (beer, BBQs, and bags of crisps), and ITV. Meanwhile, Ladbrokes owner Entain will surely see a big spike in gambling activity.
However, I think the following cheap trio are worth checking out right now.
How much for a new England shirt?
Sports Direct owner Frasers (LSE:FRAS) will surely be selling a fair few England and Scotland shirts over the next couple of weeks. I’ve been looking at matching England kits for me and my young daughter — and they ain’t cheap!
However, Sports Direct has rolled out lots of vintage shirts from previous tournaments. Beyond leaning into fans’ nostalgia, these are also a lot more affordable, making this a smart strategy, in my opinion.
That said, while I expect Frasers will enjoy a nice little sales boost this summer, subdued consumer confidence and sticky inflation are obvious challenges here. And rising youth unemployment isn’t helping the overall picture.
Yet, the stock looks very cheap to me, despite rising 21% since I last covered it in March. For the current fiscal year, we’re looking at a forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just seven.
Note, Frasers has spent the last couple of years building chunky stakes in brands and retailers, including ASOS, Boohoo, Puma, and Hugo Boss. So there could be long-term value to be unlocked through some of these investments.
Get the jars in
The second stock is J D Wetherspoon (LSE:JDW). I’m sure ‘Spoons needs no introduction — its pubs are everywhere.
Now, I normally wouldn’t have included the stock here, as the company is famous for keeping costs under control. This means not splashing out on pricey live TV sports packages — it would rather keep the price of pints down.
However, most Wetherspoon’s pubs will be showing the World Cup this summer. And because its drinks are cheaper than rivals, I expect they will be packed, with both young and old punters.
But even if fans migrate elsewhere for the actual 90 minutes, ‘Spoons will likely still get pre-match drinkers. It will also be serving a selection of international drinks, many hailing from the competing nations. Plus, food will be served till 11pm.
As for risks, there’s always a possibility that a change in government leadership leads to yet more business taxes and regulations. Pubs appear to be easy targets.
Again though, the stock’s decently priced, at 12 times forward earnings. There’s also a 1.9% dividend yield.
Pizza, anyone?
Finally, I want to highlight Domino’s Pizza, which holds the exclusive master franchise for the brand in the UK and Ireland.
The firm recently launched its Chick ‘N’ Dip offering, and enjoyed like‑for‑like growth of 4.5% in Q1 (its strongest in 11 quarters). So it has decent momentum.
And given that the England and Scotland games are at night, I expect solid demand for pizzas. Though, of course, there’s a ton of competition, so this isn’t guranteed.
The biggest attraction though is the 6.1% forecast dividend yield — a tasty level of potential passive income.
Should you invest £5,000 in Frasers Group Plc right now?
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Ben McPoland owns shares in Diageo.
