Lackluster USWNT Performances Cause Women’s World Cup Odds Shift

After eking through group play at the Women’s World Cup, the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) is no longer the betting favorite.

England (+350) is now the team to beat at WynnBET followed closely by the USWNT and Spain. When the rooster crowed early Tuesday morning after another American snoozer, all three teams were 4-1 to win it all.

“We took our first big bet on England an hour ago,” WynnBET trader Dominick DeBonis told NESN. “Definitely interesting to see that bet come through.”

It’s worth remembering the USWNT was +260 before the World Cup. However, lackluster performances against Vietnam, the Netherlands and Portugal don’t exactly have bettors swelling with pride to bet the Americans.

Updated odds to win Women’s World Cup:
+350 England ($100 wins $350)
+400 United States
+400 Spain
+600 Germany
+1000 Australia
+1000 Japan
+1200 Netherlands
+1500 France
+2000 Brazil
+2000 Sweden
+5000 Norway ($100 wins $5,000)

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“There was no plan or organization whatsoever against Portugal,” DeBonis said. “I tried to determine which player was good in that game and came up with no one.”

Can’t argue with that, can you?

The issues are plentiful. Many of the experienced players — like 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe — look a step slow. The young forwards ooze with potential, but didn’t do a damn thing against the Netherlands or Portugal. And USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s strategy and substitutions have been questionable at best.

DeBonis made it clear before the World Cup he wasn’t a fan of Andonovski.

“It’s been a really interesting transition period,” DeBonis told me in early July. “The (2020) Olympics should’ve been the last vestige for the older players, but COVID pushed everything back and those older players were kept on the roster.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence in him. He took the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ approach when most of the core players from the last cycle were in their 30s.

“That’s why (the USWNT) won the bronze at the Olympics.”

All that said, the Americans still advanced to the knockout round for a likely matchup with a solid Sweden squad in the round of 16. Buckle up because the Swedes are FIFA’s third-highest-rated team on the women’s side.

So the USWNT better be better than it was against Vietnam and Portugal.

“If Sweden looks good against Argentina on Wednesday morning, I think the market will be USA -150 and Sweden +130,” DeBonis said.