Underwhelming Group Stage Poses Conundrum For USWNT Bettors

There was once a point where betting on the USWNT to take home another FIFA Women’s World Cup title seemed like a gimme.

We are no longer at that point.

The USWNT disappointed throughout Group E play, finishing with one win and two draws to barely squeak through to the knockout stage of the tournament. The inability to score with consistency really hampered them, making it a nerve-wracking proposition that they’re likely going to face Sweden in the first round of the knockout stage.

Things really popped off on Tuesday morning, with USWNT legend Carli Lloyd calling them out for dancing after a draw against Portugal. U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski responded, calling the criticism “insane.”

We say all of that to say this, the USWNT is no longer the odds-on favorite to win the World Cup.

The U.S. entered the tournament with +225 odds to win the whole thing, per BetMGM Sportsbook data analyst John Ewing, far and away the shortest among the 32 teams to enter. They enter the knockout stage with +400 odds, tied with England and Spain for the shortest.

That presents an interesting conundrum for soccer bettors.

Is it worth it to sprinkle a future on the USWNT now that they have longer odds, or should the drop-off be taken as a warning to fade them moving forward in the tournament? A matchup with Sweden (+1600) seems to be on the horizon, which means the U.S. will be tasked with knocking out one of the top goal-scoring teams in the tournament.

Do you roll with recent trends, or fall back on historic precedent?