Making history
In a tournament that’s seen the rise of soccer underdogs from the African, Arabian, and Asian continents, could the US Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) do the same for America by beating Gareth Southgate’s England?
most-bet soccer match in US sports betting history.”
Regardless, the Stars and Stripes seem aligned to deliver a big result for sportsbooks. On Wednesday, BetMGM’s vice president of trading Jason Scott told Fox Sport the game will earn the title of “the most-bet soccer match in US sports betting history.”
FOX Bet’s trading operations senior manager Dylan Brossman is also feeling the ante building, asserting that interest in the game will eclipse that of USA’s opening 1-1 draw with Wales. “We are expecting the [action] of England vs USA to be roughly two to three times that of the USA vs Wales opener,” Brossman said. He attributed the expected spike to a more tempting match, and an increased at-home audience on Friday.
An underdog tournament
DraftKings has the USMNT as +500 underdog in Friday’s game, while England is the clear favorite at -185. The sportsbook pegs chances of a draw at +310. Notably, as the two teams line-up at Qatar’s Al Khor stadium at 2pm ET on Friday, England start the game having never beaten the USA in a soccer tournament.
On Wednesday, Japan overwhelmed Germany
While sportsbooks are stacking the odds against the USA, the shock results over the first few days of the 2022 World Cup don’t rule out a Black Friday for England. On Wednesday, Japan overwhelmed Germany in what The Guardian said “resembled Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa in its force and magnitude.”
One lucky bettor secured a $225,000 moneyline payout for backing Japan. DraftKings, the sportsbook picking up the bill, shared the wager via Twitter:
Just one day prior, Saudi Arabia delivered the biggest World Cup shock of all time, winning against the much-vaunted Argentina while listed as a +1800 underdog. Add the strong showings from North African sides Tunisia and Morocco against the fancied Denmark and Croatia respectively, and the 2022 World Cup already seems an underdog’s dream.
Weighing up the competition
The Stars and Stripes roster features a strong English Premier League (EPL) backbone, namely Leeds United’s Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson, along with Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic. However, they were unable to get the better of Wales in the opening fixture after an unstoppable penalty from star man for the red dragons, Gareth Bale.
Meanwhile, England is brimming with talent from the best leagues in the world. Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham already set the tournament alight with a goal in the team’s first fixture with Iran, while Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish also joined the scoresheet in the 6-2 win.