United States got off to a flying start at their home World Cup and are looking to build on it under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Stars and Stripes have become more of a force at the World Cup, qualifying for eight of the last nine tournaments after a spell of nine tournaments without an appearance. They’ve also appeared in four of the last five Concacaf Gold Cup finals, winning two of them.
There are plenty of familiar names at Pochettino’s disposal, with several players making big-money moves to Europe in recent years, but can the Argentine manager find the right mix and lead the USMNT to their best-ever World Cup finish?
The early signs are certainly promising, following Friday’s 4-1 dismantling of Paraguay in Los Angeles.
USA odds to win the World Cup
It’s been a case of consistency for United States over the past few World Cups, with the Stars and Stripes reaching the round of 16 in each of the last three competitions.
Last time out, at World Cup 2022, it was the Netherlands that proved too strong for them in the first knockout round, running out 3-1 winners.
The co-hosts were priced at around 80/1, meaning they aren’t viewed as one of the favourites, but the bookmakers feel they could spring a surprise and have dropped those odds to 40/1.
USA odds to win Group D
United States have become red-hot favourites to top Group D ahead of Turkey, following their dominant victory over Paraguay, who have subsequently fallen to the bottom of the pecking order.
With three points already on the board, and a decent goal difference to boot, a point from their final two games should be enough to see them into the knockout stages.
USA stage of elimination odds
Despite the bookmakers making USA the favourites to progress from Group D, they seem to think a Round-of-32 exit is most likely at 1/1, with longer odds available at each step of the knockout stage.
Nevertheless, those odds have definitely dropped following the Paraguay performance, and Pochettino will certainly not be content with just reaching the first knockout round.
| Stage of Elimination | Odds from Bet365 |
|---|---|
| Round of 32 | 1/1 |
| Round of 16 | 9/4 |
| Group Stage | 18/1 |
| Quarter-Final | 5/1 |
| Semi-Final | 11/1 |
| Runner-up | 22/1 |
| Winner | 40/1 |
USA World Cup top goalscorer odds
United States didn’t appear blessed with the kind of top-level goalscorer that will be spotted towards the top of this particular market. However, Folarin Balogun has quickly fired himself into contention with his brace against Paraguay.
The Monaco forward looked sharp and, in the end, was disappointed not to be walking away with the match ball. Nevertheless, he will go into the rest of the tournament full of confidence.
Christian Pulisic and Giovanni Reyna also demonstrated their attacking threats, the latter completing the victory with a sumptuous finish. The bookmakers believe they could be in contention, along with the likes of Haji Wright, Ricardo Pepi and Brenden Aaronson.
You can find full World Cup top goalscorer odds here
| Player | Odds from Bet365 | Odds from 10Bet |
|---|---|---|
| Folarin Balogun | 16/1 | N/A |
| Giovanni Reyna | 100/1 | N/A |
| Haji Wright | 150/1 | N/A |
| Christian Pulisic | 150/1 | N/A |
| Ricardo Pepi | 250/1 | N/A |
| Brenden Aaronson | 1000/1 | N/A |
