United States Women’s Team: Predictions for the 2023 World Cup
by Joseph King | by Kevin Richard
Team USA Out to Make History
The United States is looking to become the first national team in history, male or female, to win three consecutive World Cup trophies. It would be a remarkable feat and one that you wouldn’t put past the United States women’s national team given their pedigree. As the competition’s most successful nation, team USA lifted the Women’s World Cup trophy in an incredible four of the eight total iterations of the tournament. 2019 saw the Americans defeat the Netherlands by a score of 2-0 in the final. Prior to that, they defeated Japan in the 2015 edition by a score of 5-2.
The United States once again enters this tournament as the betting favourites but it certainly won’t be a cakewalk to the final. They have a tricky group to navigate first and will find the likes of Sweden, England, Germany and France all providing stern opposition in the later stages. Will we see history made in Australia and New Zealand or will the USA's dominance finally come to an end? You can see our experts’ opinions on each match on our Women’s World Cup predictions page, free of charge!
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Tournament Favourites in Spite of Key Injuries
The United States women’s national team (USWNT) is at an interesting point in their current dynastic run. A lot of the old guard are beginning to be phased out of the team while the next generation of young talent is expected to step up at this tournament. 14 of the 23 selected players are headed to their first ever World Cup. It represents a transitional period for the USA which has resulted in some doubts concerning their chances of achieving the fabled three-peat.
It also doesn’t help that manager Vlatko Andonovski will be unable to call upon the services of five players that contributed to the team’s 2019 title win. Among these players are team captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who has been a mainstay in the United States’ backline for their previous two World Cup wins, dynamic attacking threat Mallory Swanson, experienced winger Christen Press and midfielder Sam Mewis. They will also be without 23-year-old in-form Lyon star Catarina Macario, who was poised to play an important role in this team.
Even with these absences, there are still plenty of household names heading to Australia and New Zealand with the United States squad. 2019 co-top goalscorers Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe will each be making their fourth appearance in the World Cup. They’ll also have the likes of 31-year-old Julie Ertz and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, both making their third trip to football’s most prestigious tournament. Naeher played every minute of the 2019 title run, conceding only three total goals in the tournament.
The USA enters this World Cup in fine form. They lifted the SheBelives Cup for the fourth consecutive year in the beginning of 2023 and are on a current winning streak of nine straight matches. During their current purple patch, the United States women have scored a total of 21 goals and conceded just twice. It’s the defensive form that has stood out the most for the United States as they have now kept seven clean sheets in their last eight games. The Stars and Stripes have held the top spot in the FIFA rankings for the last six years and their last loss came in November of 2022.
Despite the few missing key pieces, the United States has arguably the deepest talent pool in the entire women’s game. The immense depth in the squad along with the overall quality of the players means that the American women are well-deserving of their tag as tournament favourites.
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2023 Women’s World Cup - USA’s fixtures
Group E of the 2023 Women’s World Cup has the USA facing a rematch of the 2019 final against ninth-ranked Netherlands. Composing the rest of the group is a pair of World Cup debutantes in 21st-ranked Portugal and 32nd-ranked Vietnam.
Here is the full fixture list (date and time according to UK time zone):
- USA vs Vietnam - July 22nd 2:00 AM, Eden Park
- USA vs Netherlands - July 27th 2:00 AM, Sky Stadium
- USA vs Portugal - August 1st, 8:00 AM, Eden Park
Follow all of the group stage action in this exciting competition by heading over to our Women’s World Cup live page!
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Top Predictions for the United States in the Women’s World Cup
Following up on their status as the betting favourites in the 2019 edition, the United States women are yet again the oddsmakers’ choice to lift the trophy. With odds of 4.00 on bet365 and 3.50 on Unibet, we still see some value in backing team USA to win the World Cup for the third consecutive time at that price.
22-year-old Sophia Smith will likely be a key figure in the United States run to the World Cup trophy. With the injuries to Swanson and Macario, Smith will shoulder a larger portion of the goal scoring responsibility. The Portland Thorns striker has had an extraordinary past 18 months and has already become one of the best players in the USA squad. She is the reigning NWSL MVP and led the national team in scoring for the 2022 calendar year with 11 goals. Poised for a breakout tournament, we like Sophia Smith to be the top goalscorer of the competition at odds of 7.50 on William Hill.
The United States open their World Cup campaign with a matchup against Vietnam. The oddsmakers are clearly expecting a dominant performance by the defending champs, listing them at comical odds of 1.004 to get the three points. USA has shown a tendency to pile on against significantly weaker teams and many will be remembering their 13-0 win over Thailand in the 2019 opening group stage match.
A big win for the Americans looks to be on the cards here as they will attempt to lay down a marker for the rest of the field. You can get odds of 1.83 for a goal to be scored in the first 12 minutes of play at bet365 which certainly looks worth a punt given the potential for a fast start by the Americans. Click here to register an account and be sure to cash in on their superb welcome bonus offer! Remember to check out our Women’s World Cup odds page to get caught up on all the latest betting odds!
Group E odds to win the group
- USA - 1.33
- Netherlands - 3.20
- Portugal - 51.00
- Vietnam - 501.00
Odds taken from bet365
