USWNT’s World Cup Elimination Is Big Win For Sportsbooks

The United States women’s national team suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Sweden in penalties in the round of 16 of the 2023 World Cup, and it was a loss for many backers of the USWNT.

Sunday’s match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Australia went to a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes, and Alyssa Naeher and Zecira Musovic were in the spotlight.

Musovic saw 11 shots on target and did not give up a single goal, and that might have played a factor in misses from Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O’Hara. Naeher made her penalty kick and appeared to save Lina Hurtig’s shot, but replay review the ball passed the line and ruled it a goal.

Sweden moves on to play Japan in the quarterfinals Friday, and the USWNT leaves Australia and New Zealand with questions about the future and a new reality with veterans like Rapnioe and Julie Ertz who likely played their last World Cup match.

The United States was the favorite heading into the tournament, and a lot of public money went into the team completing what could have been the first three-peat in men’s and women’s World Cup history.

There was 86% of money at DraftKings on the USWNT. BetMGM had 76% of money behind the USWNT, according to data analyst John Ewing.

Those numbers are eye-popping but make sense. It shouldn’t be surprising customers of American sportsbooks put their money on the United States. DraftKings showed in a press release the money on other sides in the World Cup was in the single digits compared to the United States.

The USWNT was a consensus +260 favorite to win the World Cup, but after a lackluster group stage, those odds went to 4-1. The United States suffered its earliest elimination in World Cup history — the longest it had finished before Sunday was third place — and ended the tournament on a 238-minute scoring drought.

The World Cup moves on without the United States, and England remained the favorite at +230 on FanDuel before its round of 16 match against Nigeria on Monday.

Below are the updated odds after the USWNT’s elimination:
England +230
Spain +380
Japan +500
France +650
Sweden +850
Australia +850
Netherlands +900
Colombia +3400
Denmark +8000
Nigeria +10000
Jamaica +12000
Morocco +23000

The Women’s World Cup will have a non-United States winner for the first time since 2011 when Japan beat the United States. But the talent of the USWNT will make it one of the favorites again at the 2027 World Cup.