After Sweden eliminates U.S., England and Spain are World Cup favorites
The U.S. women's soccer team was favored to win the tournament when the World Cup started. Now, it's anyone's competition.
By the thinnest of margins — maybe in World Cup history — the U.S. women’s soccer team was eliminated in penalty kicks early Sunday morning vs. Sweden in the Round of 16.
The U.S. dominated the run of play for most of the game, but missed the net twice and hit the post in PKs, and then lost in the cruelest way possible — a VAR review confirming a goal off a Sweden shot that was initially stopped by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher but popped into the air and, by what appeared to be millimeters, crossed the goal line.
The U.S., which entered the tournament as favorites to win a third straight World Cup, became the first reigning champion to lose in the Round of 16. They failed to reach the semifinal for the first time in their World Cup history.
Now — and it was this way heading into Sunday — it’s anyone’s tournament.
Here’s an updated look at World Cup odds for the remaining 12 teams after the USWNT was eliminated.
Odds are courtesy of BetMGM, current at the time of publishing, and subject to change.
Women’s World Cup odds
England, which plays Nigeria in the Round of 16 Monday, was a +333 favorite heading into the knockout stage. It’s now a slightly larger favorite, down at +250. Spain and the U.S. were each at +400, but Spain, which is through to the quarterfinals, saw its odds improve, too.
Poor form and only five points in the group stage made the road in the knockout stage a lot more difficult for the USWNT. A second-place finish in the group meant the U.S., the top-ranked team in the world, would face No. 3 Sweden instead of 54th-ranked South Africa in the Round of 16.
» READ MORE: Women’s World Cup: Germany is out and Morocco marches on in a thrilling conclusion to group play
The U.S. entered Sunday as a favorite to advance to the quarterfinal.
Sweden, meanwhile, entered the knockout stage with odds of +1800 (18/1) to win it all. Knocking off a top-ranked U.S. side saw those odds improve to +800. Sweden plays Japan in a quarterfinal match Friday.
Though England and Spain are leading the way on the odds board, it feels like there are six or seven teams that could actually come away victorious.