The United States Women’s Olympic Soccer Team kicks off their summer in France with the first game of the group stage versus Zambia on Thursday, July 25th. The match takes place at Stade de Nice in the south of France at 3 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. local time, and the four-time Olympic gold medalists will look to snatch another piece of hardware with a fresh squad.
DraftKings Sportsbook is the action spot for women’s soccer in the Olympics, providing a variety of options to place wagers and root for your favorite teams. It’s no surprise the USWNT is the favorite to strike gold at +175, but strong competition—such as by Spain at +200 and France at +450—follow right behind. Before I break down some of my favorite picks for the USWNT’s opening game, let’s dissect the roster and upcoming schedule.
USWNT SUMMER OLYMPICS PREVIEW
The 2024 Summer Olympics women’s soccer tournament will feature just 12 teams and is structured similarly to the World Cup. The beginning group stage consists of three groups of four teams; each team will play three games, then the top two teams from each group plus the two best third-place teams will advance to the quarterfinals. Following the quarters comes the semifinals, then the Medal round. To complete group play, USA will take on Germany on Sunday, July 28th at 3 p.m. ET followed by Australia on July 31 at 1 p.m. ET.
While the USWNT is notoriously dominant on the turf, the squad hasn’t claimed gold since the 2014 Summer Olympics and is coming off a disappointing early exit in the 2023 FIFA World Cup: the first time the team did not medal in a Women’s World Cup. However, this Olympic team is different than we’ve seen before. With new head coach Emma Hayes leading the way and two-time gold medalist Alex Morgan missing the final roster, we’ll witness some fresh new faces dawning the red, white, and blue.
THE PLAYERS
This roster features 11 players from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and eight from the 2020 Olympic team adding up to a complete 18-woman roster. Some familiar faces include midfielder and captain Lindsey Horan—the most capped player on the team with 150 caps—as well as forward Crystal Dunn, midfielder Rose Lavelle, and goalie Alyssa Naeher.
Representing the fresher faces, forward Jaedyn Shaw is the youngest player on roster at just 19 years old. Sam Coffey, Korbin Albert, Jenna Nighswonger, and Shaw all have less than 20 appearances with the national team and will take part in their first world championship.
GROUP B OPENER VS. ZAMBIA: PICKS AND PREVIEW
Group B consists of the United States, Germany, Australia, and Zambia, with the latter taking on the stars and stripes in the opener. The Zambia Copper Queens are making a name for themselves after qualifying for two straight Olympics as well as the 2023 World Cup, despite sporting a FIFA ranking of 64. They’ll take on the most-decorated Olympic competitor in the USWNT—who own a FIFA ranking of 5—for the first time, and are +3500 on DraftKings Sportsbook to get a victory over the U.S. Barbra Banda will be a star to watch for Zambia who is a lethal striker and leading goal scorer.
The USWNT comes into this tournament with the most wins of any team in the history of the competition, and have won five of their seven previous opening games in the Olympics. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some picks that caught my eye for the game opener.
TOP PICKS:
Rose Lavelle Anytime Goal Scorer (+120)
I could just pick Team USA to win here outright at -1800, but I wanted to have a little more fun than that—but by all means, pick the USWNT to win if you want to avoid a sweat at all costs.
We’ve got a bit of a comeback story on our hands, as star midfielder Rose Lavelle was absent from the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Lavelle injured her knee in a friendly against Ireland in 2023, making her unfit to be a full-game player come time for the World Cup. Her presence was blatantly missed as the USWNT typically leans on strong midfield play to maintain possession and apply pressure in the attacking third. Well, now she is back and ready to own the middle as well as she ever has for the USA.
Lavelle totals 24 goals in her 100 caps including an unforgettable goal that pushed the USWNT to being crowned World Cup Champions in 2019. Not only does she possess some of the most flawless foot skills, she commands the middle of the field and owns a powerful boot that can strike from anywhere. Being one of the vets and leaders of this squad, I’d like to see her hit the back of the net to get this Olympic run going.
No — Both Teams to Score (-235 )(USA vs. Zambia)
Plain and simple, Alyssa Naeher is a dawg. Not only has she won two World Cups and converted penalty kicks in elimination games at the World Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup, but she’s posted shutouts in more than 62% of her starts. On top of that, Zambia was shut out 5-0 in two of their three group stage games in the 2023 Women’s World Cup and only notched three goals in the tournament. Yes, Barbra Banda is a threat, but so is Naomi Girma as a lockdown defender. Naeher is also seeking her first gold medal and should be a brick wall in the box in the opener, so I’m banking on a USA shutout.
As always throughout the history of major women’s soccer tournaments, all eyes are on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team. Head to DraftKings Sportsbook to view more ways to get in on the action of the group stage, and stay tuned for a preview of Team USA’s second game of the tournament vs. Germany.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
