News Focus
- The United States opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a convincing 4-1 victory over Paraguay
- Bookmakers report a massive increase in bets on the USA to win the tournament and player awards
- Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun are attracting significant attention in goal-scoring markets
- Odds have shortened dramatically for the USA ahead of their match against Australia
- Sportsbooks prefer a low-scoring American win or draw to limit financial exposure
Supporters of the United States national team have placed huge bets on their country following an impressive start to the 2026 World Cup. The United States Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their opening fixture. This result has caused a betting frenzy across major sportsbooks.
Mark Bickerdike, who leads soccer trading at Caesars Sports, confirmed that betting activity has increased sharply. “That was a really good performance in the first game,” he stated. He noted particular interest in wagers on the USA winning the tournament and Folarin Balogun claiming the Golden Boot award.
The odds for Friday’s match against Australia have moved significantly. Caesars originally priced the United States at -133 to win. After the Paraguay match, these odds shifted to -197. However, following Australia’s strong performance against Turkey, the odds adjusted to -176 for an American win, with Australia at +425 and the draw at +305.
Bookmakers face a difficult situation. They generally prefer matches to end in draws, which protects their profits. However, Bickerdike explained that a draw might reduce public enthusiasm for betting on the tournament. “For this one-off event, a Draw is important,” he said. “But a low-scoring USA win wouldn’t be the worst result. Let’s keep this excitement around the World Cup going.”
The worst outcome for betting companies would be another comprehensive American victory with goals from popular players like Christian Pulisic and Balogun. “What we’d be hoping to avoid is a comprehensive USA win, with Pulisic and Balogun scoring. That would not be good,” Bickerdike admitted. A narrow 1-0 or 2-0 result would suit bookmakers much better.
Before the tournament began, Caesars offered odds of +5000 for the United States to win the World Cup. These odds have now shortened to +4000, placing them equal tenth with Belgium and Mexico. France remain favourites at +400, followed by Spain at +500.
Portugal currently attracts the most bets at Caesars, but the United States has moved into second position. The American team represents the bookmaker’s biggest financial risk among realistic contenders. Only Haiti, priced at massive odds of 2500/1, creates greater potential losses due to a few high-value long-shot bets.