Friday night was historic for the U.S. Men’s National Team, and in a sense, historic for those wagering on the USMNT in World Cup odds, as the public betting masses went along for the ride.
The USA thumped Paraguay 4-1. For some context: At the 2022 World Cup, the U.S. totaled just two goals across its three group-play matches. On Friday night, Folarin Balogun matched that on his own.
And prior to Friday, the USA never scored four goals in a World Cup match.
Said John Murray, vice president of The SuperBook and a massive soccer aficionado: “I never thought I’d see the day that the U.S. scored four goals in one World Cup match.”
With two of those goals, Balogun went from way off the radar to among the leaders in Golden Boot odds. Bookmakers in Vegas and across the country help dive into that surprise and more, as we recap a huge USA victory.
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From Out Of Nowhere
Before the World Cup began, BetMGM sent out a list of odds for players to win the Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament’s top goalscorer. There were 56 players on that list.
Balogun was not among those listed.
He is now.
Balogun scored in the 31st minute to put the USMNT up 2-0, then delivered again in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-0. The rout was on, and concurrently, Balogun’s name made the list in Golden Boot odds.
The striker rocketed all the way to the +1600 co-fifth choice, alongside someone you might be familiar with: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
“A two-goal head start on a lot of the big guns will do that,” BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said.
Only four players are ahead of Balogun. France’s Kylian Mbappé is the +600 favorite, followed by England’s Harry Kane at +650, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal at +1000 and Norway’s Erling Haaland at +1400.
“There’s lots of football left to be played,” Magee said. “But given how well the U.S. looked against a Paraguay side that looked quite strong defensively in CONMEBOL qualifying, Balogun certainly turned a lot of heads with last night’s display, oddsmakers in particular.”
Friday’s World Cup win for the USA was also a win for bettors (Getty Images).
Four Scores
As noted above, the U.S. had an unprecedented four-goal outburst on Friday night at SoFi Stadium. Previously, the USA plateaued at three goals on three occasions in World Cup play.
Coincidentally, Paraguay was one of the previous victims:
- 1930 World Cup: USA 3, Belgium 0
- 1930 World Cup: USA 3, Paraguay 0
- 2002 World Cup: USA 3, Portugal 2
With Friday’s scoring frenzy, the public betting masses cleaned up on the sportsbooks. From BetMGM to DraftKings to Caesars Sports to The SuperBook and more, oddsmakers across America noted that pregame, the U.S. was a wildly popular choice.
“It was a very good day for USA backers and BetMGM bettors across the country,” Magee said. “USA moneyline, USA -1.5 goals, Balogun with two goals and both teams to score all hit.
“It was a very fruitful day for a lot of customers.”
Before the match, SuperBook vice president John Murray said that in three-way betting — USA moneyline, Paraguay moneyline and Draw — ticket count was 9/1 and money 10/1 on the U.S.
Murray didn’t want to root against Team USA, but also didn’t want to take a bath. He hoped Draw would somehow get there.
“That was not the result the book wanted to see,” he said. “There were also a lot of parlays with USA. We needed the Under, too.”
