10: 31 AM ET
David PurdumESPN Staff Writer
- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
The United States men’s national team will be looking to pull the latest World Cup shocker when they face heavily favored England on Friday.
On Friday morning, a few hours before kickoff, the US were +600 underdogs to win the highly anticipated match, with England listed as -195 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook. The game ending in a draw was +310.
The Americans had attracted the majority of the early bets, but approximately 56% of the money that had been wagered on the match’s winner was on England, according to Caesars. The sportsbook was expecting plenty of action leading up to the 2 p.m. ET kickoff in Qatar.
A spokesperson for BetMGM said Friday morning that USA-England was already the most heavily bet match of the World Cup at its sportsbooks so far.
The group stage of the World Cup has already featured two big upsets. Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina as 25-1 underdogs Tuesday, and Japan upended Germany as 6-1 underdogs Wednesday.
The US settled for a 1-1 draw with Wales in their opener Tuesday. England were impressive in a 6-2 victory over Iran in their opener.
Brazil remain the favorites to win the tournament at +250, followed by France at +650 at Caesars Sportsbook. England and Spain are next, with each listed at +700. The Americans are 125-1 to win the tournament.
