FIFA Women’s World Cup Bet365 bonus code: USA vs. Sweden preview, odds, and picks

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The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has not gone according to plan so far for the US women’s national team. The four-time World Cup winner was generally expected to sweep all who stood in its way at this tournament, but that’s not the way things have turned out.

Now, the USA looks to get back on track against Sweden in the round of 16 on Sunday in what will be their biggest test to date in Australia and New Zealand.

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The USA comes into this winner-takes-all round of 16 clash with Sweden having just gone winless in back-to-back games for the first time since November 2022.

That’s also the last time the American women lost a game, and while they are unbeaten at this World Cup, their struggles for both goals and wins have come as a surprise to most onlookers.

After a routine, if underwhelming, 3-0 win over minnows Vietnam opened their tournament, Vlatko Andonovski’s side needed an equalizer from captain Lindsey Horan to rescue a draw against the Netherlands and was then held 0-0 by Portugal in their final group game, suffering several scares and scraping through to the knockout stage by a single point.

Things will not get easier for them; on the contrary.

As FIFA’s third-ranked team behind the USWNT and eliminated Germany, Sweden is the second-best team on paper at the tournament. Given the stark contrast between their form and the USA’s — Sweden won all three of their group games while scoring nine times and conceding just once — the Swedes may actually be the very best side left.

They also have the recent head-to-head edge, having outclassed the USA 3-0 at the 2021 Olympics the last time the two teams met.

Sweden is not only a technically proficient team but also a physically imposing one, something reflected in the fact that six of its nine goals so far have been scored via set pieces or crosses into the box. Central defender Amanda Ilestedt has headed three goals from corner kicks so far this tournament.

Remarkably, this is the sixth straight World Cup at which these two teams have crossed paths. “We always play Sweden in every major tournament,” veteran American striker said in the lead-up to the game. “Probably every time since I’ve been on this team, so we know them very well. We know their strengths.”

The problem is that Sweden knows the USA’s strengths and weaknesses, too. It’s a really close one to call, which is clear to see from Bet365′s moneylines. The USA is +120 to win in 90 minutes, a draw is +210, and Sweden is +260. It’s the first time this tournament that the Americans haven’t been the runaway favorites to win a game.

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The USA may be the slight favorite with sportsbooks, but that’s likely more out of habit than anything else by this point; it must be a long time since the Stars and Stripes were any kind of underdog in a game.

Sweden has the quality, the form, and the motivation to emerge victorious here. They are organized, well-drilled, and a team who have shown the very top of their game, no more so than in their 5-0 win over world No. 16 Italy in their second game.

The USA, by contrast, looks a shadow of the team we have come to know. The two-time defending champion has been solid defensively but hasn’t scored many and hasn’t yet faced as big a test as Sunday, either. The USWNT’s first World Cup defeat since the 2011 final may be on the horizon.

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If the USA is to punish Sweden and take the win, Sophia Smith will likely be key.

The 22-year-old came into the tournament with 10 goals in 13 NWSL games for the Portland Thorns in 2023 and scored twice and assisted a third goal in the USA’s opening win over Vietnam at this World Cup.

Since then, she’s largely been kept quiet, but the reigning US Soccer Female Player of the Year has the pace and the eye for goal to trouble Ilestedt and Sweden’s defence.

The USA needs her at her best if they are to prevail here.

These teams have conceded two goals between them in six games at this tournament. That’s it.

Save for the shock of going behind to surprise package South Africa in their first game, Sweden has been near-faultless at the back, and while the USA has stuttered in attack, Jill Roord’s goal for the Netherlands in game two is the only one they have allowed through three games thus far.

Bet365 has the over/under on total goals at 2.5 and, despite Sweden’s scoring prowess in their group, it would be something of a surprise to see three or more goals here in what will likely be a tight, physical game.

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