FIFA Women’s World Cup: Which Group F Teams Could Threaten the USWNT?

Think of the moment you started to care about women’s international soccer. Chances are, it was during a USWNT match at the World Cup.

Many journalists have said that the “mainstreaming” of the United States Women’s National Team occurred when Brandi Chastain scored to beat China and secure the FIFA gold medals in 1999.

It was certainly a seminal moment in women’s sports:

Cynics eventually had their way with the iconic 1999 clip, theorizing that men had only paid attention because Chastain had stripped her jersey off at the end. But the men who were watching the match on TV didn’t know in advance she was going to do that.

Plus, in 2015, the Women’s World Cup’s TV ratings in the USA would prove that the hot reactions to previous USWNT milestones were not driven by shallow sex appeal. More people in America watched the FIFA WWC than the 2015 NBA Finals.

I fell in love with the women’s game while watching that event, thanks to a certifiably-crazy goalkeeper named Hope Solo and her “Jedi mind trick” to ward-off a penalty kick from the Germans in a tense Montreal semifinal. I’d never seen a player so clearly psych-out another player on the pitch as Solo psyched out Celia Sasic that day.

Solo was far from a solo act on the victorious ’15 squad, which is good news, since even keepers with screws loose can’t play forever. There’s a newcomer between the posts in 2019, and other new faces in Red, White and Blue who’ll be thrust upon the state-side public in a hurry as the Women’s World Cup approaches in France on June 7^th.

It’s not a surprise that bookmakers like the defending champs to win Group F. How do the underdogs stack up against the powerful United States this time around?

Team USA ((-1000 to win Group F at Bovada Sportsbook)

An overall Las Vegas favorite to defend gold in 2019, the United States has never finished a World Cup outside the top 3. A rivalry with Japan has decided the fate of the squad in the last 2 FIFA showdowns, with the Japanese prevailing in 2011.

As in international basketball, more than just 1 or 2 nations appear to be catching-up to the Yanks’ confidence level and athleticism. Recent important friendlies with countries like France have resulted in draws too often for supporters’ comfort.

After suffering a daunting loss to Sweden in the 2016 Olympics, skipper Jill Ellis has scrapped the side’s traditional 4-2-3-1 formation to focus on attacking opponents without exposing the defense too often. She has experimented with a 4-4-2, 4-3-3, and other tactics to maximize the USWNT’s talent.

But I’m not sure Vegas handicappers are paying quite as much attention to the minutiae of World Cup strategizing as the simple star-power remaining on the American roster.

The squad has too many legendary names still plying their craft to think that an early exit from the 2019 competition is any kind of real possibility.

Alex Morgan seems like she’s been around forever, and maybe she has, but she’s still in her prime at age 29. The USWNT striker and co-captain was brilliant at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship with 7 goals scored, and has notched 4 more tallies in friendlies leading into the WWC.

Carli Lloyd is also still a force after nearly 300 matches with the national team, scoring a hat trick against Panama in 2018.

A pair of lesser-known names could prove just as effective on the attack over the next month. Crystal Dunn is a 26-year-old winger who has played exceptionally well with the NWSL club North Carolina Courage, with 12 goals in 25 appearances. Tobin Heath has overcome ankle surgery to shine in midfield over the last year, producing 7 goals and 6 assists while only appearing in 10 matches in 2018.

There are only 2 things that could derail the Americans from a strong showing in Group play – and only 1 of them is a matter of soccer tactics.

The squad will head to the World Cup still fighting for equal pay alongside the USWNT’s male (and often losing) counterparts. The roster is seeking legal action against the U.S. Soccer Federation, not only attempting to improve its wages but to play on safer surfaces more often.

But supporters of the squad know that’s a battle which has been going on for years upon end. It might have been a distraction if the World Cup began the day that the lawsuit was filed, but Morgan and the USWNT are used to having it over their heads by now.

Of greater concern is how the backline and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will stand up when the going gets rough in Paris, having had lapses in friendlies despite the coach’s efforts to stabilize the squad’s defense vs counters.

We’ll look more closely at the cogs in the American box in WagerBop’s knock-out round WWC preview later in June…assuming the Yanks do indeed get that far. A rematch with Olympic-nemesis Team Sweden looms on June 20^th in the round-robin.

Sweden (+600)

Peter Gerhardsson is managing his maiden World Cup for Tre-Kronor, and the Swedes go into Group F as decided underdogs despite the Olympic upset over round-robin counterpart USA.

But if the USWNT backline is the Yanks’ only potential weakness, Sweden could help make up for it by bringing a dose of world-class defense to the opening matches.

The 9^th-ranked squad is a stout defensive unit. Nilla Fischer is as respected a veteran you’ll find patrolling the box for any FIFA side, and is reaching close to 200 appearances with the national team. Caroline Seger is a savvy midfielder with a treasure trove of experience, appearing in her 4^th World Cup in 2019.

Sweden struggles to mount the kind of attack produced by the United States, however, and will hope to engage Naeher in a keeper’s duel with the inestimable Hedvig Lindahl.

Chile (+1400)

38^th-ranked Chile will relish the opportunity of competing in the team’s first major international tournament.

I’m looking forward to watching Christiane Endler, the Paris-Saint Germain goalkeeper who is widely regarded as a superb penalty-kick blocker. That skill could come in handy if Las Chicas de Rojo decide to play for scoreless draws and penalty kicks, as FIFA underdogs often do.

Also keep an eye out for Yanara Aedo, a versatile player who scored 3 goals at the 2018 Copa América Femenina to lift Chile into the World Cup.

Thailand (+25000)

Thailand is ranked much higher on the FIFA totem pole than Chile. Nuengrutai Srathongvian – all 22 letters of him – has returned to coach after an absence. Suchawadee Nildhamrong has been a standout for the California Golden Bears. The nation sent a team to the World Cup in Canada in 2015.

So why is the side that has reached the event before garnering such a longer Group Stage betting line than the out-of-nowhere Chileans?

Probably because Thailand has been losing matches, falling to Nigeria and Italy in friendlies on the path to France ’19.