USA-Australia Betting Preview: Can the US Keep Its Momentum?

While the US dominated Paraguay 4-1 in Matchday 1 of Group D, Australia was able to shock the soccer world by knocking off Türkiye to the tune of a 2-0 win. This makes Friday's match-up a clash of the two Group D leaders in Seattle, with a chance to secure an early spot in the knockout stage on the line.

DraftKings Sportsbook gives the US the edge to win the match, as do most other sportsbooks in the country.

While Australia looked impressive in their first match, history suggests the USMNT's quality is more sustainable over the long run of this tournament. After bagging three first-half goals against Paraguay, I think a US halftime/fulltime parlay at +140 (an implied probability of 41.67%) looks pretty attractive.

Maybe the toughest game line to decide. The US has the firepower to get goals in bunches, and Mauricio Pochettino's counterattacking styles is ideal for their strong attacking play, so they're likely to get at least 2.

Australia, is a bit more unproven. In their recent matches, the clean sheet against Türkiye was rare. However, they're prone to being shut out themselves, so a one-sided affair actually could drift towards the under.

I'd probably stay away myself, but if I had to pick, I'd decide between the over or a USA 2-0 win exact score bet at +650.

Folarin Balogun was one of the big stories of the squad's first win, with his two first-half goals virtually putting the game away early.

Pulisic and Pepi were both unable to join in on the scoring party themselves, but did contribute in key ways to the attack. I'd lean towards Balogun and one of these two score, leaning a bit more heavily toward Hershey, PA's own Christian Pulisic.