The United States women got off to a great start to their Olympic campaign by beating up on New Zealand with authority. Their toughest group stage match comes on Saturday against France in a fixture which will ultimately likely see the winner through to the last eight of the tournament.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The American women are going to be relatively heavy favorites in this match, as they should be. They won't be getting quite the nod they were getting against New Zealand due to the fact that France is certainly one of the five best teams in the world and perhaps is second to the Americans, but the margin between the two clubs is still quite a bit.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
The Yanks weren't at their best in their 2-0 win over New Zealand, but they definitely did the job at the back. Hope Solo really wasn't tested all that much in the win, and goals from Carli Lloyd in the first half and Alex Morgan in the second half were more than enough to get the initial three points. Now, the United States knows that one more win against either France or Colombia will get the job done to get into the knockout rounds, though obviously with 12 wins in a row in this competition, it won't want to leave anything to chance with the bulls-eye it has on its back.
France was probably supposed to be more challenged by Colombia than the United States was against New Zealand, but you wouldn't have known it. Just as the Americans got off to a fast start against New Zealand, France did a number on Colombia. The difference is that the French never took their foot off the gas pedal. They were on the front foot the entire match until things really got out of hand, and they were never threatened by a very talented team.
LIVE BETTING
The real key in this match for the Americans is going to be finding a way to be more production in the final third. They did a nice job of blitzing the Ferns at the start of the match and the start of the second half, but it's almost as if they were a bit complacent in the last 35 minutes of each half, and that's why they were never able to put a third on the board.
France has a much better defense than does New Zealand, and there is going to have to be a lot more fluidity from front to back to spring Lloyd and Morgan through for more opportunities in this match. If the United States can do just that, it will win this match with ease. If not, this could end up becoming a bit of a slugfest.
QUICK PICK
Sarah Bouhaddi had some troubles against the Americans in the two matches they played over the course of the last 12 months against each other, and if she can't keep her bearings at the back, no matter how strong the French defense is, she's going to end up conceding.
This is one of these matches much like the New Zealand match in which we believe the United States will look good at times but sluggish in others. Though the end result will be three points, Jill Ellis' team will still have questions left to answer.
Olympic Soccer Odds: United States 1, France 0
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between United States and France will kick off on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. ET. This fixture from the Estadio Governador Magalhaes Pinto in Belo Horizonte can be seen live on NBC Sports Network.
