As long as the U.S. men’s national team remains in the World Cup, betting records will continue to fall.
Key Takeaways
- The USA’s round-of-32 match generated the largest handle, the most wagers, and the highest number of unique customers at Caesars.
- Bettors cleaned up with 87% of the money backing the U.S. to advance.
- Team USA takes on Belgium on Monday as a slight favorite.
Caesars Sportsbook informed Covers that, after Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, the match was its most-engaged soccer event in the operator’s history, surpassing previous U.S. World Cup games.
“It generated our highest soccer handle ever, the most wagers placed on a soccer event in our book’s history, and the highest number of unique customers wagering,” said Mark Bickerdike, Caesars’ head of soccer. “That's obviously very encouraging, and we hope to see that momentum continue into the Round of 16 matchup.”
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Public racks up
The U.S. team has been incredibly popular with bettors since beginning the group stage on June 12. Other sportsbooks have also reported record-setting wagering on matches involving the U.S. team in this World Cup.
The public has cleaned up, with nearly 90% of the bets and handle backing the home team. Team USA has won three games, with no draws, and has made the round of 16 for the second consecutive World Cup. The U.S. team was a nearly 3-to-1 favorite against Bosnia.
Wednesday’s win pushed Team USA into the round of 16, where they’ll face Belgium on Monday, and gave bettors a nice haul.
“The USA looked convincing throughout and were good value for their victory,” Bickerdale said. “As we've become accustomed to, the USMNT was extremely popular with our bettors, attracting 91% of handle in the match betting market. In addition, 87% of handle was on Mauricio Pochettino's men in the 'to qualify' market, so it's fair to say we have plenty of happy bettors this evening.
“From the book's perspective, it helped to have Christian Pulisic's goal ruled out from a results standpoint, as he was heavily backed in the anytime goalscorer market. We also avoided a significant payout in the total goals market, with the match finishing with just two goals.”
Red-card drama
The victory didn’t come without controversy. Leading goalscorer Folarin Balogun found the net in the first half for the Americans, hurting sportsbooks, but then he was issued a contentious red card in the second half.
BALOGUN RED CARD 🫣
— Covers (@Covers) July 2, 2026
The USA will play with 10 players, and Balogun cannot play in the next round 😭
USA is down to a 3% chance of winning the World Cup 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/XIvKtbJucu
The U.S. team found a way to score again and hold on for the win in regulation, but Balogun is expected to miss Monday’s match due to FIFA rules. Still, Team USA’s odds to win the World Cup at Caesars were shortened from +3,000 to +2,500, and they are a slight -122 favorite to advance to the quarterfinals.
“The move may feel small, but the USA were heavy favorites to progress from this (Bosnia) matchup and now face a tough Round of 16 test against Belgium without the likely suspended Balogun,” Bickerdale said. “That being said, our bettors were clearly encouraged by what they saw, as we've already seen strong interest in the USA in the tournament winner market following the final whistle.”
