USA vs. Sweden 2019: World Cup Prediction, Betting Odds, What's At Stake For US Women's Soccer Team

The U.S. women’s national team has already advanced to the knockout stage of the 2019 World Cup, doing so in dominant fashion. Team USA has the field’s best margin of victory, outscoring its opponents 16-0 and becoming the clear favorites to win the entire tournament.

That means’s Thursday’s match with Sweden is somewhat inconsequential. The USWNT is headed to the round of 16, no matter what happens at the end of group play.

But Thursday’s result will affect the USWNT’s path toward defending their World Cup championship.

If the USWNT beats Sweden, they’ll win Group F and face Spain in their next contest. A victory in their first match of knockout play would then likely set up a meeting with France. The host nation isn’t simply the second favorite in the tournament: they are the only team that’s defeated the U.S. in the last 18 months.

A loss against Sweden would seemingly give the USWNT an easier draw to the finals. In that case, the USWNT would take on the Netherlands or Canada in the round of 16 and not have to worry about France in the quarterfinals.

The potential opponents don’t seem to be a concern for the defending champs.

“We want to freaking play France,” U.S. winger Crystal Dunn said Tuesday, via ESPN.com. “Fingers crossed, obviously. But at the end of the day, it's mind-boggling that people would think we actually would want to lose a game going into the knockout rounds. We want to continue those winning vibes.”

The oddsmakers certainly don’t believe the USWNT will take it easy against Sweden. The U.S. has -410 betting odds to defeat Sweden, who is a +900 underdog at New Jersey’s FanDuel Sportsbook. The odds of a draw are +490.

The USWNT has plenty of motivation to end group play with another blowout. It was only three years ago that Sweden defeated the team, which is led by many of the same players, in its most devastating loss ever.

Sweden beat the U.S. on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics. After winning three straight gold medals, the USWNT didn’t even leave Rio with a bronze.

The USWNT picked up a measure of revenge a year later with a 1-0 victory over Sweden. A win over Sweden in the World Cup would be even sweeter.

“In that game, it made me realize that we have to make sure now, if teams are not going to give us the space, we need to make sure we have players that can create space, that can break lines when there’s no space, that can turn in the pocket,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said last month, via USA Today. “The type of players that can really change a game when a team is so highly organized defensively.”

Team USA didn’t pull any punches in their World Cup opener when they scored a record 13 goals against Thailand. They didn’t even need stars like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath to shut out Chile 3-0.

Sweden is the USWNT’s first real test of the World Cup. Thailand and Chile never had any shot to win the championship. Sweden has enough talent to make a deep run, and they have proven they know how to compete with the world’s best soccer team.

That’s just even more reason for the USWNT to come out firing Thursday in Le Havre, France, where their perfect record should remain intact.

Prediction: USA over Sweden, 2-0