New Zealand vs USA Odds & Prediction – Olympic Women’s Soccer July 24

• Both New Zealand and the United States fell to defeat in their Tokyo 2020 openers this week
• The teams are meeting for the fourth straight Olympics, with the USA winning the first three by a combined score of 8-0
• Read on for a match preview, full odds and a best bet for this crucial Group G game taking place on Saturday, July 24

It’s hard to know which of these two is more of a collectors’ item: the United States falling in an Olympic opener, or losing a match to New Zealand. Both had happened precisely once entering Tokyo 2020, but already one of those rarities has resurfaced following the USA’s 3-0 loss to Sweden in its first match of these Olympics. And what made that result even more surprising was that the U.S. came into the Games on the back of a 44-game unbeaten streak.

“We got our ass kicked a bit,” star forward Megan Rapinoe said afterward, before highlighting the many mistakes that the USA made. The good news – for both the Stars and Stripes and Olympic bettors – is that lightning is unlikely to strike twice in Tokyo, particularly not against a team 21 places below the USA in the FIFA world rankings.

The Americans are heavy -2500 favorites to get in the win column on Saturday afternoon vs the Kiwis.

New Zealand vs USA Odds

Odds as of July 22 at DraftKings

USA Set to Bounce Back

While many onlookers – and the players themselves – were surprised by the lopsided score line against Sweden, the good news is that the USA rarely loses. The last time it suffered defeat was January 2019 in France, and the team then went on a 44-game unbeaten run – winning 40 of those matches.

FT: Sweden 3-0 USA 😳

The USWNT's 44-game unbeaten run comes to an end at the Olympics in Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/G14LvF86GN

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 21, 2021

And there’s an Olympic precedent for rebounding, too. The only other time the team lost its Olympic opener, against Norway in 2008, it quickly put the loss behind it and rattled off five straight victories – including a 4-0 win over the Football Ferns – to claim the gold medal in Beijing.

Loss an Olympic Anomaly

Having won four of the six gold medals since women’s soccer was added to the Olympic program, with just two regulation losses before Wednesday’s reverse, the United States is still the heavy favorite in Tokyo, with odds of -2500 to win on Saturday.

Megan Rapinoe on the USWNT’s poor start to #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/FsAL5e2fTV

— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 21, 2021

In addition, it was just the third time the USA has lost by three or more goals at either the Olympics or World Cup, a stretch that now spans 84 games. And the last time it lost by three or more goals was more than four years ago, in March 2017.

USA’s Sweet 16 of 17

Of the 17 games between the United States and New Zealand, the Stars and Stripes have won 15 and drawn won in the series, with New Zealand’s lone win coming all the way back in 1987. In addition to a 4-0 round-robin win in 2008, the Americans also eliminated the Football Ferns in both 2012 and 2016, winning 2-0 on each occasion.

In the most recent meeting between the teams, in 2019, the USA triumphed 5-0 in St. Louis, with Carli Lloyd grabbing a brace, two of six career goals she has scored against New Zealand. Alex Morgan, who started Wednesday’s game before making way for Lloyd, also has scored six times against the Ferns.

How things look in Group G after the opening day.#Tokyo2020 #GoAustralia pic.twitter.com/A2WfeqMKcG

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 22, 2021

On top of that, New Zealand has only played once this year, in its Olympic opener, where it lost 2-1 against rival Australia.

New Zealand vs USA Key Stats

Can Ferns Benefit from Inside Information?

If the Ferns have any chance of pulling off another upset against the four-time Olympic champions, they will likely do so with the benefit of head coach Tom Sermanni’s familiarity with the American program and its players. Sermanni spent just over a year coaching the U.S. national team, leading it to a 18-2-4 record in that time.

Full time. Three points. #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/LD6zRoN3uC

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 21, 2021

The group of players available to him offers a tidy blend of youth and experience, with five of the players amassing over 100 caps, while nine of the 22 players had less than 10 caps entering the Games. New Zealand will be reliant upon striker Hannah Wilkinson, who is in her third Olympics and the top scorer on the roster with 26 career goals at the international level.

The pandemic dealt the team a blow, too, when Sarah Gregorius, who led the team in scoring during qualification with eight goals, announced her retirement from international soccer in March last year.

Best bet: Over 4.5 goals (+180)