USA – New Zealand Preview, USA – New Zealand Pick
The U.S. men's Olympic soccer team will try to get back on track in the tournament as it takes on New Zealand in the pair's second group game on Saturday.
The U.S. lost 3-0 to France on Wednesday after conceding all of its goals after the 60th minute, marring a promising first hour in its first Olympic game since 2008.
Despite missing an early penalty, New Zealand beat Guinea 2-1 as Matthew Garbett avenged his mistake in the 25th minute and Ben Wain scored the winning goal in the 75th minute.
If the U.S. loses and France beats Guinea in the second match of the other Group A game, the U.S. will be eliminated from the knockout stage.
A must-have app for soccer bettors
Best soccer betting scoreboard
Free picks from proven pros
Live Win Odds of Your Bet
The U.S. was on the defensive for much of the opening match but looked relatively strong against presumed favorites France until they found themselves on the back foot.
Alexandre Lacazette's first effort required goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to react late to what looked to be a saveable shot, while Loic Baadet's third goal saw the central defender left completely unmarked to slot home a simple header from a set piece.
Ironically for the Americans, their best chances came just as they were losing control of the game. Djordje Mihajlovic hit the crossbar with a long-range shot when the score was still 0-0, Paxton Aaronson forced a reaction save from close range on a header shortly after Lacazette's shot and John Tolkin also hit the post before Michael Oliseh put France up 2-0.
A late consolation goal by Griffin Yeo for the United States was ruled off for offside.
While the New Zealand men's team has only ever competed in the World Cup, the All Whites are more familiar with the Olympics having competed in three of the last four men's tournaments.
New Zealand won their opening match of the series following their win over Guinea on Wednesday and there is some familiarity with the squad from club level, with five players playing together at Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand's only club in the Australian A-League.
Goalkeeper Alex Poulsen, who recorded eight assists against Guinea and showed why he is one of the country's most promising players, recently moved from Wellington to English Premier League club Bournemouth.
But his inclusion also exposed a arguably weak spot: New Zealand were outshot 17-9 overall and outshot on goal 8-5 against a formidable African team.
America – New Zealand
prediction
Although the USA lost their opening match against France, they were far better than the final score would suggest, and New Zealand celebrated a 2-1 win over Guinea. Unfortunately, the oddsmakers know this very well and have made the USA the heavy favorite to win this match.
And because the men's tournament is primarily an U-23 competition, I believe New Zealand's experience on this stage can help close the gap in quality of the squad, even though most of the players are newcomers.
So, the US is naturally favored here, but in my view, a draw is worth it again. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either team’s defense in the first leg, so I’ll bet on a draw of at least 1.5 total goals at odds of +420 and an implied probability of 19.5%.
choose: Tie, 1.5 or more total goals (+420 via DraftKings)
How do you rate this article?
