The United States Women's National Team has been relatively quiet over the course of the last several months since failing in the Olympics. Jill Ellis will bring her squad will leave American soil for the first time since leaving Brazil this week, and the first foe is going to be a big one. First up? This Sweden team that removed the Americans from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
At 1:30 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this soccer match on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at Gamla Ullevi Stadium.
Odds Analysis
The Americans are sure to be favored in this fixture as they are in virtually every match they play no matter where it's held. That said, the margin here isn't going to be all that big against a Sweden team that has already proven it can play with the top sides in the world. That's why we're very likely to see a very small spread here – certainly no more than a goal.
Roster Analysis
The biggest question we have for Ellis is what's going to happen in the pipes. Hope Solo isn't walking through those doors anymore, and Ashlyn Harris wasn't called up to the roster. All that's left is Chicago Red Stars keeper, Alyssa Naeher and Boston Breakers net minder, Abby Smith. Smith has yet to feature in a match in her career at 23-years old.
Alex Morgan wasn't called up for this match as she finishes up her European campaign in France with Lyon. But the rest of the names you'll see here are the usual. Some combination of Christen Press, Sydney Leroux and Crystal Dunn will play up front, while Carli Lloyd anchors the midfield while wearing the captain's armband. There will be some questions at the back for sure. If this team is going to play with a four-woman back line, Casey Short, Jaelene Hinkle or Abby Dahlkemper will be making a rare appearance. Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara and Meghan Klingenberg will surely all be on the back line.
Pia Sundhage's squad is certainly going to be ready for this one. This means a lot more to the Swedes than it does to the Americans, so it won't be shocking to see a full roster even though this is technically a friendly bout. The heroes of this club are Lotta Schelin, Kosovare Asllani and Caroline Seger. These three have all played at least 127 matches in their careers for Sweden, and they know what it takes to beat this American team.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
The United States has had some real problems against some of the top teams in the world in recent months. The club was beaten in Harrison by England and whooped by France 3-0 in Washington D.C. The fact that those two matches came within four days of each other and came on the back of the shocking loss to this Swedish team in the Olympics has put Ellis on the hot seat for sure. She's not necessarily going to be on the way out if she doesn't perform well in Sweden and Norway, but these are matches that figure to be won.
Still, Sundhage seems to have the number of this American team. We aren't sure she's actually going to win this match in Gothenburg, but we think the Swedes are going to be game. We aren't sure without Lloyd in the fold that the Yanks are going to have enough offensive firepower to get the job done against a stout defensive side. We'll go with a draw in what should be a tight fixture throughout.
Soccer Odds: Sweden 1, United States 1
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