World Cup 2022 odds: Expect record-breaking betting on USMNT-England match

The World Cup odds have already seen some wild results in just the first couple of days of the tournament, with Argentina tumbling to Saudi Arabia and Japan knocking off Germany.

No doubt that has helped pique even more betting interest in this 32-team international soccer showdown.

But just wait til Friday. When the USA faces England, rather than "all bets are off," it’ll be "all bets are on."

Let's dive into one of the biggest games in USMNT history from a betting perspective.

https://statics.foxsports.com/static/orion/player-embed.html?id=play-60af1a07600004b&image=https://static-media.fox.com/ms/stg1/sports/play-60af1a07600004b--PROGRAM_ch1_0128_0001_00_53_38_31_Still011__1__1669063873933.jpg&props=eyJwYWdlX25hbWUiOiJmc2NvbTpzdG9yaWVzOnNvY2NlcjpXb3JsZCBDdXAgMjAyMiBvZGRzOiBFeHBlY3QgcmVjb3JkLWJyZWFraW5nIGJldHRpbmcgb24gVVNNTlQtRW5nbGFuZCBtYXRjaCIsInBhZ2VfY29udGVudF9kaXN0cmlidXRvciI6ImFtcCIsInBhZ2VfdHlwZSI6InN0b3JpZXM6YXJ0aWNsZXMifQ== Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

The United States and Wales battled to a 1-1 draw at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The British are coming … and so are the Americans

There’s just no getting around how massive the wagering will be by 2 p.m. ET Friday. That’s when the United States Men’s National Team takes the field against the legendary Three Lions outfit. The big game can be watched on FOX or the FOX Sports App.

England is a solid -182 favorite in the three-way betting at FOX Bet, with the United States a healthy +400 underdog to win. At +275, the Draw is given better odds of occurring than an outright U.S. upset. But that won’t stop the American cash from flowing in on Friday.

"This will be the most-bet soccer match in U.S. sports betting history," BetMGM vice president of trading Jason Scott said.

Dylan Brossman, trading operations senior manager for FOX Bet, said that while Team USA’s World Cup opener vs. Wales – a 1-1 draw – got good interest, it’ll pale in comparison to Friday’s match.

"We are expecting the [action] of England vs. USA to be roughly two to three times that of the USA vs. Wales opener," Brossman said. "The matchup is clearly more enticing and should have much higher TV viewership, thanks to more people at home Friday."

United States vs. England (2 p.m. ET Friday, November 25, FOX and FOX Sports App)

England: -182 (bet $10 to win $15.49 total)
USA: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Draw: +275 (bet $10 to win $33.50 total)

Over/Under Total Goals — 2.5
Over: -133 (bet $10 to win $17.52 total)
Under: -111 (bet $10 to win $19.01 total)

More U.S.-England wagers at FOX Bet

Timing is Everything

Bookmakers certainly didn’t mind two big upsets early in the group stage. As noted above, Saudi Arabia – a +1200 underdog at FOX Bet – shocked Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, +500 underdog Japan bested Germany 2-1.

However, both those games were very early here in the States. Saudi Arabia-Argentina was a 5 a.m. ET kickoff, so it ended before most people rolled out of bed. Japan-Germany was at 8 a.m. ET and done by about 10 a.m.

But Team USA and England will kick off festivities at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on Friday. Plus, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. Loads of Americans have the day off. Everyone will be dialed in and throwing down a few bucks on this epic matchup.

"It’s perfectly scheduled at a good time of day and when the majority of people are not working," Scott said. "It will be enormous."

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Patriotic betting duty

Scott expects the USMNT to get the bulk of the action and definitely be a trendy underdog for American bettors. In three-way betting at BetMGM, the U.S. is currently taking 65% of tickets and 55% of money. That’s almost four times as many tickets and 1.5 times-plus the money of England, which is at 17% of tickets/34% of cash. The Draw is taking the other 18% of tickets/11% of money.

At FOX Bet, action is a little closer, though it still clearly favors Team USA, which is getting 54% of tickets/56% of money. England is at 32% of tickets/40% of money, and draw is at 16% of tickets/3% of money.

And it’s only Wednesday. The betting volume on this game will crash through 10 and up to 11 by Friday.

Rex Beyers, a veteran Vegas oddsmaker and now head of wagering at PlayUp USA, couldn’t stress enough how huge the action will be come Friday.

"I can’t see anything that will come close to topping this in a group stage game," Beyers said. "The legalized markets are going to see an absolutely insane amount of money on this game. Anyone watching this game is going to want to have a bet on it.

"It’ll be bigger than anything we’ll see in soccer for a long time. It’s the perfect storm for it to be an absolutely monster handle game."

When it comes to this tournament, I’m as patriotic as can be while also realistic. Getting a tie would be huge for the United States. So that’s where my #ChilisMoney is. Gimme the draw at +310! Enjoy the match, everyone.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas

Play FOX Super 6 every week for your chance to win thousands of dollars every week. Just download the Super 6 app and make your picks today!