New Zealand Ol. vs USA Ol. prediction: WORLD: Olympic Games betting tips on match 2024-07-26 17:00.
[p]In an opening day of shock results, New Zealand delivered one of the biggest of this men’s football tournament by securing just their second-ever victory at the Olympic Games, defeating Guinea 2-1. Boasting a core group of players who were already thriving by winning the OFC Nations Cup with the senior national team in June, the OlyWhites are now in an advantageous position where even a draw against the USA could see them reach the quarter-finals for a second consecutive time. [/p]
[p]New Zealand continue to show that, whoever wears the all-white kit, they cannot be underestimated. They have been considered the underdogs in all five matches at the Olympics since the start of Tokyo 2020 and added Wednesday’s win over Guinea to a 1-0 defeat of South Korea at the previous Games, while they also grabbed a draw against Romania at that event and then took eventual semi-finalists Japan to a penalty shootout with a clean sheet. [/p]
[p]USA Olympic head coach Marko Mitrović has backed his squad and his gameplan despite a bruising 3-0 loss to gold-medal favourites France, telling reporters that his players “were in the right spot” and “didn’t deserve to lose this way”. It was an enormous step back from a 2-2 away draw with the tournament hosts back in March, but with two of Les Bleus’ three goals this week coming from top-class overage stars Alexandre Lacazette and Loïc Badé, Mitrović will no doubt appreciate a drop in quality on paper. [/p]
[p]Short-term form has been particularly concerning and offers no assurances, especially against an upcoming opponent that has been punching above their weight in recent years. The USA’s loss to France followed a 2-0 defeat to Japan in June that Mitrović described as “the lowest performance by far” since his appointment last September, while a more recent 1-0 win over Paraguay – who lost their opening group-stage game to Japan 5-0 – could also be considered underwhelming. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: At his first Olympics since 2008, New Zealand and Minnesota United defender Michael Boxall may be able to offer some insight into the opposition’s three overage players, all of whom he competes against in the MLS. One of them is attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, who as a teenager was coached by Marko Mitrović at Chicago Fire.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: USA’s Olympic/under-23 team has led at half-time in just two of their last 12 games.[/p]
[p][i]Written by: Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]