The Knock-On Effect of the U.S. Women’s Lackluster Trip to the Knockout Round

Article ByKyle Garlett

August 3, 2023

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

In three FIFA Women’s World Cup group stage matches, the United States managed just one win and two draws. After scoring 18 goals in the first three games four years ago, they scored just four these past two weeks in New Zealand. And their goalless draw against Portugal late Monday night/early Tuesday morning ended a streak of 13 straight games in which they had scored.

The No. 1 team in the world has looked like anything but the best, and the odds heading into the knockout stage of the tournament reflect that. England, at +275, is now the betting favorite to hoist the trophy after the finals on August 20. BetUS.com has the United States at +450, tied with Spain for second.

Former World Cup stars like Carli Lloyd have been openly critical of the team. U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has pushed back, calling Lloyd’s specific critique of the team’s behavior post-game “insane.” But the reality is that for just the second time in nine World Cups, the United States did not win its group. Instead, it advanced to the knockout stage as the Group E runner-up.

U.S. Women Lose Expected Primetime Matches

The previous time the United States finished in second place in its group was 2011, when they did make it all the way to the finals before losing to Japan on penalty kicks. So while the path still exists for the U.S. to right this ship and win its third straight World Cup, the performance in the group stage comes with consequences.

FIFA had been incredibly accommodating to broadcast rights holder Fox Sports and the time difference between the United States and the cohost nations of New Zealand and Australia. There are only two primetime east coast games remaining in the World Cup, and both were given to the winner of Group E, because everyone expected it to be the U.S.

But those two slots – Saturday, August 5 at 10 p.m. ET, and Thursday, August 10 at 9 p.m. ET – will now go to the Netherlands this Saturday, and then the winner of the Netherlands and South Africa next Thursday.

That leaves the United States playing Sweden at 5am ET on Sunday, August 6, with a potential next game coming at 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday, August 11. A possible semifinal match would take place on Tuesday, August 15, at 4 a.m. ET, with the finals are set for Sunday, August 20, at 6 a.m. ET.

Win or lose, it is going to require extra fortitude for U.S. soccer fans to watch their women play. The first match against Vietnam, which took place in primetime, had a peak viewership of 6.55 million. That was double the ratings of the first match for the United States in 2019. Match two against the Netherlands, also in primetime, averaged 6.43 million viewers, with a peak of 8.45 million. That made it the most- watched group stage match in Women’s World Cup history.

The arguably far more important match against Portugal took place at 3 a.m. ET, and viewership plummeted to an average of 1.35 million viewers, peaking at 1.73 million. It was the least-watched group stage match involving the United States women since 2011.

Television Rights Fees Going Forward

The change in times for when the United States plays in the remainder of this World Cup is more than just an inconvenience for American soccer fans. Fox Sports is going to lose millions of viewers, and that will alter the negotiations for television rights in future World Cups.

This was the first time that FIFA negotiated the broadcasting rights for the Women’s World Cup separate from the men, and it came in $100 million short of their goal of $300 million in U.S. rights fees.

Some of that dip comes because of the time difference between the U.S. and the World Cup cohosts, and some of it was related to broadcaster unwillingness to go from the cheap fees of the past to FIFA’s higher price tag for 2023.

The host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup will be announced on May 17, 2024. The four bids under consideration are South Africa, Brazil, a joint European bid between Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, and a joint bid between the United States and Mexico.

Television rights for 2027 will be negotiated after the host is decided.