Analyst Backs Under 2.5 Goals in USA-Australia World Cup Match as Pulisic Injury Clouds Attack
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 19
Analyst Backs Under 2.5 Goals in USA-Australia World Cup Match as Pulisic Injury Clouds Attack
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 19
Summary
Under 2.5 goals at -115 is Geoffery Clark’s recommended bet for Friday’s United States-Australia Group D match, with BetMGM listing the U.S. at -165, Australia at +400 and the draw at +320.
Christian Pulisic’s calf injury drives much of that view: Clark puts the chance of Mauricio Pochettino resting him at 70/30 after the midfielder left the 4-1 win over Paraguay and missed training this week.
Underlying numbers also point to a lower-scoring game, with the U.S. generating 1.42 expected goals against Paraguay, while Australia beat Türkiye 2-0 despite just 1.18 expected goals and 28% possession.
Australia, priced as the weakest team in Group D before the tournament, would likely welcome a draw, and Clark says the expanded 48-team format may be encouraging more cautious group-stage management.
That setup runs against public betting sentiment: 80% of the money tracked by BetMGM was on the over 2.5 goals as of Wednesday evening, even as sharper books priced the under more aggressively.