United States vs. Zambia Women's Soccer: Picks, Predictions and Odds

The United States take on Zambia in their Olympic women's soccer tournament opener and there could be plenty of goals in store.

Olympic action begins before the opening ceremony and the United States will be among the favorites for gold in women’s soccer this summer, with former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes at the helm in her first major tournament with the USWNT.

The Stars and Stripes have won the tournament on a record four previous occasions and they start their bid for a fifth against Zambia at the Allianz Riviera in Nice.

Zambia finished third in their group in Tokyo in the previous Olympics and were involved in a number of entertaining, high-scoring matches. Another game filled with goals could well be in store.

United States vs. Zambia women's soccer betting picks and predictions

United States to win and Both Teams to Score (+275)

With the quality that the United States have within their roster, Hayes will be expected to lead the Stars and Stripes to glory and they should prove much too strong for Zambia.

The US possess the likes of Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan and Crystal Dunn in their ranks - all of whom have over 100 caps for the international side. Plus, the team has a strong Olympic history as it has earned a medal in six of seven tournaments dating back to 1996, with four of those medals being gold.

This does not bode well for a Zambia side that were dangerously leaky in defense at the last Games.

The Copper Queens were healthily beaten 10-3 by the Netherlands in their group opener before claiming their only point of the group stages via a thrilling 4-4 draw with China.

However, the fact they managed to score so many goals does provide some hope that they can trouble the Stars and Stripes and they possess one of the deadliest strikers in women's football in the form of Orlando Pride star Barbra Banda.

The 24-year-old has an astonishing 53 goals in 61 appearances for her country - including netting two hat-tricks at the last Olympics - and she is the all-time record goalscorer from the continent of Africa in Olympic women’s soccer history.

This talent up top should provide Zambia with hope of getting on the scoresheet but the gulf in quality between these two nations will likely be too vast and the United States should still comfortably claim all three points.

Over 6.5 Goals (+600)

With two of their three group games in Tokyo featuring a minimum of eight goals, as well as the United States taking part in two games across the tournament that featured seven converted strikes, Zambia’s leaky defense could allow for a high-scoring meeting in Nice.

Three of their last seven matches in all competitions have seen six strikes find the back of the net and so the Copper Queens are more than familiar with attack-heavy performances.

The Stars and Stripes may not have that star striker that Zambia possesses in Banda, but they are more than capable of spreading the goals out between them.

Lavelle, Horan, Dunn and Mallory Swanson have a combined 118 international goals between them, and they'll partner with talented young forwards Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw and Sophia Smith.

If both sides play the way they can then a goal-laden encounter should be expected and, at +600, a winner in the Over 6.5 Goals market does not look beyond the realms of possibility.

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United States vs. Zambia women's soccer odds

United States	-2200
Tie	+1100
Zambia	+3300

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.