Bettors taking a chance on the longshot US in World Cup, though France and Spain remain favorites

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Fox Sports ad promoting its World Cup coverage and featuring Mike Eruzione has been pushing the narrative that another sports miracle involving an underdog American team can become a reality.

And, much like the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in which Eruzione and a collection of college kids beat the powerful Soviet Union hockey team in the Olympics, the United States walking off with the World Cup trophy seems unlikely.

Just look at the odds.

The U.S. is anywhere from 40-1 to 60-1 at BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings to win soccer's most prestigious tournament, which opens Thursday.

Longtime handicapper Bruce Marshall isn't sold on U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has experience leading notable European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Marshall also didn't read much into the 3-2 victory over Senegal in a friendly leading into the tournament.

“I'm not that high on the USA team,” Marshall said. “I don't care what they did (against Senegal). I thought Pochettino was a vanity hire. Listen, his track record isn't as great as people make it sound. He's had some great teams."

The U.S. isn't one of those, at least compared with teams favored to win the World Cup.

But money is pouring in on the Americans, bettors more than willing to gamble their green while watching the tournament through red, white and blue glasses.

If the unlikely happens and there is a soccer version of Eruzione's miracle hockey team, the sportsbooks will take quite a financial hit.

“We’ve definitely seen a lot of patriotism being shown with USA being our biggest liability,” said Mark Bickerdike, Caesars' head of soccer trading. “If USA get off to a good start and progresses, our liability is only going to grow. But, in general, we’re happy with the prices, so let's lay what we think are the right prices and sort of go from there. Should USA make it to the semifinals and finals, we might be hanging onto our seats a little bit."

France and Spain are the consensus favorites to win the World Cup, both listed at +450 at BetMGM and Caesars. DraftKings also lists Spain at that price with France close by at +475.

Spain defeated England in 2024 to win the European Championship, and now La Roja has their sights set on adding to their 2010 World Cup title as well. But 18-year-old star Lamine Yamal and fellow forward Nico Williams are coping with hamstring injuries.

“I think Spain will win if Yamal and Nico Williams are OK,” Marshall said. “They won the Euros because those two guys flipped the whole thing. They stretched the field so much. They had so much speed on the wing. If one or both of them isn't 100%, Spain won't be quite the same team it was at the Euros.”

Should Spain falter, France could be right there to take advantage. Led by Kylian Mbappé, France will try to make it to the final for the fifth time in the past eight World Cups and win for the third time over that span.

There are other countries that also could make a real run at the title. England, Brazil, Argentina and Portugal are 9-1 or better at all three sportsbooks.

“There's no real gap between two or three teams and then everybody else,” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello said. “I would call it a pretty normal ladder for a future book. You've got a couple of teams at the top that are shorter prices. I think it's balanced out pretty good. I don't think there's any clear-cut favorite here.”

Stars Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal are almost certainly competing in their final World Cup.

Some bettors might be wagering in anticipation of one last great run by either or both of them.

“That always piques customers' interest,” Bickerdike said. "That is arguably our biggest driver. Although Portugal have been playing fairly well recently, if you look at the likes of Spain, they're probably a more in-form team.

“It's obviously always the big debate: Who's the greatest? Is it Messi or is it Ronaldo? It's going to be their last World Cup, and going out on a high is sort of a dream scenario.”

In-game wagering is not new, but it has become more popular over recent years with the availability of apps that make it easier for bettors to take part.

That's especially true with soccer.

“The in-game play is going to be really huge,” Avello said. “When you look at all the sports that we book, I think soccer percentage-wise has the bigger in-game play than any other sport."

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Argentina forward Lionel Messi works out during practice for the FIFA World Cup soccer Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FILE - France's Kylian Mbappe, left, is challenged by Croatia's Luka Modric during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between France and Croatia, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - United States' Folarin Balogun celebrates after scoring against Canada during the first half of a CONCACAF Nations League final match on June 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled on Friday that the White House is allowed to stage a UFC show this weekend in an elaborate ring already built on the South Lawn to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected a legal advocacy group's request to block organizers from using the White House lawn as the venue for Sunday’s planned UFC mixed martial arts event.

Mehta concluded that the plaintiffs likely don’t have legal standing to challenge the event and have failed to prove that they would suffer irreparable harm by the event going forward as planned. The judge also cited the plaintiffs’ “unreasonable delay” in suing to challenge an event that’s been in the works for months.

“In the context of an emergency application — and coupled with the fact that the UFC fight date was long ago known — it is fair to say Plaintiffs unreasonably delayed bringing suit, undercutting their claims of irreparable harm,” Mehta wrote.

Attorneys from the nonprofit Public Integrity Project sued to challenge Trump’s “UFC Freedom 250” event on behalf of an activist and a Vietnam War veteran. The two plaintiffs also asked the court to block organizers from building anything for the event on White House grounds, including a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure called The Claw.

The plaintiffs’ alleged “aesthetic harms,” the judge noted, are temporary since The Claw will be disassembled starting Monday morning and staging equipment at the Lincoln Memorial must be removed before then. “The President’s musings about permanency of the Claw does not move the dial in the face of a White House official’s clear representation,” the judge wrote.

The White House called the lawsuit a baseless attempt to prevent Trump from hosting an event that’s no different from many others routinely hosted at public forums in the nation’s capital.

Trump's administration can’t issue permits for sporting events on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial, where UFC fighters planned to hold a press conference in front of fans on Friday, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys. They noted that the event is a privately organized, for-profit business venture, with VIP packages costing millions of dollars.

“The President’s administration is granting the UFC an extraordinary business opportunity it may not lawfully grant, and in exchange the UFC is throwing an event at which its leadership, fighters, advertisers, and various celebrities will all pay tribute to the President on his birthday,” plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.

Public Integrity Project attorney Brendan Ballou said the plaintiffs were disappointed in the judge's decision but respect it and intend to "keep bringing cases to raise the cost of corruption in America.”

“This isn’t a case about a sporting event, it’s about corruption, as a handful of people and companies stand to profit from our public monuments," Ballou said in a statement.

The National Park Service and the Interior Department are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In 2019, during his first term in office, Trump became the first sitting president to attend a UFC show. Trump, a Republican, is a friend of UFC president and CEO Dana White.

Mehta was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Mehta has presided over other Trump-related cases, including civil litigation accusing Trump of inciting a mob of his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Members of the media view the arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House is photographed Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)