The U.S. men’s national soccer team achieved a 2-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup, leading to unprecedented betting activity at Caesars Sportsbook. Other sportsbooks in the U.S. also noted a surge in wagers as fans geared up for the American team’s Round of 16 bout with Belgium.

“This match brought us our highest-ever soccer handle, marking the most bets placed on a soccer contest in our history and the largest number of unique customers participating,” stated Mark Bickerdike, Caesars’ Head of Soccer Trading. “This is clearly a positive sign, and we are excited to see this trend continue into the Belgium match.”

Caesars reported that the Bosnia game set a new benchmark for customer engagement with U.S. World Cup matches. Further, other sportsbooks echoed this sentiment, recording similar record betting volumes for U.S. games throughout the tournament.

Public interest in the U.S. team has been substantial since their group-stage debut on June 12. Supporters continued to place bets on the Americans, who were favored at nearly 3-to-1 against Bosnia.

“The USA demonstrated a strong performance and fully deserved their win,” Bickerdike added. “As we’ve seen before, the USMNT captured a significant share of our bettors, with 91% of the handle in the match betting market going towards them. Additionally, 87% of the handle in the ‘to qualify’ market supported Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, indicating our bettors were satisfied with the outcome this evening.

“From our perspective, it was beneficial that Christian Pulisic’s goal was disallowed from a results standpoint, as he was heavily wagered in the anytime goalscorer market. We also sidestepped a potentially major payout in the total goals market, given the final score was just two goals,” Bickerdike explained.

The victory occurred despite the second-half red card issued to Folarin Balogun, who will likely miss the Round of 16 match against Belgium due to FIFA’s suspension rules.

While the outcome caused immediate liabilities for sportsbooks due to public betting on the U.S. team, bookmakers anticipate the upcoming knockout match to produce an even greater volume of wagers.

“While the USA’s advance isn’t favorable for us in the short term,” noted John Murray, Vice President of SuperBook, “it sets the stage for an exciting primetime matchup on Monday night. USA vs. Belgium is sure to draw a large audience.”

“There was definitely a spike in activity leading up to tonight’s game. This was the most-petted game, and I can’t see why Monday wouldn’t attract an even larger turnout,” Murray commented.

Adair Horne, trading manager at BetMGM, also foresees sustained interest in the betting market.

“I’m quite confident that the next game will run the risk of being one of our biggest liabilities throughout the tournament, as well as being the most-bet game,” Horne expressed.

Following their win, Caesars adjusted the U.S. odds to win the World Cup from +3,000 to +2,500. The Americans began the tournament at +5,000, then dropped to +4,000 after their 4-1 victory over Paraguay, advanced to +3,000 after a 2-0 win against Australia, held at +3,000 after a 3-2 defeat to Türkiye, and now rank as the seventh favorite for the championship.

In preparation for Monday’s Round of 16 contest, Caesars has positioned the U.S. as a slight -122 favorite to proceed to the quarterfinals. BetMGM has opened their three-way moneyline at USA +160, Belgium +160, and Draw +230, while Belgium holds a slight -115 edge in the “To Advance” market compared to the U.S. at -110.

“While the changes in odds may seem marginal,” Bickerdike commented, “the USA was a clear favorite to advance from the [Bosnia] match and now faces a challenging Round of 16 test against Belgium, likely without Balogun.”

“Nonetheless, it’s evident our bettors were invigorated by what they witnessed [on Wednesday night], as we’ve seen a strong interest in the USA in the Tournament Winner market,” Bickerdike concluded.