Outright Odds: 100/1
Group E Winners: 7/1
The USA have a lot to live up to after reaching the quarter finals four years ago but being placed in the Group of Death could see their campaign in Germany fall much shorter.
As usual, the USA had a relatively easy group, with only Mexico providing any real competition. This the fifth consecutive finals the US are participating in, despite being much-maligned as a capable international football team.
In 16 qualifying matches Bruce Arenas side lost just twice, away at both Mexico and Costa Rica and secured their place in Germany with matches to spare and topped their group ahead of Mexico due to a better head-to-head record.
The USA may be rated eighth in the world according to the FIFA rankings, but similar to Mexico, the sheer number of games they play against sub-standard opposition means they are perhaps artificially high. Arena could afford to field a reserve team for the final two matches and still win the group. The bookies are under no illusions and rate them as 100/1 (Bet365) outsiders to win the tournament outright, top 10 in the world or not.
Like Italy, the USA may also suffer from a...