Predictions
Breakout player: Sam Kerr, F, Australia. The 25-year-old striker is the leading scorer in National Women's Soccer League history, averaging almost a goal per game. While this is already her third World Cup, she has yet to score a goal.
Dark-horse team: The Netherlands won the 2017 European Championships, knocking off Norway, Sweden and England along the way. If the Dutch, in just their second World Cup, win their group and so do the other favorites, they couldn't meet France, England or the U.S. until the final.
And the winner is: France is at home. England is surging. But the United States is battle-tested. The knockout rounds at the World Cup are less about which team is more talented and more about which team can survive. The United States is led by a core group of players who have proved time and again that they know how to survive at major tournaments.
Final prediction: U.S. 4, Australia 2
JON MARTHALER
