FIFA Women’s World Cup Watch Parties Near Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC — The FIFA Women’s World Cup was got underway Friday between host country France and Korea Republic as 24 teams across six groups vye for the cup. Team USA, featuring a star-studded roster with names such as Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, won’t play until Tuesday, June 11, in a Group F match against Thailand. The Americans will then play Sunday, June 16, in against Chile and again on Thursday, June 20, against Sweden.

All of Team USA’s games will air live on FOX Sports and FS1, with a livestream available on FOX Sports GO and the FOX Sports App. There will also be viewing parties with plenty of drinks and food held across the country, including several hosted by MLS teams.

Here are some of the events happening in and around the Charlotte metro:

Game 1 United States vs Thailand Game Watches— Tuesday, June 11, 3 p.m.:

• Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, 911 E. Morehead St., Charlotte
• Ri Ra Irish Pub, 208 N. Tryon St., Charlotte
• Fitzgerald’s, 201 E. 5th St., Charlotte
• Courtyard Hooligans, 140 Brevard Court, Charlotte
• Valhalla Pub & Eatery, 317 S. Church St., Charlotte
• Big Ben, 2000 South Boulevard, Charlotte

You can find more game watch locations here.

Each team will play their three group opponents once and the two top teams will then move on to the knockout stage, which begins June 22. The tournament then continues all the way until two teams play for the cup on July 7.

Team USA, the defending champion from 2015, entered the tournament tied with France as the favorite to win this year’s World Cup. The Americans defeated Japan 5-2 in the previous championship in Vancouver to became the only country ever to win three Women’s World Cup titles. In that game, the U.S. got off to a scorching start, scoring four goals in the first 16 minutes, including three by midfielder Lloyd, who was awarded player of the match.

But this year’s team will look different. And it’s arguably the deepest roster in the American’s have ever fielded. It’s so deep that Lloyd, who turns 37 next month, has actually been coming off the bench to relieve Morgan, 29, who has scored more than 100 times for the national team — trailing only Lloyd for most goals on the active roster.

And even though Team USA enters as the No. 1 ranked team on FIFA’s rankings, team captain Rapinoe, 33, still thinks France is the team to beat.

"For me, I consider them the favorites and I feel like all the pressure is on them,” she told ESPN.

As of Wednesday, bookmakers gave France and the U.S. each an 18 percent chance to win, with the Germans having the third best shot at 15 percent, according to Oddschecker.com. England and the Netherlands rounded out the top five favorites, with about an 11 percent chance and 7 percent chance, respectively.

Gamblers, for what it’s worth, seem to like the English odds this year.

Phil Neville’s team has been most heavily bet on in the tournament for bets made through Oddschecker.com, accounting for 28 percent of total bets. By comparison, the U.S. and France account for 11 percent and 8 percent of bets placed, respectively. The Netherlands fell just behind with 7 percent and Germany trailed far behind accounting for just 3 percent of bets.

“England’s last warm-up game against New Zealand ended in disaster, with the Kiwis producing a big upset to win 1-0,” Oddschecker spokesman Pete Watt told Patch this week.

He added: “However, the bettors appear to see it as nothing but a blip and have backed the Lionesses to ‘bring it home.’”

Also of note: oddsmakers are giving Morgan the best odds to win major accolades, including player of the tournament — a 14 percent chance — and top goalscorer, a 12.5 percent shot.

“The peerless Alex Morgan could scoop both personal awards, but you can bet that she’d swap them to see her team lift the trophy,” said Watt.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.