USA vs. Italy Prediction on August 11, 2024

Match info

Italy Women found themselves in volleyball’s Olympic final for the first time in their history, 24 years after their first appearance. Their rival for gold in the Paris Games 2024 on the last day of competition will be the defending champion USA, which will enter the court of the South Paris Arena 6 in a decider (Sunday, August 11, at 1 p.m. local time) more worn out following a marathon semifinal match against Brazil. No wonder that betting sites that use dollars gave them the role of underdogs in this match.

Meeting statistics

In the women’s volleyball semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the United States played in line with its status as the defending Olympic champion, beating Brazil, who hadn’t yet lost a set in the event. Americans now need one more victory to take home back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The ladies, coached by Karch Kiraly, recovered stronger in the tie-break and won a thrilling 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11) triumph in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics gold medal match, following numerous turnarounds and periods of dominance for both teams in the opening four sets. Kathryn Plummer topped the winning team’s scorers with 26 points (23 kills, two blocks, and one ace).

The United States will compete in its fifth Olympic final after winning gold in Tokyo three years back. The North American nation took home silver in Los Angeles in 1984, Beijing in 2008, and London in 2012 after losing to Brazil in the last two events. Additionally, they’ve won two bronzes (Barcelona 1992 and Rio 2016). The US is also assured a medal for the fifth consecutive Summer Games. After Brazil, Cuba, and the former USSR, the Americans might also become the fourth women’s volleyball national team to defend an Olympic championship successfully. The USA lineup in Paris consists of nine players from the Tokyo gold medal-winning team, which could prove vital in the title match versus Italy.

Italy, one of the most established countries in volleyball history, was able to cross a significant item off its list at the Paris 2024 Olympics as its women’s national team qualified for the Olympic final for the first time, ensuring a historic medal in the sport. After playing each other in pool play last Sunday for the second time in four days, the FIVB World Ranking leaders proved to be unstoppable against Turkey once more, winning 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) to advance past the semifinal round. The Italian offense’s focal point, Paola Egonu, the star opposite, answered admirably in its largest game of the tournament thus far, scoring a game-high 24 points against the Turkish.

After qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in Sydney in 2000, the Italians are now competing in their seventh consecutive Olympics. They hope to become the seventh different country to win gold in the women’s division, following the United States, Japan, the former Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and Brazil. Julio Velasco’s ladies have won five matches en route to the Paris final. They are the only team among the two finalists to advance unbeaten to the gold medal match.

Head-to-head

After these two met for the first time 21 years ago, the USA recorded 20 wins, while Italy was more successful head-to-head, winning 15 times.

Match analytics

Even though championship matches in any sport shouldn’t have distinguished favorites, this isn’t the case here. Italy, which didn’t taste the bitterness of a defeat in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games through both group stages and knockouts, is heavily favored by some bookies. We’d even go a step further in highlighting Italians’ favoritism and dare you to opt for a points handicap on them when wagering.

Tip: Handicap 2 (-8.5), with odds of 1.9 on an IZZI Casino.