Women's World Cup Odds: USA clear favourites with Lionesses sitting in second

UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly

USA are 5/2 favourites to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Contents
England are 9/2, ahead of Spain and Germany
Hosts are outsiders to win Down Under

With the women’s World Cup beginning on 20th July, Pundit Feed takes a look at the betting to see who the bookmakers fancy to lift the trophy.

USA hungry for the hat-trick

Having lost on penalties to Japan in Germany 2011, the US have been unstoppable. Beating Canada 5-2 in 2015 in front of their own fans, before lifting the trophy with a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in France four years ago, it’s going to take a lot to stop Vlatko Andonovski’s side.

The Macedonian’s team head into the World Cup on the back of a nine match winning streak, conceding just two goals across the matches – one against Brazil, the other Germany.

In their most recent win against Wales, 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe announced that this would be her last major tournament with the US national team and she will be hanging up her boots at the end of the season for good.

TIME’s new cover: Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) won’t go quietly https://t.co/DBOGKy8m43 pic.twitter.com/ALBVdtfSxt
— TIME (@TIME) July 10, 2023

Having played an integral role in their last success, Rapinoe will be desperate to bow out of a glorious campaign with a third straight World Cup in Australia.

Lionesses looking to spoil US party

Sarina Wiegman’s European champions will have something to say about USA’s hat-trick bid, as they will look to knock them off the perch they have become very comfortable sitting on.

In 2019, England were knocked out of the semi-finals but much has changed with the Lionesses since then and having collected their own silverware at Wembley, they’ll be keen to kick on Down Under.

That success should stand them in good stead, heading into the tournament full of confidence in their ability to go further than they did four years prior.

Dare to be different 💪 pic.twitter.com/9MiF5g06NE
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 9, 2023

If England are to be successful Down Under, they will have to do it without defender Leah Williamson, who continues to recover from her ACL injury. She will, however, be travelling to Australia to offer her support to her fellow teammates.

It isn’t just Williamson who is sitting on the sidelines, as five other England stars are expected to miss out on the major tournament.

The injuries are a big blow for Wiegman, and a couple of poor friendlies before departing to the other side of the world will have raised some eyebrows – in particular a rather dull 0-0 against Portugal. Australia also got the better off the Lionesses with a 2-0 win.

However, their Euro 2022 win will still be fresh in their minds and knowing how to win in a major tournament is a huge plus – a first World Cup since 1966 beckons, perhaps?

Spain and Germany next in line

It won’t be easy for any team trying to topple the US, but Spain have bounced back since their Wembley woes against England, only losing once to Australia since.

Eleven wins and a draw have followed, though, and Spain look rejuvenated as they look to spring a surprise against both the US and England.

The Spaniards head Down Under with a spring of their own in their step, having won five on the bounce – they’ve also been keeping plenty of clean sheets in recent months, something clearly head coach Jorge Vilda has been working on.

Currently, they are around 7/1 to win the 2023 World Cup.

Germany aren’t far behind them. In fact, they are almost the same price with most bookmakers and it isn’t hard to see why.

In November last year they managed to beat the US 2-1 in a friendly, and a month prior they had beaten France with the same scoreline.

A recent defeat against Zambia will raise some eyebrows but a heavily rotated side means an all-round fitness test with no fresh injuries saw more positives than negatives when digging a little deeper.

It’s worth mentioning, Australia – one of the two hosts, are outsiders compared to Europe’s best at 14/1. However, as we’ve mentioned, recent victories over both England and Spain bode well and with home support behind them, anything is possible.

The other hosts, New Zealand, appear to be there to make up the numbers – although hosting the tournament alongside Australia will be seen as a huge success for the nation. However, priced at 750/1, getting a point on the board looks to be their main aim.