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Women's World Cup: Going forward, which sides deserve your money?
One week up, one week down. It’s been seven wild days of World Cup action filled with upsets, injuries and moments of brilliance. Miss any of it? Here are the highlights from the first week of the Women’s World Cup. These storylines and trends can help you make smart bets the rest of the way.
The United States are good … but not perfect. There’s a lot to like about this new-look USWNT, from aggressive, never-say-die captain Lindsey Horan to sparkling, goal-hungry playmakers Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Rose Lavelle. But all isn’t well within the USWNT camp. A slightly underwhelming 3-0 win over debutantes Vietnam raised a few questions about the Americans’ readiness before a hard-fought comeback 1-1 draw against the Dutch raised a few hackles.
The USWNT midfield has been slow; its attacks have been dull. Possession has been lost in important places on the field and rock-solid forward runs have been squandered by below-par shots. The good news is that this sort of thing is normal at the start of a World Cup; few winning sides make it to the end without an early-round hiccup. The bad news is that as the rest of the world improves, those hiccups feel scarier and scarier.
The USWNT will make the knockout round if it can stay afloat against Portugal on Tuesday. To do that, the team will need to pull itself together and make more incisive attacking moments like this one.
ON REPEAT
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023
Here's every angle of Sophia Smith's first goal against Vietnam for the @USWNT pic.twitter.com/412GIG8ijC
Nigeria came to win. Forget that Nigeria’s Group B is something of a Group of Death, with potential champions Canada and Australia both vying to advance. The Super Falcons just looked at their deadly draw, shrugged and said “whatever, we’ll figure it out.” And figure it out they have! One point from Canada and three from Australia is enough to leave Nigeria at the top of the group, sitting pretty and looking down at its struggling competitors. At +3000 odds to win Group B before the tournament, the Super Falcons are making us all look silly — and having a blast while doing it.
Sam Kerr’s injury might have derailed the Matildas. Poor Australia had everything going for them before the tournament, and then, bam — talismanic captain Sam Kerr hurt herself during the final practice and missed Australia's first two games. The Matildas have looked tentative and unsure without Kerr, and while the team showed great character to fight back to 3-2 against Nigeria, it still wasn’t able to get the job done. The odds of advancing to the knockouts suddenly look bleak for the team that was everyone’s odds-on favorite to finish first.
Spain and Japan are out for blood. The two strongest and most complete teams at this World Cup are both in Group C: Spain and Japan. They’ve blasted through the first week of competition, smashing in eight and seven goals apiece while conceding zero. They’ve yet to play each other — that comes on Monday — but it’s bound to be a crazy, topsy-turvy match to settle who will advance in first place.
Biggest positive surprises: Nigeria, Japan, the Netherlands
Biggest negative surprises: Norway, Australia, France
Biggest betting wins: Nigeria beating Australia at +3000, Jamaica tying France at +1500
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