A landmark tournament in women’s soccer, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, has now reached the semi-finals! The tournament began on the 7thof June when 24 nations put their talent to the test, but now just four remain! The semi-final fixtures are due to be played mid-week, so we’ve provided previews and our best betting tips for them below. As always, good luck to everyone following!
WFWC Semi-Finals Betting Tips
England vs USA (Wednesday 5am AEST)
An interesting match first up with England and USA going head-to-head at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday morning. They were two of the standout favourites pre-tournament and should put on a great show in this do-or-die clash.
England entered the tournament as the third ranked nation and were full of hope after some strong lead-up form. They backed that up by winning all three of their Group C matches against Japan, Argentina, and Scotland to qualify first in the group. England went on to win 3-0 against both Cameroon and Norway in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively, to earn their face in the semi-finals.
USA were most people’s pick (including us) to take out the tournament before it commenced. They kickstarted their campaign with a record-breaking 13-0 win over Thailand, before taking care of both Sweden and Chile to qualify first in their group without conceding a single goal. The Americans found it a bit harder in the knockout phases, scraping through to the semis with 2-1 wins over both Spain and host nation France in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively.
Although England have looked the more convincing of the two nations during the knockout phase, USA have faced much tougher opposition. The Americans have been the best team in the world for some time now and should be too good for England on Wednesday morning.
Netherlands vs Sweden (Thursday 5am AEST)
In the second semi-final we’ve got Netherlands taking on Sweden at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday morning. Not many expected these two nations to make it to the penultimate round, but it should be a great match, nonetheless.
The Dutch entered the tournament as the eighth ranked nation and weren’t expected to make too much noise when the whips were cracking. However, they won all three of their Group E matches against Canada, Cameroon, and New Zealand to qualify in first position. The Netherlands then went on to defeat Japan 2-1 in the Round of 16 and Italy 2-0 in the quarters to earn their place in the semi-finals.
Much like their upcoming opponents, ninth ranked Sweden were not too highly fancied pre-tournament. They’re the only team of the four remaining that has suffered a loss in this World Cup, coming against USA in Group F by two goals to nil. Sweden edged past both Canada and Germany by one-goal margins in the two knockout rounds to get to this point.
This is definitely the harder of the two fixtures to predict, but in saying that we do lead towards Netherlands. They’ve been in a touch better form in this tournament and have the quality to stand up on the big stage. Getting them at anything over $2 seems like great value here.
