The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup begins on Thursday July 20th and Australia’s Matildas will be in action. They’ll take on the Republic of Ireland in the second and final match of the day, which is scheduled for 8pm kick off at Sydney Olympic Park.
We dissect the Matildas opening group stage match below and provide our best betting tips. Good luck to everyone following us throughout what is sure to be an exciting month-long tournament!
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Betting Tips
Australia vs Republic of Ireland
Thursday 8pm AEST, Sydney Olympic Park
It’s been a big build up to the Women’s World Cup and as such, home fans are expected to come out in droves for the Matildas opening match. Accor Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park has a capacity of 83,500 and it’s likely there will be very few spare seats left in the house.
Australia
Possible Lineup – Arnold, Carpenter, Hunt, Kennedy, Catley; Raso, Cooney-Cross, Gorry, Vine; Foord, Kerr
Australia enter their first group stage full of hope and expectation as the tournament’s host. The Matildas have slowly but surely become one of the top nations in the world and will be expecting to achieve their best ever finish at a World Cup. They’ve literally improved their performance at every World Cup, starting from not qualifying in 1991, to finishing with a 2-1-1 record most recently in 2019.
Results in 2023 have also been a cause for optimism for the Matildas. They’ve played six friendlies in total and have won five of them, including a 2-0 win over England in April which snapped the Lionesses 30-match unbeaten streak. Most recently, the Matildas defeated France 1-0 on home soil in front of 50,000 fans.
There are a number of star players suiting up for Australia on Thursday night, but the headliner is certainly superstar Sam Kerr. She’s the only woman to win a Golden Boot in three different continents, she’s finished in the top 3 of the Ballon d’Or in back-to-back years, and she’s Australia’s all-time leading scorer with 63 goals from 121 caps.
Republic of Ireland
Possible Lineup – Brosnan, Payne, Fahey, Quinn, Connolly, McCabe; Sheva, Littlejohn, Grant, Farrelly; Carusa
Unlike their upcoming opponents, The Republic of Ireland don’t have much experience at the World Cup, in fact, they don’t have any. This is the first time they’ve qualified for the Women’s World Cup from eight attempts, and the key reason they’ve made it in 2023 is due to the tournament expanding from 24 to 32 teams.
The Republic of Ireland won’t have high expectations for their first ever World Cup and their form in friendlies in 2023 is another reason for that. They’ve played five matches in total and have only managed to find the back of the net in one fixture, which was a 3-2 win against minnows Zambia.
Katie McCabe is not only the captain of the Republic of Ireland but she’s also their best player and a superstar in her own right. She plays alongside a couple of Matildas for English Women’s Super League club Arsenal where she recently won Player of the Season.
Match Prediction
The Matildas are the red-hot favourites to get their World Cup campaign off to a win and the reasons are obvious. They have far more experience on the world stage, they have greater squad talent and depth, and they’ll have 80,000 fans passionately cheering them on.
While all signs lead to towards a Matildas win, the $1.30 odds in the H2H market is far too short to entertain. However, considering their far superior form and this being the first ever World Cup match for the Republic of Ireland, I believe the current odds for the Aussies to win by 2+ goals is certainly attackable.
