The group stages are finished and now only 16 nations remain in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Round of 16 action takes place from Saturday through to Tuesday night, with double-headers being played on each day.
We take a look at all eight matchups below and provide our best bet for each. Good luck to everyone following, and enjoy what will continue to be a thoroughly entertaining World Cup!
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Round of 16 Betting Tips
Switzerland vs Spain
Saturday 3pm AEST, August 5th, Eden Park (Auckland)
Ranked #6 in the world, Spain ($1.35) are set to start as the hot favourites in this tie with #20 ranked Switzerland ($10). While Spain are the much higher ranked nation, Switzerland have been the more consistent performing team in the tournament to date. The Swiss finished top of Group A without conceding a goal, albeit only scoring two themselves. They’ll take confidence from the fact that Japan put four past the Spanish defence last start, all of which were scored on the counter attack. Spain deserve to be favourites for this matchup due to possessing superior talent, although they’re certainly vulnerable and with that said, taking Switzerland to score looks to be great value.
Switzerland to Score
$2.10
Japan vs Norway
Saturday 6pm AEST, August 5th, Sky Stadium (Wellington)
Japan ($1.82) announced themselves as genuine World Cup contenders by upsetting Spain 4-0 in their final Group C match. They finished top of the group with 11 goals scored and 0 conceded and will start as clear favourites against Norway ($5). The Norwegians lost the tournament opener against co-hosts New Zealand (0-1) but were able to recover with solid performances in their next two matches to finish second in Group A. They’ll have to go up a couple of levels to match it with Japan who have been simply superb in all three matches to date. Japan should be winning this one.
Netherlands vs South Africa
Sunday 12pm AEST, August 6th, Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney)
Arguably the most impressive nation at this World Cup to date, Netherlands ($1.24) continue their campaign when they take on surprise pack South Africa ($11). The Dutch finished on top of Group E which is no mean feat considering USA were among the other three teams. They scored nine goals and conceded just one which was against the Americans in a 1-1 draw. When the Dutch are up and running they tend to clean sheets; they’ve done so in eight of their last nine wins in all competitions. Taking them to win to nil looks to be the best play.
Netherland Win to Nil
$2.20
Sweden vs USA
Sunday 7pm AEST, August 6th, AAMI Park (Melbourne)
USA entered the World Cup as the $3.50 favourites to take it all out and those short odds were justified considering they’d won the past two editions and 4/8 World Cups in total. However, they were centimetres away from being eliminated in their recent match against Portugal, which was a scare that may spark some urgency into their play. Their upcoming opponents for their Round of 16 tie are Sweden who are certainly no slouch. The Swedes are ranked #3 in the world by FIFA and franked that ranking with a perfect 3-0-0 record to top Group G. Regardless, USA are the more talented and successful team and the result of this match will be determined by their level of play. In my opinion, they’re worth backing at anything over $1.90.
England vs Nigeria
Monday 5:30pm AEST, August 7th, Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane)
With USA exiting the tournament on Sunday night as well as a whole host of other contenders bowing out in the group stage, England have risen to outright favouritism to lift the World Cup. The Lionesses were dominant in their group with wins in all three matches, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. Midfielder Lauren James has been the player of the tournament to date, highlighted by her two-goal three-assist performance last start. England simply have too much class for Nigeria and I expect them to be winning this by 2+ goals as a result.
Australia vs Denmark
Monday 8:30pm AEST, August 7th, Olympic Stadium (Sydney)
Click here for our full preview and best bet!
Colombia vs Jamaica
Tuesday 6pm AEST, August 8th, AAMI Park (Melbourne)
An unlikely matchup at this stage of the tournament will see #25 ranked Colombia take on #43 ranked Jamaica for a place in the quarterfinals. Although losing their most recent match to Morocco, Colombia were able to finish on top of Group H. Their best result to date was a 2-1 win over #2 ranked Germany, although there was certainly a lot of luck involved in that win considering their expected goals were just 0.42 compared to the Germans 1.81. The Colombians now take on surprise packet Jamaica who have remarkably kicked just one goal from three matches, yet they were able to progress due to keeping three clean sheets. Still, the Jamaicans will need to go up another couple of levels in the knockout phase and I’m not sure they have it in them. The most recent result between these teams was a 2-0 win to Colombia in 2019 and something similar is expected again this time around.
France vs Morocco
Tuesday 9pm AEST, August 8th, Coopers Stadium (Adelaide)
The most one-sided Round of 16 match both on paper and in the betting markets is the final match which sees France ($1.14) take on Morocco ($15) in Adelaide. France are ranked #5 in the world and finished on top of Group F with a 2-1-0 record, while Morocco are ranked #72 and finished second in Group H (2-0-1). Regardless of what happens on Tuesday night, the Moroccans have exceeded expectations by a mile in Australia, so in some ways they have nothing to lose when they take on the heavily favoured French. In saying that, France should be far too strong, particularly at this stage of the tournament, and I expect them to win this one to nil.
