2019 Women’s World Cup Football Odds, Preview, and Predictions

The 2019 Women’s World Cup kicks off on June 7, 2019, with an opening match between host France and South Korea. That will be followed by the group stages where we will see two to three matches per day for the next two weeks leading to the knockout stages.

This year’s Women’s World Cup includes 24 teams from all over the globe. The teams are split into six groups for the first stage of the tournament. These are the groupings after the draw:

• Group A: France, South Korea, Norway, Nigeria
• Group B: Germany, China, Spain, South Africa
• Group C: Australia, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica
• Group D: England, Scotland, Argentina, Japan
• Group E: Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, Netherlands
• Group F: United States, Thailand, Chile Sweden

The teams will play their group-mates in a round-robin stage. The top two teams from each group will move on to the next round. Four third-place teams which accrue the most points in stage one will also move on to the next round to complete the round of 16. The remaining teams will then play in a knockout format until one team is crowned as 2019 Women’s world champions.

The knockout round is played in standard tournament format with the teams playing 90 minutes of regulation and an additional 30 minutes of extra time if needed. Should the teams remain tied at the end of the extra time, a shootout will determine the winner.

The final of the 2019 World Cup will be held at the Stade de Lyon in Lyon, France on July 7, 2019. The match will start at 11 am ET and 5 pm local time in France.

Here are the odds to win the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Odds were taken from TopBet.eu as of 5/28/19:

Who Are The Favorites?

The United States enter this tournament as the soccer betting favorites being the 2015 Women’s World Cup champions. But perhaps not only are the Americans the favorites because they won the last time out but also because of the manner how they won the Final. The US women’s national football team won the 2015 World Cup final in the most memorable American soccer games of all-time as Carli Lloyd recorded a hat trick in the first 16-minutes of the game to break it wide open and break the hearts of Japan. The U.S. would win with the final score of 5-2 but it was the fastest hat trick in World Cup history that stood out.

The U.S. women’s team were also a finalist in 2011 but they lost in penalties to Japan, after ending regulation play with a 2-2 tie. The Americans won their first Tournament of Nations in 2018 but after losing their first two matches in the 2019 She Believes Cup, there are questions on how head coach Jill Ellis can put it all together in the 2019 World Cup.

France is the host of the 2019 Women’s World Cup so it isn’t surprising why the French are among the top betting favorites to win it all. Amandine Henry is fresh off leading her club Lyon to victory the Women’s Champions League final. Coach Corinne Diacre has a very talented team at hand but there is also huge pressure for the team to win the tournament especially after they came up empty-handed in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil and 2017 Euro in the Netherlands.

Germany won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007 and made the final in 1995. The Germans were 4th in 2015 but after winning Group 5 of the UEFA qualification, they are on a mission going to France on a mission. Ranked as the #2 women’s football team by FIFA, Germany had 35 goals and only conceded three goals in the qualifiers.

England is among the top favorites after beating the Americans in the 2019 She Believes Cup last March. Phil Neville’s team has plenty of young blood and diversity in styles as the English move to a passing and attacking approach. England hopes that Fran Kirby won’t be hounded by the knee issues that hampered her domestic campaign with Chelsea.

Who Wins?

Sure, the criticism on Jill Ellis’ handling of the team is the biggest concern for the United States team. According to her critics, she has continued to test wild ideas without hypotheses and in doing so, is setting up her team to fail. Skeptics are also worried about the team she’s picked as she has preferred experience over recent form. She has also been criticized for not providing enough cover for several positions, specifically at fullback.

The only defender playing as a left-back is starter Crystal Dunn, who isn’t even a left-back in her professional club. Casey Short would have been the other option at that position but despite several call-ups including in 2015, Ellis made a surprise move to cut her. Sure, you can argue that Team USA’s 2015 squad also didn’t have the depth at every position but they were lucky they didn’t need it and won the tournament, as they’ve always won tournaments, on sheer individual talent. But who knows what’s in store for them this year?

Remember that England beat them in the final of 2019 She Believes Cup last March. For sure, the Lionesses will head to the World Cup with plenty of confidence. And having placed third in 2015, England will for sure be a worthy contender for Team USA. I’m picking the United States to win, based on talent and experience. However, I won’t blame you if you take the extra plus money on England and go with the second favorites.

I also have a dark horse pick for this competition and that is Brazil at +2000 and to me, they have the best betting value. The Brazilians qualified for the World Cup in convincing fashion. They won the Copa America Feminina for the seventh time by scoring a total of 31 goals and allowing just two in seven wins during the competition.  Six-time World Player of the Year Marta is among the most experienced players in the tournament and will be making her fifth World Cup appearance. The 2007 World Cup runners up have a young and talented team that is hungry for success and they have the leadership of Marta to help steer them to success.

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