We won’t be devoid of football this summer, as the FIFA Women’s World Cup will burst onto our screens. There is a huge anticipation for this major tournament, as it always brings the best out of each national team, who will all be eager to take a step further or even get their hands on the trophy. England has great expectations after winning the Euro in their last major competition, but so does the USA, who are gunning to break records by winning the World Cup three times in a row.
Hosting the tournament will be Australia and New Zealand, making it the first-ever co-hosted Women’s World Cup. Make sure to visit LV BET Sports Blog for an updated view of the Women’s World Cup this summer. Make sure to follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
Draw confirmation
The qualified 32 teams were divided into four different pots, which correspond to the world rankings as of October 13. Since Australia and New Zealand will host the tournament, they were also placed in pot one, alongside the top six ranked national teams, including England.
The groups are as follows:
Group A – New Zealand, Norway, Philippines and Switzerland
Group B – Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and Canada
Group C – Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan
Group D – England, Haiti, Denmark and China
Group E – USA, Vietnam, The Netherlands and Portugal
Group F – France, Jamaica, Brazil and Panama
Group G – Sweden, South Africa, Itay and Argentina
Group H – Germany, Morocco, Columbia and Korea Republic
Schedule
The group stage will be played over a two-week period, from July 20th until August 3rd, after which the winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5th to August 8th. The quarter-finals will be on August 11th and 12th, with the semi-finals being played on the 15th and 16th of August. The final will be played at the Accor Stadium in Sydney on the 20th of August.
Outright favourites
During the Women’s FIFA World Cup in France, it was a straight fight between the reigning World Champions and the European Champions at the time where, the Netherlands. Will it be a straight fight between the European champions and the reigning champions once again down under? We are pricing the USA to make history by winning the Women’s World Cup three times in a row at 4.00, with England keeping them close company at 4.50. Both teams have a very young and versatile squad who are more than capable to go all the way. During the Euro’s, England played some scintillating football, registering one of the biggest wins in Euro history when they beat Norway 8-0. An even more impressive victory was the one against Sweden in the semi-final when they ran riot and scored four; scores that are rarely seen during the late stages of a tournament. Following up to the big two are Spain and Germany who are priced at 7.00 and 8.00 respectively. The squad is great and they should go through the group stages fairly comfortably, but they might come a bit unstuck as the squad depth is not on the same level as England’s or USA’s.
Make sure to visit along this wonderful journey as we witness the ninth Women’s FIFA World Cup.