Women’s World Cup Group B Preview

Tottenham forward Kyah Simon, who scored 29 international goals, tore her ACL in October in Spurs’ 2-1 win over Reading in a League Cup match, but we can find her on the roster. Alanna Kennedy is also on the roster, despite the 28-year-old Manchester City defender appearing in only eight games this past season with a number of injuries.

Australia’s star remains captain, Samantha Kerr. Fresh off of another Women’s Super League title win with Chelsea and a 29-goal campaign across all competitions. Kerr’s hit rate at the Blues has been astonishing, netting 90 goals in 116 appearances.

A tough group with Canada and Ireland awaits. Still, the quality in the squad should be enough for Australia to make a run in front of home fans, so we will include them in our Women’s World Cup picks and parlays. Australia has nine WSL players, with rising star Mary Fowler set to dominate this competition, and has a huge chance of winning it all, priced at +1200 according to the latest Women’s World Cup odds, with the home crowd advantage.

Canada: Olympic Winners

Canada returns to major international competition for the first time since claiming its first-ever Olympic triumph at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games. The team boasts several world-class talents like Chelsea defensive trio of Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence and midfielder Jessie Fleming.

They faced some great opponents in the build-up to the Women’s World Cup. A pair of wins against Australia in Brisbane and Sydney in September was the first of five wins on the bounce for Bev Priestman’s side, but their form since has been patchy at best.

Canada has faced Brazil twice and the United States, France, and Japan once since that five-game winning streak and have won just once, so if you’re betting online, you shouldn’t expect them to go all the way and win the trophy. They will probably qualify further, but it’s risky to back them.

The Canadian national team is in the midst of a pay dispute with the Canada Soccer Association. The dispute has been long-running, as the women’s team fights for equal pay with their male counterparts in the international setup.

Ireland Eager to Pull Off Upset

Ireland is an older but experienced squad who knows how to play well together and have a sneaky chance of making it out of the group stage. However, the world-class quality of Canada and Australia, who have made it to multiple semi-finals in similar tournaments, should be too strong.

Vera Pauw’s side heads to Australia and New Zealand after capturing one of the final spots available in a UEFA playoff last fall by beating Scotland. Katie McCabe, the 27-year-old Arsenal midfielder, is the best-known player in the squad and is capable of winning games on her own.

Pauw will hope that her team can show the same mettle it did to advance into the knockout round, but it will take more than that. They must bring their A-game and fight for every ball in every game.

Nigeria’s Internal Crisis

Nigeria heads into the tournament as winners of three straight games after a brutal seven-match losing streak. On-field performance was only one of Randy Waldrum’s worries, with reports of a massive controversy in the locker room following a falling out between captain and Super Falcons legend Onome Obi and the team’s best player, Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala, over the captain’s armband.

Nigeria’s journey to the World Cup has not been without its controversy. Nigerian Football Federation canceled a training camp in Nigeria prior to the squads’ arrival Down Under as one of many of his causes for concern. Waldrum also noted the federation’s attempts to interfere with squad selection, asking him to select a goalkeeper he had never seen and had never taken part in one of his squads. We expect Nigeria to struggle, but we also expect them to score goals.