Women’s World Cup 2023 Betting Guide
The Women’s World Cup is a global spectacle. The best teams from across the globe compete to be crowned champions. Check out the LeoVegas betting guide to the Women’s World Cup 2023 below.
When Is the Women’s World Cup?
This year the FIFA Women’s World Cup will begin on July 20th, with the final taking place a month later on August 20th. The action will be split between the countries of Australia and New Zealand. The grand final will be held at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.
The opening game will take place at Eden Park, Auckland, and will feature hosts New Zealand against Norway. This will herald the start of the group stages, where the top two from each of the four teams will progress. From the 5th of August to the 8th the round of 16 group stages will begin. This will move on to the quarter-finals, semis, and then the grand finale.
- Group Stages: 20th July – 3rd August
- Round of 16: 5th – 8th August
- Quarters: 11th – 12h August
- Semi-finals: 15th – 16th August
- 3rd Place: 19th August
- Final: 20th August
Women’s World Cup 2023 Groups
This tournament will feature 32 teams, up from the previous tournament's total of 24. They were chosen by continental championships and a qualifying competition. Australia and New Zealand, as the first co-hosts, gained automatic qualification. The 32 teams were then divided into eight groups based on their world ranking.
Group A
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Philippines
- Switzerland
Group B
- Australia
- Republic of Ireland
- Nigeria
- Canada
Group C
- Spain
- Costa Rica
- Zambia
- Japan
Group D
- England
- Haiti
- Denmark
- China
Group E
- USA
- Vietnam
- The Netherlands
- Portugal
Group F
- France
- Jamaica
- Brazil
- Panama
Group G
- Sweden
- South Africa
- Italy
- Argentina
Group H
- Germany
- Morocco
- Columbia
- Korea Republic
Women’s World Cup Favourites and Potential Surprises
The US National Team is currently the favourite to become world champions. Previous winners in 2019, they have shown no signs of slowing down in the four years since. In the tournament in France, they easily came top of the group stage, fending off Thailand, Chile, and Sweden. The knockout stages proved tougher yet they still beat top side Spain, moving on to France, England, and the Netherlands in the final.
Hot on their heels are the English. While they went out in the semis in 2019, they are fresh off the back of a European Championship triumph, so have momentum on their side. Sarina Wiegman’s team has gone from strength to strength, and they are good contestants to win the cup.
A surprise could come from the host nation Australia. With the home-ground advantage behind them, the team is currently ranked 12th in the world and could go much further than expected. Lesser-favoured teams have done it before. New Zealand, though co-hosts have less depth to their squad. Currently 22nd in the world rankings, they may just make it past a group stage that has a crop of teams with a fairly similar ability.
Women’s World Cup Players to Watch
There are a host of world-class players heading to the competition. Below is our pick of who may be the star of the show when July comes.
Alexia Putellas, Spain
Alexia Putellas is the captain of club side Barcelona and the Spanish women's team. She is entering the tournament coming off the back of a terrible ACL tear, which means she missed last summer's European event and a friendly. However, this just means she will arrive with something to prove. Having won the Ballon d’Or twice before, she will be hoping to recapture her glory. If you want to get her amazing back story, then check out the three-part docuseries about her on Amazon Prime.
Fran Kirby, England
Fran Kirby is one of the all-time great goal scorers for her club team Chelsea. She is a formidable player, full of skill and mentally strong.
England’s success at the Euros was partly down to her ability. Scoring two goals during the competition, her form has continued unabated, and she will undoubtedly hammer it home in 2023.
Sam Kerr, Australia
Sam Kerr plays at Chelsea and is the captain of the Aussie women's team. Her accolades are lengthy. She has played for the team since 15, is their all-time leading goal scorer, and is well-known for her club appearances. She has also won the golden boot in three different leagues. At 28 and captain since 2019, Sam Kerr is a rock for the Matilda’s and is one to watch.
Vivianne Miedema, Netherlands (Out of Action)
One player notable in her absence is Vivianne Miedama. She is worth a mention because not being in the event could have huge consequences for her team. Unfortunately, a recent knee injury has meant she will miss the Women's World Cup.
Miedama is a football great. As a youngster, she moved her club side from Bayern Munich to Arsenal, and in the same year helped the Netherlands win Euro 2017. Miedama was also integral to them reaching the final in 2019. The woman is a goal-scoring machine and has a record for the Super League in her home country and the Netherlands. It is hard to say how the Netherlands will perform, but it will undoubtedly suffer hugely without Miedema, which may influence your choice of favourites.
How to Prepare Your Women’s World Cup Bets
Preparing your bets for the World Cup is not something that should be taken lightly. Though there are favourites, nothing is certain. Lesser fancied teams become giant killers and fancied squads can fail to make it out of the group stages. It pays to do your research in the run-up to the event and as it is taking place. Below are our main considerations for preparing your bet:
Performance In Qualifications
One consideration to make is how well a team did in its qualification for the tournament. If they breezed through undefeated, it bodes well for success in the main event. If they struggled with losses, draws, and the occasional win, they may be less fancied.
When it comes to performance, there are quite a few bets you can make. You don’t just have to pick the winner outright. In some cases where teams are highly favoured, it makes more sense to bet based on these factors.
Exact score – These bets are the most common after putting on a bet for the outright winner. They ask you to predict the score of a game. For example, in the opening match of New Zealand against Norway, you may decide that it will be 2 – 1 for the hosts. Depending on the score and how favoured the teams are, this will dictate the odds you get. Of course, these will change as the tournament goes on, so the best prices are usually found earlier.
Over 2.5 Goals – These types of bets are used to predict the score, but you can apply them to how many or how few a team will score in a match. The . is used to make the bet more clear, as half goals are not used in football. For example, if you had a bet for England to score over 2.5 goals in a match and they scored three, you would win the bet. If they score two, you don’t, as there is a .5 in place. You can make this higher or lower depending on the bet, and the odds will change accordingly.
Matches Drawn at Half Time – This is a straightforward bet, that lets you bet on a draw at half-time. It is usually a good one to take if teams seem evenly matched.
Groups Performance and Schedule
Once you know how a team performed in qualifying and the tournament starts, you can begin to see how they perform in the group stages. However, all of this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Many teams have limped through the group stages and then gone on to win the tournament as they find their feet.
The schedule itself can also be punishing. While games are spread out for maximum recovery time, it is not always the case. Teams may go from a knockout game to another in as little as two days. In teams that lack depth, this can be dangerous, especially when fatigue and injuries begin to set in. Added to this is the fact that many teams are still acclimatising to the weather and time zones.
Stats
Statistics can tell you a lot about a team and how they have performed in the run-up to competition and during it. While there are many statistics to look at, the goal average is one of the main ones. See how many a team is banging in or even taking in at the other end. If they have a high goal-scoring record but are not winning that many, it may just need a change around in defence, and they could be away. Their defensive record may not matter so much against teams who have little going forward but could see them crumble in the face of stronger opposition.
Finally, check their possession statistics. If a team holds the ball longer, they have less chance of conceding and more chance of scoring goals.
Team Morale
Another thing to look at is team morale. This often comes from behind the scenes and plays out on the pitch. If a team has low morale, it is often reflected in performance, and when the team is in high spirits, this shows in their play.
Morale can be impacted by a lot of things. It may be tension between the team and the manager, or it could be due to previous performances. Check social media and the newspapers to see how the team is feeling and get an idea of the mental space they are in competing.
Has Ireland Qualified for the Women’s World Cup?
For the first time in history, the Irish Women’s national team has made it to a major competition and qualified for the world cup. They finished second in their group behind Sweden, giving them a place in the playoffs. Beating Scotland, they then sealed their spot. Ireland has been placed in a group with hosts Australia, who will be the ones to beat. Also in the group is Canada, a tough opposition with some standout players.
Women’s World Cup Winners
The past two women's football world cups have been dominated by the USA, who will be the defending champions. Before this, Germany played a huge part in the competition. Below are the results for the last five tournaments:
2019 – United States 2015 – United States 2011 – Japan 2007 – Germany 2003 - Germany
Women’s World Cup History
The Women's World Cup dates back to 1970 when unofficial competitions started in Italy. During this decade, many countries began to lift bans on women in sports, prompting more women to take up football.
After a tournament in Asia in 1975 and Europe in 1984, more official competitions were planned with a 1988 invitational held in China. A huge success, it saw the first official tournament begin in 1991. Since then, the US has been the dominant force winning four times.
As male football boomed in the nineties, the women's game still took a backseat. Yet in the past few years, increased focus has been put on the women's game. New television deals have brought it to wider audiences, and the Women's world cup is now a highly anticipated global sporting event.
How to Bet on the Women’s World Cup at LeoVegas
At LeoVegas, you can find competitive odds on all games at the Women's World Cup and beyond. We also provide multiple betting markets, providing all the choices you need. Luckily, this is all extremely easy to do.
Start by visiting LeoVegas and signing up for an account. This process is relatively straightforward. Once your account is open and you have made a deposit, you can begin betting. All you need is an email address and a secure password. You may find that you benefit from one of our attractive welcome bonuses.
Once logged in, head over to the sports betting section and look for football. You should find a whole section with the Women’s World Cup on it and games that are just about to begin