World Cup 2023 preview – can the Lionesses do it Down Under?
Fresh from triumphing at the Euros last year, now England eye even greater glory. But can favourites USA stop the Lionesses from landing their first World Cup trophy?
This year’s tournament takes place across Australia and New Zealand, kicking off on 20th July; England get their tournament started a couple of days later, taking on Haiti in their opening game, with Sarina Wiegman’s side 1/50 to take the win – not a price that’s crying out to be backed, admittedly.
England are second favourites to win
There’s slightly more juice in the odds for the outright win; England are second favs to win the tournament at 7/2, with the USA 5/2 to lift the trophy.
It’s no surprise the Americans are well fancied, given they’ve won the last two World Cups. In fact, they’ve finished as champions in this competition a total of four times – impressive, given this is only the ninth time the tournament’s been played.
Still, the USA have had some setbacks this time round. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn is out through injury, as are strikers Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario.
And Megan Rapinoe was injured in the run-up to the tournament, though she has since recovered. The 38-year-old is hoping to lift the World Cup for a third and final time; she’s retiring at the end of the season.
Can we expect to see one more tour-de-force performance from the player once immortalised in the Deadspin headline “Purple-haired lesbian goddess flattens France like a crepe”? Here’s hoping.
As for England, the furthest they’ve previously managed is a third-place finish in 2015. But after their success under Wiegman a year ago, the side will hope to demonstrate they can get the job done without home advantage; England were the host nation when they were crowned European champions last summer.
In some ways, the team are in reasonable shape too, losing just once since then – though that 2-0 defeat came in the side’s most recent outing, a friendly against Australia where England were downright unimpressive.
That defeat ended a run of 30 unbeaten matches for England; on a more upbeat note, in another friendly last October the Lionesses turned over the USA 2-1 at Wembley.
Mead, Williamson & Kirby miss out through injury
Still, England have a long list of injuries too, with key players like Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby all forced to sit this tournament out. Even with the formidable Wiegman calling the shots, England may struggle to build on last year’s achievement.
Besides USA and England, Spain are third favourites to win at 6/1; this year, the Spanish side will hopefully feature Alexia Putellas, who missed out on last year’s Euros after suffering an ACL injury on the eve of the tournament.
Widely acknowledged as football’s greatest female star, Putellas won back-to-back women’s Ballon d’Or in 2021 and 2022. With Barcelona she’s won seven league titles and two Champions Leagues trophies.
She spent most of last season sidelined with the ACL injury, but is fit to play in Australia and has been named in the final squad.
That said, it’s not all rosy with La Roja. Because of disagreements with Spain coach Jorge Vilda, several other Spanish players have made themselves unavailable for selection. Which doesn’t sound hugely auspicious for the Spanish side…
Of course, with 32 teams vying for the trophy, it’s not a foregone conclusion that one of the most fancied sides is nailed on to take the spoils here.
Sam Kerr can be influential for Australia
Eight debutantes will be in the competition this time, including the likes of Ireland and Portugal. But perhaps it’s one of the co-hosts who has a decent opportunity to shine here.
Australia are 12/1 in the betting, and in Sam Kerr the Matildas have a player who can be hugely influential. The Chelsea forward helped her team to a fourth consecutive league title this season. She has twice been voted player of the year by the West London club’s supporters.
If Kerr is at her best, the Aussies may be worth backing to win the tournament. On a related note, Kerr is 8/1 to finish as top scorer.
Alternatively, Germany’s Alexandra Popp could be worth a look in the same market at 10/1. Popp was the joint-highest scorer at the Euros last year, matching England’s Beth Mead with six goals, and scoring in five consecutive Euros games.
The Germany captain was hugely unfortunate to miss out on the final against England after suffering an injury in the pre-match warm up. But she has continued to impress since her recovery, with 16 goals in 21 appearances for Wolfsburg this season. If England and the USA fall flat this summer, Popp could provide the fizz…
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