Women’s World Cup: Spain or England? Take your Pick!

Spain vs England

We’re finally there folks, the Women’s World Cup final is just three days away and, by the end of the weekend, either Spain or England will be the queens of World Football.

The pre-final Women’s World Cup 2023 betting odds make Jorge Vilda’s Spain the slight favourites,  but they will have to play the game of their lives to beat Sarina Wiegman’s England, who are already European Champions and know what it takes to win a major tournament. 

Talking Points

Spain’s off-field problems seem to be long gone

La Roja have been mightily impressive during this competition with five dominant wins and a single loss in a dead rubber.

Vilda’s girls beat Costa Rica 3-0 and Zambia 5-0 to be the first team through to the knockout phase, and then lost 4-0 to Japan in their third game as the head coach rested and protected players.

In the Round of 16, Spain thrashed Switzerland 5-1, and then beat the Netherlands, who had topped a group containing the USA, in the quarter finals.

They have never previously been past the Round of 16 in a world finals, so to beat an experienced Sweden side in the semi-final shows how strong this Spain side has become, and now they are just one step away from glory.

It has been a brilliant run for a team beset by off-field problems over the past year. 15 Spanish players said they didn’t want to play for Spain last September, principally because they were unhappy with Vilda, and only three have returned but the absent 12 certainly haven’t been missed.  

Olga Carmona scored the winner against Sweden with a stunning strike, which went in off the underside of the crossbar to win the game in the dying moments, and La Roja will take that momentum with them into the final.  

Spain have played some scintillating football during this tournament, scoring for fun, and the heartbeat of their team has been Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati.

She was a key figure in the Blaugrana’s 2021 treble-winning campaign and now at 25 years of age, she is one of the most cultured players in the women’s sport.

Bonmati controls the pace of the game, provides good protection for her defence and she has a superb goals to game ratio, with 19 goals in 53 games for Spain.   

Euro champs now want the world crown

Australia vs England as a semi-final fixture had plenty of spice to it, because the Aussie media taunted England after their cricket teams, men and women, retained the Ashes in England this summer.

The Lionesses exacted some revenge, and now they are ready to add the World Title to their European title.

It hasn’t been easy for Wiegman’s team. They struggled past an experienced group of players from Haiti and battled to a 1-0 win over Denmark, but they did show their teeth in a 6-1 win over China.

A Round of 16 match with Nigeria went to penalties and then England fought hard to beat Colombia 2-1.

Their win over Australia was the most impressive of the lot as Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo scored late goals after Ella Toone’s opener had been cancelled out by Aussie legend Sam Kerr.        

The Lionesses’ breakout star in this campaign was Lauren James, Chelsea’s emerging striker, and the 21-year-old scored three goals in the early stages, with two against China.

But James, the younger sister of England star Reece James, had a brain freeze in the match against Nigeria when she was red carded for standing on Nigerian star Michelle Alozie.

She has been repentant and escaped with a two-match ban, which means James is available for the final where the eyes of the world will be on her. I suspect she’ll start on the bench, but James is sure to make an impact when called upon. 

History

England have won five of their nine meetings with Spain, losing two and drawing two, and the last time the two nations met, the Lionesses came out on top to book a place in the 2022 European Championships semi-final. England’s Georgia Stanway scored an extra time stunner to win that game.  

Both teams have had impressive Women’s World Cup 2023 results with five wins each from their six outings.

Betting Tip

The Spaniards, ranked sixth in the world by FIFA, are the SBOTOP favourites to win this game at odds of 2.46. But the Lionesses, ranked fourth, are not far behind at a price of 2.57 with the draw in 90 minutes at 2.82.

1-1 in normal time is the most likely outcome at odds of 4.74, while 2-0 to Spain is available at 12.52.

 

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