With the 2023 Women's World Cup underway, our football expert previews the second round of group games for favourites USA, Spain and England who all won their opening games.

 

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Spain vs Zambia (Wednesday 07:30 UTC)

New Zealand's national stadium, Eden Park in Auckland hosts this Group C bout. The 50,000-seat venue hosted the inaugural match of the competition where the host nation beat Norway 1-0. History was made as this was the first victory in a men's or women's World Cup, as well as a record attendance for a football match on home soil with 42,137.

Spain heads into the match unequivocally as the favourites to triumph. They sit at the top of the table with three points, having easily swept aside Costa Rica in the opening fixture. Tragedy befell the Central Americans with an own goal in the twenty-first minute.

The defence seemed to waver in the following ten, as the scoreline was extended by goals shortly after from FC Barcelonas Aitana Bonmatí and Real Madrids Esther González. More goals can well be anticipated in this match with over 4.5 total goals in 90 minutes at 1.645.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Zambia, making their inaugural tournament appearance. Falling afoul of a rampant Japanese team last week, who now leads the scoring for the tournament thus far with the 5-0 victory, with two goals from Hinata Miyazawa. Frustration eventually reared its head with a late red card for Catherine Musonda in extra time. They'll face an even more potent opponent mid-week and although three points may seem out of reach, conceding less than five will be a victory in itself.

 

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United States vs Netherlands (Thursday 01:00 UTC)

The penultimate of Group E's second round of games occurs in the Wellington Regional Stadium, New Zealand - the arena will no doubt be full for this grudge match. A win for either side is highly anticipated to determine the order of first and second place and lead to prospective opportunities in the knockout stages.

The Stars and Stripes stride atop the table on goal difference after a solid 3-0 victory over Vietnam. Portland Thorns striker Sophia Smith jointly leads the tournament's tally at this early stage now with two goals, with the match's third coming from Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan. The Asian side barely threatened at all with no shots on goal and was dominated by the States having 66% of ball possession.

Indeed it seems they were lucky not to concede more with twenty-eight shots against them, with seven on target. This is due to the heroic efforts of Vietnamese goalkeeper Thi Kim Thanh Tran who was stoic in front of the goalposts, saving a penalty attempt from Alex Morgan in the forty-fourth minute, albeit it was a meek attempt.

The Dutch also enjoy three points after a positive but lukewarm start to their campaign, frustrating Portugal with a slim 1-0. Ajax defender Stefanie van der Gragt, put Oranje into an early lead with a powerful header that was initially ruled out, although the video assistant referee facilitated a review of the decision. Many could have expected more against a debutant side such as Portugal, however, they won’t be the first or last team to have an underwhelming start to a competition before future accolades.

American attacking potential won't be lacking in this match, however, we will see how the defence of both sides holds up in this all-star fixture - 1x2 1.71 3.69 5.27.

 

England vs Denmark (Friday 08:30 UTC)

The final match of our weekly World Cup preview is a Red & White battle of North Sea nations. Kick-off will commence at the Allianz Stadium, Sydney in Australia. Although favour is likely to swing towards the Anglo side, shaky first-round results for both squads could undoubtedly lead to opportunity in the goal box.

England commenced their World Cup campaign hotly anticipated as one of the favourites. No surprise, given that a year ago they were victorious in the Euro 2022 competition, triumphing 2-1 over Germany. If one was to take recent accolades and the statistics for their last game against Haiti into account, it could well be presumed that there would have been a goal rush seen on the scoreboard. However, 75% possession, twenty-one shots with seven on target, did not seem to garner the expected result.

Although it was 1-0 to the Lionesses, the Caribbean nation can proudly take the result home as a victory. A draw could well have been on the cards, if Bayern Munchen forward Georgia Stanway was not afforded a penalty, then a retake after goalkeeper Kerly Théus came off the line before the shot. Hiccups aside, this next game's result will surely determine the state of affairs in Group D irrevocably.

Denmark kicked off their campaign against China, with little between them in world rankings it was sure to be a close game and the score was just that with a 1-0 result to the Scandinavians. PSG's Amalie Vangsgaard came off the bench and headed home an 89th-minute goal to give the Danes their first World Cup win since 2007, coincidentally held in China.

Ever prevalent in international proceedings lately Pernille Harder provided the assist from the corner flag. In a hard-fought win, the Danes showed they can be resilient in defence and still provide opportunity in the dying embers of a match.1x2 assuredly leans towards England with 1.427 4.410 8.520, though it's hard to predict a result. Though with both sides showing a stalwart defence in recent results, perhaps a draw will be more likely? 1-1 8.87.

**Odds are subject to change. Odds accurate as of 12:00 UTC Tuesday 25th July**

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