The 2023 Women’s World Cup is under way! Hosted in Australia and New Zealand, the tournament features 32 of the best footballing nations in the world seeking glory. For every match day, Canada Sports Betting will break down the matches ahead, providing the key odds and story lines you need to make a play, courtesy of our friends at bet365.
Due to the unique schedule of the tournament, we’ll be looking one day forward at a time. Today we’ll be covering July 20th‘s fixtures. These include:
- New Zealand vs. Norway, 3:00 a.m. ET
- Australia vs. Republic of Ireland, 6:00 a.m. ET
- Nigeria vs. Canada, 10:30 p.m. ET
While you wait for the next match day, also consider checking out our Group Previews:
Group A – Group B – Group C – Group D – Group E – Group F – Group G – Group H
Featured Match: 10:30 p.m. Nigeria vs Canada
| Nigeria Win In Full Time | +750 |
| Canada Win in Full Time | -340 |
| Draw After Full Time | +450 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over -175, under +135) |
| Time/Date | Thursday, July 20, 10:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
The last game of the first match day will be our main focus, as it involves our Canadian ladies as the begin their quest to win their first World Cup! Canada is looking to bounce back from a Round of 16 ouster in 2019, hoping for an outcome more like their Olympic Gold Medal run the following year. They come to Perth on a bit of a rocky road, with just one win to their name in the calendar year (over Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup), but remain the favourites in this group and and get the benefit of facing their Group B opponents in reverse order from an odds perspective.
While they haven’t faced Nigeria at the World Cup stage in eleven years, their most recent meeting was a 2-2 draw in a friendly in April 2022. Canada had won the previous two friendlies. Nigeria is the African team most familiar with qualifying, making the tournament every time since it’s 1991 inception, but they’ve won just 4 of 26 matches. Containing Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria’s star forward who has scored at nearly a goal per game clip in her last four club seasons at Barcelona, will be key to Canada’s success.
Most likely to score for Canada according to bet365 are Christine Sinclair (-138 anytime), Cloe Lacasse (+120), and Evelyne Veins (+120). A Bet Boost is available for Sinclair (+350, up from +333) or Adrianna Leon (+550, up from +500) to be the first scorer. Canada will be wise to play aggressive and try to pull multiple goals out of this game.
Canada to Win in Full Time
3:00 a.m. Match: New Zealand vs. Norway
| New Zealand Win In Full Time | +750 |
| Norway Win in Full Time | -450 |
| Draw After Full Time | +475 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over -163, under +125) |
| Time/Date | Thursday, July 20, 3:00 a.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
The first match of the tournament is in some very inopportune hours for live viewers. Alas, this is going to be a trend for much of the tournament, at least in group stages – powerhouse nations will have the schedule somewhat massaged to them, but generally speaking, we’re at the mercy of one of the most far-away time zones from us. For reference, games hosted in New Zealand are played 16 hours ahead of time in Ontario, while games hosted in Australia are played 14 hours ahead.
Unfortunately, the hosts are heavy underdogs in this Group A battle. Norway’s offensive depth gives them a major edge here, as it did in their last meeting against each other in 2022, where the Norwegians won 2-0. It’s been a while since the two have faced off in World Cup action, however, dating all the way back to the first Women’s World Cup in 1991. To give an idea of how long ago that is, Norwegian coach Hege Riise was one of the goal scorers in that game.
An ideal result for the Kiwis would be a draw, giving them some wiggle room as they battle for the second seed. A win, while unlikely, would be historic.
Norway to Win in Full Time
6:00 a.m. Match: Australia vs. Republic of Ireland
| Australia Win In Full Time | -334 |
| Republic of Ireland Win in Full Time | +850 |
| Draw After Full Time | +425 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over -134, under +105) |
| Time/Date | Thursday, July 20, 6:00 a.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
For our other opening game, played at a slightly more manageable time, we get a Group B matchup between co-hosts Australia and the Republic of Ireland. With the two being in the same group as Canada, and projected as the 2 and 3 seeds in the group, an ideal result here would likely be a draw. Alas, that seems pretty likely to happen. Australia are the noted favourites in this matchup as it is, but will have an extra jolt in their step playing in front of their home crowd at this stage.
The last time these two countries faced each other, the Irish came out as 3-2 winners in a friendly, but that was nearly two years ago now and the Matildas have only gotten stronger since. Sam Kerr is expected to lead the way for Australia, and even has a bet365 Bet Boost right now to be the first scorer (+240, up from +225, or -165 to score anytime).
