The USWNT face their toughest challenge so far at the 2019 World Cup as they face host nation France in a match that could decide who goes on to win the tournament.
Women’s World Cup Quarter Final France v USA
Kick Off 3pm ET, live on ESPN.
USWNT v France Betting Odds
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USWNT v France Preview
The 2019 Women’s World Cup has been a huge success so far, with the hosts, France, doing a tremendous job of filling the stadiums and creating fantastic atmospheres, which has led to unprecedented exposure for women’s soccer.
The introduction of VAR for the tournament has caused some problems, not least the awarding of 17 penalties in the first 32 matches, including two in the USWNT’s 2-1 victory over Spain in the Last 16 play-off game.
That win was the fourth in a row for Jill Ellis’s girls, with the concession of the 9th minute goal from Spain only the first that the USWNT have allowed in 360 minutes of soccer in France. They haven’t really been tested (as the 13-0 win over Thailand illustrated) but it is quite an achievement to be 20-1 after four fixtures.
That form has seen USA become the favorites to win the World Cup and a win over France in Friday’s quarter-final appears to be the only barrier between the Stars and Stripes and a fourth title. They go into the match against the host nation as the +120 favorites, and will attract a lot of patriotic wagers, but it may be better to look away from the Money Line in Paris.
France, who began the World Cup as favorites, have done nothing wrong in their four matches so far, winning all four. They needed extra time to beat Brazil, but the Samba Girls are one of the giants of women’s soccer and the fact that they battled through augurs well for Les Bleus.
They won’t go down without a fight and in Wendie Renard they have a captain who is coming up with key goals in key moments for her side. The Lyon defender, who is the tallest player at the World Cup, rose to score twice in the high pressure opening match and then netted the penalty that sealed a 1-0 victory over Nigeria.
Renard is not the only star player for France, with Amandine Henry the favorite to be the Player of the Tournament at the moment, and Valerie Gauvin and Eugenie Le Sommer running her close with their attacking prowess. The USA weren’t convincing against Spain and if France can use the power of the home crowd then they may be able to spring an upset in the odds.
USWNT v France Key Stats
- The USWNT are the Top Scorers at the 2019 Women’s World Cup with 20 goals in 4 games. 13 of these came in a record 13-0 win against Thailand
- Alex Morgan is the tournament’s Top Scorer with 5 goals in 4 games. All five were scored in the win over Thailand.
- VAR is being used in the World Cup for the first time. There have been 17 penalties awarded in the 32 matches so far in France.
- Eugenie Le Sommer is the penalty taker for France. Megan Rapinoe takes spot kicks for USWNT.
- Wendie Renard is the tallest player at the Women’s World Cup at 6ft 2in. The French captain has scored 3 goals in 4 games.
USWNT Line Movements
France began the tournament as the favorites to win the Women’s World Cup but the performances of the USWNT has seen them overtake Les Bleus in the Futures market.
USWNT opened as +110 favorites to win Friday’s match, but have moved slightly to a biggest price of +125 with some New Jersey Sportsbooks.
France opened at +250 underdogs but have been bet in slightly and only FanDuel are holding at +240. The other New Jersey books have the host nation at around +220.
The majority of money from the legal New Jersey and Philadelphia sportsbooks have, understandably, been placed on the USA.
USWNT v France Prediction
The match has been billed by USA legend Hope Solo as “the match of the century” and with that kind of pressure it’s likely that we’ll see a lot of nerves and some disjointed play. The home side may be best placed to capitalize on that though as they will have the extra energy and aggression in their play.
Wendie Renard’s towering presence will help negate the USWNT’s set-piece ability and her threat going forward shouldn’t be under-estimated. If she can build a solid platform then her more attacking team-mates like Gauvin, Le Sommer and wingers Kadidatou Diani and Viviane Assayi may swing the balance in favor of France, who shouldn’t be as big underdogs as the line makers have them.
Renard’s odds of +650 at PointsBet for a goal also look to be too big. The 6ft 1in defender is a full 6 inches taller than US centre-backs Becky Sauerbrunn and Abby Dahlkemper.
