2023 Women's World Cup odds: Potential teams to bet on besides USWNT
With the Fourth of July festivities complete and the dust settled from your cookouts, it’s time to turn the page to the Women's World Cup.
The 32-team month-long spectacle begins July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, and if you’re looking for a head start in terms of betting and understanding the bookmaking process, you’re in the right place.
While the vaunted United States Women’s National Team aims to be the first squad to win three straight World Cups, it’s far from a lock to hoist the solid gold trophy at Sydney Olympic Stadium. In fact, the USWNT and England had very similar odds when sportsbooks first went to market.
Thing is, American bettors tend to bet on … America.
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"The United States is the biggest loser for us, and that was by design initially," WynnBET trader Dominick DeBonis told FOX Sports. "I knew it wouldn’t take much to get USA bets. England was looking very good as a co-favorite coming in, but it’s been wrecked by injuries to three of their five best players.
"Currently, we’re at USA +260 and England +375."
After those two powerhouses, WynnBET’s pecking order is Germany (+550), Spain (+800), France (+1200), Sweden (+1400), Australia (+1600), Netherlands (+2000), Brazil (+2500) and Japan (+3000).
First-time participants Panama, Vietnam and the Philippines are the biggest long shots at +500000, and no, you shouldn’t bet any of them.
At first glance, I thought the USA odds seemed a little high, but DeBonis assured me it won’t be a walk in the park for the Americans, mostly due to an aging roster with multiple key injuries. It’s also paramount you don’t confuse past success with future possibility.
What will it take to stop the USWNT at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup?
"It’s a completely new roster from those last two cycles," DeBonis said. "Vlatko Andonovski took over from Jill Ellis as head coach after the last World Cup, and it’s been a really interesting transition period. The Olympics should’ve been the last vestige for the older players, but COVID pushed everything back and those older players were kept on the roster.
"I don’t have a lot of confidence in Vlatko as a coach. He took the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ approach when most of the core players from the last cycle were in their 30s. Alex Morgan was the youngest core piece, and she was 29 when the USA won the World Cup.
"That’s also why it won the bronze at the Olympics."
Harsh but fair.
"There are a bunch of injuries to the established players, too," DeBonis continued. "Star player Christen Press is out. The best midfielder, Sam Mewis, is out. Starting center backs Becky Sauerbrunn and Abby Dahlkemper are both out. And up-and-coming attacker Catarina Macario has a torn ACL.
"There are only nine players on the 2023 [USWNT roster] that have played in the World Cup before, so you’ll basically see a new group."
Moving along, I asked DeBonis to name a goalkeeper who could lead her country on a deep tournament run, and while he didn’t exactly answer the question, he provided something much better.
"It’s more about the back line than the goalie," DeBonis opined. "But look at a team like Spain, for example. Multiple lockdown starters, including the goalie, are a part of a 12-player uprising that pulled out of consideration.
"Spain will be without four lockdown starters."
Dysfunction, anybody?
"France is in the same boat as Spain," DeBonis explained. "France’s three best players threatened not to play if head coach Corinne Diacre wasn’t removed, so she got launched by the French Football Federation.
"For me, it’s more about which favorites aren’t collapsing into turmoil. And the only favorite that’s healthy and in the right age range is Germany. The Germans hit all the indicators. We have them a little lower than market [+550], and some books are as high as +750.
"Germany would be my pick of the favorites."
That’s not to say the Americans can’t win it all.
If a new wave of very talented players rises to the occasion, the Americans can certainly make World Cup history, especially when you consider the experienced veterans who could fill the cracks.
Certainly, there must be some positives in the puzzle.
"Julie Ertz is back after being out for two years, and that’s huge," DeBonis said. "They don’t have anybody who can replace her as a midfield destroyer.
"Sophia Smith is the name that will become a household entity when the games are televised on FOX and the FOX Sports App. She’s by far the most dangerous scoring threat. Alex Morgan will probably start up top again, and the offense will be set up with Morgan, Smith and Trinity Rodman.
"The Americans’ best shot is to use their youthful speed to score goals from the wings. You’ll have Smith working off Morgan, so she should score more.
"Smith will be doing the bulk of the offensive work."
Got any bets for us?
"Brazil to win Group F at +175 or so is one of my favorite plays," DeBonis admitted. "If you want a chalky one, Norway (-300) should smash everybody in Group A. Norway has two of the 10 best players on the planet. There's not much depth, but that group is easy.
"That one is a no-brainer."
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and NESN. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. He'll probably pick against your favorite team. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.
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