The 2023 Women’s World Cup is underway! 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 storylines 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 August 5th‘s Round of 16 fixtures. These include:
- Switzerland vs. Spain, 1:00 a.m. ET
- Japan vs. Norway, 4:00 a.m. ET
- Netherlands vs. South Africa, 10 p.m. ET
While you wait for the next match day, also consider checking out our main Women’s World Cup page, with all of the latest full-tournament odds, our favourite picks, guides on how to make bets for the tournament, and more!
1:00 a.m. Match: Switzerland vs. Spain
| Switzerland Win in Full Time | +750 |
| Spain Win in Full Time | -250 |
| Draw After Full Time | +350 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over +100, under -125) |
| Time/Date | Saturday, August 5, 1:00 a.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
A contest between two European sides, each with questions hanging over them, opens the Round of 16.
On the surface, and according to the line, Spain are favourites. No question.
Impressive offensive displays – a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and 5-0 over Zambia – opened their participation at the Women’s World Cup, but that 4-0 defeat to Japan was a reality check and La Roja were forced to settle for advancing out of Group C in second place.
Which team was the real Spain? The one who rolled over weaker opponents or the one who got outwitted? And how do they respond to that bubble bursting?
La Nati have been underwhelming to say the least, yet they finished top of Group A. A 2-0 win over the Philippines in their World Cup opener was followed by a pair of scoreless draws against Norway and New Zealand. Hardly the most inspiring results.
All that said, what matters from the group stage is that a team advances, not how it was done, it’s all to play for at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Swiss are unbeaten in two against Spain, but with the last meeting coming in World Cup Qualifying way back in 1990 take that with a grain of salt.
First thing to highlight, of the three matches on the docket, this is the one most likely to go to a shootout. Switzerland have been strong defensively, but struggled to score. Spain looked like world-beaters against smaller sides, yet were shut out against a similarly experienced side. That confluence could see this one narrow. Game Decided After Penalties, Yes sits at +800.
Should the Spanish return to winning ways a Correct Score of 2-0 is bet boosted to +500, while Jennifer Hermoso, who scored twice against Zambia, To Score Two or More Goals is upped to +650.
Hermoso is also involved in a boosted Same Game Parlay of Hermoso to Score Anytime, Over 7 Corners, and Spain to Score in Both Halves at +450.
Switzerland have averaged seven corners per match and Spain nearly 13 per – though the 22 they clocked up against Costa Rica must be considered. The corners line is set at 9: Over (-125) or Exactly (+650) could factor.
For Spain, Esther González (First +333, Last +333, Anytime +105), who scored the third goal against Costa Rica, has the shortest odds. Hermoso (+375, +375, +120) has two, as does Alba Redondo (+450, +450, +150), who also netted a pair against Zambia.
For Switzerland, Ramona Bachmann (+1200, +1200, +450) tops the list, she scored the game-winning penalty kick in the opener. Seraina Piubel (+2800, +2800, +1000) scored the second that day, the only other goal the Swiss have at Australia/New Zealand, but Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (+1600, +1600, +600) is nearing due with five shots, two on target, combining for an xG of 1.2 through three outings.
Spain to Win in Full Time
4:00 a.m. Match: Japan vs. Norway
| Japan Win in Full Time | -125 |
| Norway Win in Full Time | +375 |
| Draw After Full Time | +250 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over +115, under -150) |
| Time/Date | Saturday, August 5, 4:00 a.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
The pick of the opening three matches pits Japan against Norway, two teams that have been here before, at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.
Nadeshiko Japan emerged as one of just three teams, alongside England and Sweden, to go perfect through the group stage with three wins, topping Group C ahead of Spain. The Japanese closed out the group with a 4-0 thrashing of Spain. Combined with a 5-0 win over Zambia in their opener and a 2-0 defeat of Costa Rica, Japan have scored 11 goals and not yet conceded in Australia/New Zealand.
The Gresshoppene pipped New Zealand to the second spot in Group A, despite losing the tournament opener to the co-hosts 1-0. A scoreless draw against Switzerland, who finished top of the group, had their future in doubt, but a 6-0 win over the Philippines on the final day showed signs of life in the Norwegian side.
There is some history between the sides: Japan beat Norway 5-1 at the 2008 Olympics, while Norway won matches at the 1999 Women’s World Cup and the 1996 Olympics by 4-0 scorelines. All three meetings were in the group stages; this will be the first in a knockout situation.
Japan are favourites heading into the match, though the line is tighter than their respective group stage performances would indicate. Norway have tons of experience, both individually and as a collective, and game-breakers in the lineup, but Japan have looked nearly unstoppable. The way they handled the threat of Spain, turning it into an asset, was impressive – Japan allowed Spain nearly 70% of possession, but were devastating on the counter, scoring four goals from just 19 final third entries. Spain had 95 entries.
This could go one of two ways: either Japan continue to steamroll the competition or the heightened stakes of a do-or-die match sees both teams clamp down defensively.
Japan has yet to concede, Norway has two clean-sheets and have been shutout twice, so the Both Teams to Score No at -150 is in play. If one combines that with a Japan win (Result/Both Teams to Score) it inches up to +162.
Japan to win to nil is bet boosted to +175, while Hinata Miyazawa, joint top scorer so far, as First Goalscorer is boosted to +650.
Should that second way play out, Game Decided in Extra Time: Yes (+700) or After Penalties: Yes (+500) could be worthwhile picks.
There is an intriguing three-leg Same Game Parlay with three players – Riko Ueki and Miyazawa of Japan, as well as Sophie Haug of Norway to all register Over 0.5 Shots on Target at +200.
All three are well above that mark per 90 at the World Cup – Miyazawa at 2.71, Ueki 2.90, and Haug 3.33 – but the numbers are a little skewed by group stage imbalances: Japan had 11 shots on target in their matches against Zambia and Costa Rica, that number dropped to six in a stiff test against Spain. While Norway averaged just three shots on target in their first two matches before registering 12 against the Philippines.
Those same three players can be expected to be in the middle of the action once more, even if the volume slows to a trickle.
Their Shots on Target Over/Unders look similarly appealing: Miyazawa (Over 0.5 -188), Ueki (Over 1.5 +137), and Haug (Over 0.5 -225).
And with shots come goals.
Ueki and Mina Tanaka, who also has two goals so far, have the shortest odds amongst the goalscorers for Japan (First +400, Last +400, +140), while Miyazawa (+600, +600, +220) is currently tied with Germany’s Alexandra Popp on four goals for the most at the World Cup.
Miyazawa has already scored two goals in a match on two occasions, against both Zambia and Spain; her Multi Scorers 2 or More at +1400 would pay out nicely.
Tanaka is tied with England’s Lauren James for the most assists in the group stage at three each. The Player Assist Over/Under on her adding another is set at 0.5 with Over at +300.
For Norway Ada Hegerberg (+750, +750, +275), who has struggled with injury and is yet to get off the mark, has the shortest odds. Haug (+800, +800, +300), netted a hat-trick against the Philippines, Caroline [Graham] Hansen (+1200, +1200, +450), one of Norway’s most important pieces, opened her account that same match.
Japan to Win in Full Time
10:00 p.m. Match: Netherlands vs. South Africa
| Netherlands Win in Full Time | -400 |
| South Africa Win in Full Time | +800 |
| Draw After Full Time | +550 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 goals (over -250, under +187) |
| Time/Date | Saturday, August 5, 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: TSN Stream: TSN GO App |
Though this one appears to be the greatest mismatch, it could prove to be the most exciting of the day.
The Oranje got the job done in the group stage to finish first in Group E. A 1-0 win in their opener over Portugal took the first three points, a 1-1 draw with the USA held the line, and a 7-0 win over Vietnam secured top seeding. Solid, but unspectacular.
Banyana Banyana were all over the place. They stunned Sweden in the opener by taking the lead, only to concede twice in the final half hour, losing 2-1. South Africa then took a two-goal lead over Argentina, only to be pegged back to a 2-2 draw in the final 15 minutes. And the crucial third match of the group stage was back and forth – Italy took the lead, an own goal put South Africa level; South Africa took the lead, Italy responded – until a 92nd-minute goal from the African side settled the matter.
The Dutch are clear favourites, but don’t sleep on the South Africans when the two meet at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
The first thing to say about this game is that there will be goals.
The Netherlands have scored in all three of their matches and there has not been a clean-sheet, for either side, in any matches involving South Africa. Both Teams to Score Yes at -120 looks all but certain. Combining that Yes with a Netherlands win in Result/Both Teams to Score raises the odds to +162.
With the need for a winner on the day, Method of Victory opens up as an option: the Netherlands to win in 90 Mins (-400), in Extra Time (+1200), or in Penalties (+2200).
Lieke Martens First Goalscorer is bet boosted to +450, while a Netherlands Correct Score of 3-1 is raised to +1100. The two sides met in a friendly last April that saw the Dutch win 5-1.
A featured Same Game Parlay of Match result Netherlands, Both Teams to Score – Yes, Lieke Martens to Score Anytime at +300 combines these initial themes, but for the upset-minded one of Match result South Africa, Over 2 Goals, and Thembi Kgatlana to Score Anytime at +2000 is not out of the question.
One interesting wrinkle is that the Dutch have taken the lead no later than the 17th minute through the three matches of the group stage. The South Africans kept both Sweden and Argentina off the board in the first half, but conceded a penalty kick to Italy inside the opening 11 minutes. Accordingly, the To Score in Half for the Netherlands in the 1st Half, Yes is at -250.
As for goals, Martens and Lineth Beerensteyn have the shortest odds for the Netherlands (First +400, Last +400, Anytime -105). Martens opened her account with a goal against Vietnam; Beerensteyn is yet to score. Jill Roord (+500, +500, +120) has three already, the crucial opener against the USA and a brace against Vietnam – her Multi Scorers 2 or More sits at +600.
For South Africa Jermaine Seoposenwe (+1000, +1000, +275) still tops the list despite not registering a goal yet, but Hildah Magaia (+1100, +1100, +300) and Thembi Kgatlana (+1200, +1200, +333) each have two through three matches.
