Japan Women vs England Women Predictions

As far as results go, England have made the perfect start to their time in France, even if their performances haven’t been outstanding. After beating Scotland first time out, Phil Neville’s women beat Argentina by a goal to nil. This final group game is likely to be their toughest, though the Japanese haven’t excelled either, so England will surely fancy themselves to make it three wins from three.

Japan were poor first time out; they moved the ball slowly, which meant that they failed to create anything on route to a disappointing 0-0 draw against deep-lying opponents. However, they delivered some improvement last time out, as they beat Scotland by two goals to one. Going forward, the Japanese showed much more invention, while they also added some pleasing end-product.

On match-day two, by beating Argentina, England did what Japan failed to do first time out, though their efforts weren’t overly impressive. The Lionesses also struggled to break down the Argentines, as they were limited to pot-shots and hopeful balls into the box for most of the contest, though a moment of quality from Fran Kirby and Jodie Taylor allowed Phil Neville’s women to emerge victorious.

Given the way that this tournament is structured, both England and Japan will almost certainly progress to the next round, so the pair can play with a sense of freedom on match-day three. What’s more, for both the Japanese and the English, this is likely to be the most open game that they’ve been involved in since landing in France, so this is where the attacking quality of both can come to the fore.

In the betting, ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ makes plenty of appeal at the prices. For all Japan did struggle offensively on match-day one, they offered much more against a less defence-minded Scotland side, so it would be no surprise if they did even better in that respect against a more adventurous England outfit. Similarly, England ought to thrive offensively against a Japan side that won’t simply get men behind the ball.

If we also add in the fact that Japan and England are averaging a combined 3.67 expected goals for at this tournament, then it’s easy to feel that the chances of three goals being scored in Nice on Wednesday are slightly greater than the current prices suggest.