Sweden Women vs USA Women Predictions

It’s all been very easy for Sweden and USA, both of whom are on their way to the knockouts, regardless of what happens in this match. After two comfortable victories, both teams may now be tested, though it is the Swedes who seemingly have the tougher task.

Sweden can’t really be criticised for their early efforts at this World Cup; they got the job done in convincing fashion against Chile on match-day one, while they made light work of beating Thailand last time out. Facing two weak sides was never going to be hard, though the Swedes could’ve taken it easy and thus floundered, but they’ve been professional and have performed well.

The very same can be said for USA, who’re yet to be tested in France. They predictably battered Thailand on match-day one, while they strolled to victory against Chile too. As is the case with Sweden, we haven’t really learnt anything knew about USA. They were excellent at scoring goals and exerting control over weak opponents prior to the tournament and, somewhat unsurprisingly, they’re still very good at doing those two things.

As far as betting on this game goes, there are a couple of angles that stand out. Firstly, ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ makes plenty of appeal. After both scoring lots at the tournament so far, it’s easy to assume that Sweden and USA will share a glut of goals on Thursday, though this will be the first time that either side has faced opposition with any defensive nous. Add in the fact that neither are required to really go for it since they’re both already through and the fact that the pair have always tended to play-out low-scoring affairs, with each of the last five renewals seeing less than three goals go in, and it’s easy to feel that the chances of a less goal-filled game are slightly greater than the current prices suggest.

Secondly, ‘Sweden +1 Handicap’ stands out as a bet that represents a nice chunk of value. Given that they’re the best side in the world, it would be easy to assume that USA will easily make it three out of three in France, though for all their recent form is excellent, they’ve not exactly faced anyone useful.

USA come into this match off the back of two big World Cup wins, while they’ve now won each of their last six games by at least three goals, though they’ve only won two of their last five games against teams ranked inside the top ten. Back in February, at the SheBelieves Cup, both Japan and England held USA to draws, so Sweden, who’re ranked 9^th in the world, surely have a better chance of getting something from this game than the current odds suggest. After all, since 2013, they’ve only lost one of their five matches against Thursday’s opponents.