France Women vs Norway Women Predictions

Their task wasn’t the toughest, though France must be applauded for the way in which they went about their business on the opening night. They were quick out pf the blocks, created chances right from the start and were simply far too good for their opponents. A repeat performance would likely see the tournament hosts gain another positive result, though they may have to pull out more against a Norwegian side that has also made a pleasing start.

While France battered South Korea, Norway made relatively light work of coming out on top against Nigeria. They may have been slightly flattered by a 3-0 win, or at least that’s what an expected goal difference of +0.56 suggests, but they still showed plenty of quality, especially in the final third, so this will be no walk in the park for the tournament hosts.

If we compare the two opening performances, then it’s difficult to say that Norway matched the efforts of the French. Not only did they play less capable opposition – Nigeria rank 38^th in the world, while South Korea currently rank 14^th – but they created slightly less going forward and gave slightly more away at the back. On match-day one, Norway created 1.21 expected goals for and conceded 0.65, while France created 1.89 and conceded only 0.06. Such numbers bode well for Corinne Diacre’s women.

With little better than 2/7 available on a France win, backing the tournament hosts to emerge victorious is hardly worth it, though ‘France to Win & Under 2.5 Goals’ appears to be a viable option.

Norway, who currently rank in 12^th, have more to offer defensively than South Korea, while they’re likely to be less stunned by the occasion, though if the opening matches are anything to go by, they’ve not quite got France’s level of forward quality, which could make all the difference, even in a tight game.

The French have narrowly edged two of the last three renewals of this fixture, winning by a goal to nil on both occasions, and with the home crowd behind them, backing Diacre’s women to maintain their 100% record by delivering something similar is the way to go ahead of Wednesday’s match.