England Women V Sweden Women
Saturday 6 July 2019 – 16:00 Kick-Off
Women World Cup, Third-Place Play-Off
Pick: England to WIN
Bookmaker: MarathonBet
Odds: 19/25
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19/25 | 14/5 | 7/2 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from MarathonBet on July 4th, 2019 at 23:43)
Preview: The final has proved elusive for England and Sweden, with the pair left only with the consolation prize of contesting a play-off to decide who departs France as the third-best team at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. The Allianz Riviera stadium, in Nice, is the venue for this all-European affair.
Women’s World Cup Betting at MarathonBet
England Preview – Proud England to seal impressive tournament with play-off triumph?
There are many ways to lose a semi-final. I’m not sure I can remember one as absorbing and emotionally draining as that of England’s though, who pushed an unbelievably strong United States team to within a disallowed goal and a penalty miss from taking the contest into extra-time. The overriding feeling within camp will likely be a mixture of agony and regret, but also one of immense pride after their valiant efforts.
The obvious question now is, can they genuinely be expected to lift themselves in time for this third-place play-off? If we’re to believe the Three Lions manager, it’s an affirmative yes. Phil Neville talked about the consistency of this team after the loss to the US, of reaching three successive semi-finals in major tournaments. He was firm in his assertion that his girls would do everything within their power to secure a second consecutive third-place finish at a World Cup (they beat Germany at this same stage in 2015).
England could, therefore, prove a shrewd bet. This is a team which had been almost flawless up until the semi-final; five successive victories over Scotland (2-1), Argentina (1-0), Japan (2-0), Cameroon (3-0) and Norway (3-0) were achieved with only one goal conceded. Ironically, it was their lackluster showing in defence which ultimately proved their undoing against the USA. There will also be at least one enforced change at the back for this game, with Millie Bright suspended.
In reality, there is likely to be several changes in personnel. Phil Neville has a habit for rotating at the best of times but will almost certainly seize upon the opportunity to introduce some fresh legs into a team which gave absolutely everything last time out. The one player who should be assured of her place in the side is striker Ellen White. Th 30-year-old is still very much in contention for the Golden Boot, level with USA’s Alex Morgan on six goals.
Sweden Preview – Swedes to maintain their 100% record in World Cup play-offs?
After producing one of the performances of the competition to overcome the irrepressible Germans in the last-eight, Sweden then produced an underwhelming display against the Netherlands. A semi-final low on quality but full of attrition went deep into extra-time before a goal was scored and, unfortunately for the Scandinavians, it wasn’t them who scored it. Now they, too, must dust themselves off for one final fixture.
Sweden can, impressively, boast a perfect record in World Cup third-place play-offs, winning their previous two in 1991 and 2011. Although on the basis of how they performed in the semi-final, that 100% record could be in real jeopardy. Peter Gerhardsson’s girls were outstanding against Germany, but offered precious little in comparison versus the Dutch (only three efforts on target). Not for the first time, they were very much indebted to goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl for keeping the Swedes in the game for as long as they were.
Whether it was the accumulation of fatigue after some exhausting encounters earlier in the tournament against the likes of Canada (W1-0), Germany (W2-1) and USA (L0-2), in which they spent large periods having to defend and chase the ball, or simply a case of them peaking too early. Either way it felt like Sweden were a spent force in the semi-final.
There will almost certainly be personnel changes for this game, that is for sure. To their credit, Sweden rarely string two bad displays together. Their group stage defeat to the USA was followed by a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Canada in the last-sixteen. So they do have form for bouncing back from setbacks. Although that was yet another game in which their standout performer was the goalkeeper.
Key Facts for England Women V Sweden Women
- England won five of their six matches at this tournament (W5 D0 L1), scoring 10 and conceding 3.
- Sweden have already lost twice at this tournament (W4 D0 L2), scoring 10 and conceding 5.
- This will be the 13th meeting between these two countries, with Sweden leading the head-to-head (W6 D3 L3).
Betting Summary
If England are genuine about their desire to take this final game seriously, they could be a very good bet. Their form throughout the tournament has been a lot more consistent, they have posed more of a threat in the attacking third, while their defending has, for the most part, been reasonably good – four clean sheets against some strong sides is phenomenal, although I do believe they were fortunate to shut out both Japan and Norway.
England also caused the strongest team at these finals – the United States – far more problems in the semi-final than Sweden did during their group stage meeting. The only issue I can see, apart from there being question marks over the energy levels, is how many changes Phil Neville makes. A strong England team should be beating what has been a very resilient but oftentimes limited Sweden outfit.
Odds on England triumphing aren’t the biggest, so it could pay to keep faith in striker Ellen White. She is the joint-leading scorer at these finals and has scored in every single game she has featured in so far. An England victory with White on the scoresheet is 2/1 with PaddyPower. It would have been a winning bet on four separate occasions!
