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Steffen Schmidt - July 31, 2023
China vs England
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Date: 1 August 2023, Tuesday
Kick-off at 12:00 UK / 13:00 CET
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium (Adelaide).
China have passed the groups in all seven previous World Cup appearances. This perfect record is in huge jeopardize going into the final game of the 2023 tournament in Australia/New Zealand, though.
The team led by Shui Qingxia suffered an unpleasant defeat to Denmark (0-1) on the opening day. They received another big handicap with an early Zhang Rui red card in the second round against Haiti.
Nonetheless, China showed great team spirits to fight their way to a 1-0 win over Haiti despite playing the last 60 minutes with ten women on the pitch.
Substitute Wang Shuang made no mistake from the penalty spot with 15 minutes to go to give her team a very important victory on the occasion.
China are now lock on points and goals scored/conceded with Denmark in the second place in the group, meaning they need a win over England on the final day to keep the last 16 round chances alive.
The Lionesse, on the other side, sit atop the section with two separate 1-0 wins. The European champions have not thrived so far in the competition but they still managed to do enough to keep the pole position ahead of the crucial affairs on Tuesday.
The biggest problem for head coach Sarina Wiegman is the physical condition of Kiera Walsh who suffered a knee injury on Friday against Denmark and will not be available for selection on Tuesday.
We expect big tension on the pitch in a super-important game for both outfits. Despite winning both of their previous games, the Lionesses are by no means certain to play in the last 16 round.
This should not be the most beautiful game of football, though. Expecting both managers to use a more careful approach, we will take the Under 2.5 goals FT as the main bet at the 1.75 odds. Alternatively, the value is with China who are worth backing to win or draw as a double chance bet at the 2.62 odds.
