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Steffen Schmidt - August 4, 2023
Netherlands vs South Africa
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Date: 6 August 2023, Sunday
Kick-off at 03:00 UK / 04:00 CET
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney).
Thembi Kgatlana bagged a late stoppage-time goal to secure the first-ever World Cup win for her nation as South Africa dispatched Italy 3-2 on Wednesday.
It was a huge moment for the African champions who are only making their second appearance on the biggest stage, following a three-loss group phase exit four years ago in France.
The win over Italy helped South Africa clinch the second place in Group G as Desiree Ellis’ troops will have the honor of featuring in the knockout phase for the first time in their history.
Bafana Bafana will, however, face a very difficult challenge in the last 16 round as they take on the Netherlands on Sunday at Sydney Football Stadium.
The Dutch team lost the previous edition’s final in France to the United States and also made it to the UEFA Euro quarterfinal last year.
They look determined to go all the way this time around, following a great group stage campaign that saw them conquer the section above the back-to-back champions USA.
The team led by Andries Jonker have been very tough to break down so far in the tournament, allowing just one goal in three matches.
They have shown strength on the opposite end of the pitch as well on Tuesday, bagging seven goals past Vietnam to seal the top spot in the group.
The difference in quality between the Netherlands and South Africa is huge and we don’t expect the Dutch outfit to run into too many problems on Sunday. The main pick is the Netherlands to win by two or more goals at the 1.61 odds.
Since South Africa played attacking-minded football in the group stage, we also like the Over 3.5 goals FT pick very much at the 2.00 odds.
