Norway v Australia – Women’s World Cup 2019 Betting Preview and Prediction
Norway will come into the Round of 16 after finishing Group A as 2nd placed team with a 2-0-1 record and 6 points. They will get to meet Australia, who, just like Norway, finished their group 2nd, with a 2-0-1 record, which tied them with Italy, but a slightly worse goal difference pushed them down a notch. Nonetheless, both teams reached the final stage and will not try to prove their worth to the world.
Looking back at the group stage for Australia, they started off their World Cup campaign the worst possible way. They lost to Italy 1:2, who scored a goal in the final attack of the match. Following their rollercoaster match against Italy, Australia faced off against Brazil, which proved to be just as exciting as the first match. Brazil got themselves in a 0:2 lead 40 minutes into the match, which was reduced to 1:2 by a goal from Foord in the final minute of added time of the 1st half. After a rather disappointing 1st half, Australia managed to get back into the game with a goal in 58′ following an auto goal from Monica to push Australia 3:2 ahead. To finish their group stage Australia meet with Jamaica, who were no match for the “Matildas”. The match ended 1:4 in favor of the Australian team, which was enough to get themselves in the top2 in group C.
Norway on the other side started their group stage with a 3:0 win against Nigeria, followed by a close 2:1 defeat against the hosts, France. Norway did end up losing, however, they did put up a good fight, which made France work hard to grab all 3 points. In the end, it was a penalty in the 72nd minute that decided the match in favor of France. Still a performance worthy of some praise. Heading into the last match of the group stage, Norway met with South Korea. The match started off with a 4th-minute penalty for Norway which got them an early lead. Fast forward to the 50th minute, Norway once again received a penalty kick, which they once again used to its full potential, getting themselves in a 0:2 lead. With the clock running out, Norway let their guard down and conceded in the 78th minute. That was also the last goal of the match, which concluded in a 1:2 win for Norway.
From what we have seen, we believe the upcoming fixture between Norway and Australia will be a close one. I am still a bit concerned about Australia’s defense, which did look a bit better in their last fixture, however, I am still unsure if it will be strong enough to stop Norwegian attack. As a 1/8 finals match, this could, in the end, go either way and with that in mind, we will back Norway at +0.50, as I do believe Australia can score just as well as they can concede a goal.
Prediction: Norway +0.50 Asian Handicap
Odds: 1.83 Betfair
