2023 Women’s World Cup Group C Preview, Predictions & Odds

We have a 2023 Women’s World Cup Group C preview for you along with our predictions and the betting odds ahead of this year’s World Cup.

Teams In Women’s World Cup Group C

Spain

Jorge Vilda has been Spanish head coach since 2015 after putting in the hard yards with their U19 and U17 setup at varying stages between 2009-2015.

Spain qualified for the World Cup by winning their qualifying Group with eight wins from eight games beating Scotland, Ukraine, Hungary and Faroe Island, scoring a phenomenal 53 goals and conceding 0.

Spain’s best finish at the World Cup was a Round of 16 finish in 2019, but they are coming into this tournament in strong form with five wins in 2023 and their sole loss coming in a narrow 3-2 defeat against Australia. The Euro 2022 quarter-finalists are poised to go far in this tournament led by World Class talents Ona Batlle (24), Alexia Putellas (29) and teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo (19).

Costa Rica

Amelia Valverde has been with the Costa Rica national team since 2011 in various roles, including assistant coach of the senior and under-20 teams. In January 2015, Valverde replaced Garabet Avedissian as the head coach.

Costa Rica qualified for the tournament by coming in fourth place at the 2022 CONCACAF Championship and will be looking to improve on their best-ever finish which was a Group Stage exit in 2015.

Their form in 2023 has not been great, with two draws, five defeats and one win, with one game against South Africa to play before the World Cup begins.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on the Costa Ricans, but Captain Shirley Cruz (37) has 109 caps and 34 goals, alongside Priscila Chinchilla (21), who has 20 goals in 45 games and Carolina Venegas (31), who has 18 goals in 72 goals all seem standout players in the squad.

Zambia

Head Coach Bruce Mwape has been in charge of his country since 2018 and qualified for the World Cup through their third-place finish at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, and this will be their debut at the World Cup.

Their form in 2023 hasn’t been great; with three wins, four defeats, and one draw, they have one more warm-up match against Germany before the tournament starts. I watched Zambia June face Ireland in their narrow 3-2 defeat, and they were very dangerous going forward but left themselves down at the back.

Keep an eye out for the likes of the prolific trio of Grace Chanda (26), Barbra Banda (23) and Racheal Kundananji (23).

Japan

Futoshi Ikeda spent time coaching, mainly coaching in the Japanese underage setup with their U20s and U17s before becoming head coach of the women’s team in 2021. The 2011 World Cup winners will be making their nineth appearance at the competition, which they qualified for through their semi-final finish at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Their form in 2023 has been hit-and-miss, with three defeats and two wins. However, it should be noted their defeats came in narrow one, nil games against Brazil and the United States, which only proves further the Japanese are a serious side with talents like Captain Saki Kumagai (32), Yui Hasegawa (26) and Mina Tanaka (29).

Women’s World Cup Group C Betting Odds

Spain are favourites to win Group C at 1/6 and are 1/100 to qualify from the Group.

Japan are 7/2 to win Group C, while they can be gotten at 1/12 to qualify.

Zambia can be gotten at 50/1 to win Group C or 11/2 to qualify from the Group.

While Costa Rica are considered the group outsider and can be gotten at a massive 500/1 to win the Group or 20/1 to qualify.

Game of the Group

Japan vs Spain, July 31st.

Player to Watch

Ona Batlle (24) of Spain will arguably be the best full-back at the tournament and will be key to any Spanish success.

Ona is the complete full-back averaging 7.21 Progressive Passes per game, which is in the 97^th percentile, alongside 4.79 Progressive Carries, which is in the 99^th percentile, whilst being no slouch in defence with 1.74 Blocks per game which is in the 96^th percentile.

🇪🇸 Ona Batlle – RB
Manchester United 2022/23
16 assists
1 Goal pic.twitter.com/g90QZNaOit

— Tùká (@TukaLetura) June 11, 2023

Women’s World Cup Group C Prediction

1st – Spain

2nd – Japan

3rd – Zambia

4th – Costa Rica

Spain should have enough to comfortably win this Group, but their match against Japan will be key and don’t expect them to roll over to the Spanish.

Japan should come second, closely followed by Zambia, while Costa Rica is unlikely to trouble teams, although we have been here before with the men’s side.

Click Below For All Our 2023 Women’s World Cup Group C Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

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