The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is about to kick off, and Group C features Spain as its betting favorite.
Spain’s national women’s team enters this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup with recent controversy affecting its roster. However, the team still has a clear path to advance to the knockout stage after doing the same in 2019.
They’ll be joined by Japan, Costa Rica and first-time contenders Zambia, who will all have a chance to join probable favorites Spain in advancing to the next round.
It remains to be seen how much Spain will be affected by the recent rift between select players and coach Jorge Vilda. However, they’ll enter this year’s World Cup with great odds to advance for further competition.
Odds
All odds via FanDuel
To win the group:
- Spain (-340)
- Japan (+290)
- Zambia (+4900)
- Costa Rica (+10000)
To win the World Cup:
- Spain (+550)
- Japan (+3400)
- Zambia (+43000)
- Costa Rica (+43000)
—Who will top the group?
—What’s going on with Spain?
—Breaking down Japan, Zambia & Costa Rica.@AnitaNnekaJones gives the lowdown on Group C in the Women’s World Cup.👀 pic.twitter.com/3RgUf3qkPF— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) July 5, 2023
The Favorite: Spain
It’s a complicated task to discuss Spain’s fortunes in this year’s World Cup. As noted above, there has been recent controversy with a good number of Spain’s players accusing coach Jorge Vilda of creating an unhealthy environment for his team.
GOAL noted that three of the squad’s star players in Mapi Leon, Patri Guijarro and Sandra Panos will not be competing with Spain this summer. However, the team’s top player, Alexia Putellas, is healthy and will be able to compete for Spain during this Cup run.
Spain is settled in as the sixth-best team in this year’s World Cup field and has the third-best odds to win the entire tournament. Controversy or not, they’ll still be a tough out for any team they run into this July.
The Sleeper: Zambia
Playing in its first Women’s World Cup, Zambia knocked off Germany in an friendly recently to help show why it might be an intriguing contender in this year’s World Cup.
Led by the electric Barbra Banda, soccer fans should keep a close eye on if Zambia can take its historic run and shock the world by getting out of this difficult group to go to the knockout stage.
Players To Know
- Alexia Putellas (Spain): Fresh off winning FIFA’s Best Women’s Player honor and recovered from an ACL tear, Putellas (above) remains a fierce presence in this year’s World Cup if she can regain her form quickly. Don’t count out her ability to make her presence known.
- Esther Gonzalez (Spain): Of all the players on Spain’s national team, Gonzalez has the best odds on FanDuel to take home the FIFA Golden Boot honors (+750) of any player on her team. Keep an eye on her during this year’s World Cup.
- Barbra Banda (Zambia): Zambia’s star player will undoubtedly enter this year’s World Cup with plenty of hype, especially if her talent is able to help the team advance past the first stage.
