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2023 Women's World Cup best bets: 4 smart early wagers

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated 7/19/23

The Women's World Cup kicks off this Friday in Australia and New Zealand, and everything about it is bigger and better than what you remember. 32 teams — the largest slate of competitors in women's World Cup history — will face off for the trophy.

With the women's game stronger and more competitive than it's ever been, potential upsets are lurking everywhere. Here are four bets to consider, based on FanDuel's pre-tournament odds.

Tournament Winners

Australia (+900)

It seems like the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught up to Australia. The team has everything moving in its favor: home field advantage, a probable Golden Boot winner in Sam Kerr and several years of steady on-the-field progress leading up to this moment.

Everything about Australia’s narrative arc seems destined to land the Matildas in the World Cup final. And yet FanDuel currently has Australia at +900 odds to win it — well behind the USA, England and Spain, three teams that have been ravaged by injuries and enter the tournament considerably below their peak. In many ways, betting on Australia feels safer than betting on any of them.

Canada (+3800)

Canada’s tournament odds are a victim of the “experience” paradox: you need experience managing deep tournament runs to win World Cups, and Canada hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals since 2003. Don’t let that statistic get to you too — the world of competitive women’s soccer is bigger than just the World Cup. Canada won the Olympic Gold Medal in fine style in 2021, holding its own against England and comprehensively beating both Australia and a little minnow you may not have heard of called the United States. Canada has managed deep tournament runs — it simply hasn’t pulled one off at a World Cup yet. It feels like 2023 could be the year that changes.

Group Stage Games

Denmark vs. China (+490 for China to win)

Let’s not pretend that China is a slam dunk to win here: it isn’t. But China and Denmark are way closer in quality than the odds suggest. So why the discrepancy? Women’s soccer doesn’t have the same streaming infrastructure as the men’s game, and it’s hard for fans to tune in to games outside of their own continent; if you’re not currently based in Asia, you probably haven’t seen much of this China side. Trust and believe: it’s a fabulous team with a true "tournament" mindset, one it maximized on its way to Asian Cup victory in 2022. Coach Shui Qingxia has trained her athletes to transform in every game to frustrate their opponents as much as possible. Denmark is no pushover, but neither is China.

Italy vs. Argentina (+500 for Argentina to win)

Another group stage match, another instance of the odds not reflecting the parity between two teams. Italy and Argentina are neck and neck in terms of quality and tournament experience. Italy is more consistent, but Argentina’s sharp rise means momentum is on its side. It managed two confidence-building wins over New Zealand in the leadup to this tournament while Italy failed to beat — and even score against — World Cup debutantes Morocco. Argentina is more than capable of pushing this game to the edge.

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