2023 Women's World Cup preview, odds: Can anyone beat the USA?

Stepping in to shoulder that challenge are attackers Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman. Both are in fine form for their NWSL clubs and are hungry to prove their worth to the American public. They should be able to see the U.S. through the group stage and early knockouts but expected late-tournament matchups against Scandi rivals Sweden and Norway could derail this young team. You can’t bet against them … but bet with caution.

Germany

Coach: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg

Player to Watch: Lena Oberdorf 

Biggest Honor: Back-to-Back World Cups (2007, 2011)

Odds to Win: +750

Germany is one of the strongest teams in global women’s soccer. We hear plenty about the U.S.’s dominance, but Germany offers just as much influence: of the 12 total editions of the women’s European championships, Germany have won a whopping eight.

Here’s the thing: they didn’t win the last one. Germany barely pushed past France in the semifinals and found itself roundly beaten by England in the final match of the tournament. Germany performed as well as it did thanks to stalwart defensive performances led by deep-lying midfielder Lena Oberdorf, but will defensive chops be enough to see them through the World Cup?

Additionally, while Germany’s group draw is favorable, its Round of 16 draw is not. Germany will likely face either France, a rising squad that nearly took it out of the last international tournament, or Brazil, a longstanding title challenger who beat it in a friendly just three months ago.

Sweden

Coach: Peter Gerhardsson

Player to Watch: Caroline Seger

Biggest Honor: Olympic Gold Medal (2016)

Odds to Win: +1800

Sweden is perhaps the greatest women’s team to have never won a World Cup. The Nordic stars always are a threat in international tournaments but have yet to pull together a victorious run.

This year sees Sweden in decent shape, ranked third in the world and drawn into a workable World Cup group. Sweden will ease into its tournament with matches against Italy, Argentina and South Africa, all of which should be winnable. From there, it’s a tough knockout matchup against either the Netherlands or the United States…but Sweden can beat both. The team finished ahead of the Netherlands at the 2022 European Championships and famously destroyed the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic Gold Medal game.

Unlike fellow title challengers Germany and Canada, Sweden is a creative team, one that’s built on attacking prowess. Sweden’s challenge will be keeping a cool head against tougher, more compact opponents — if it can find ways to break down organized units without getting frustrated, it could easily go all the way.

Canada

Coach: Bev Priestman

Player to Watch: Christine Sinclair

Biggest Honor: Olympic Gold Medal (2022)

Odds to Win: +3400

Fresh off a gold medal performance at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, the Canadian National team might be the most interest bet at the World Cup. Ranked lower than injury-ravaged sides like England, France and the Netherlands, Canada is a genuine title challenger with the odds of a back marker.

Canada’s big advantage is its playing style: this is a defensive unit, one that earnestly believes it can keep just about anyone from scoring (and defensive solidity like Canada’s is one of the key indicators of success in tournament play.) But Canada counters all that defensive muscle with forward Christine Sinclair of the Portland Thorns, one of the most respected attacking players in the history of the sport. She’s scored 190 international goals in her career — more than anyone of any gender in soccer history.

So what’s stopping Canada from cruising to victory? Luck of the draw. Canada finds itself in one of the most difficult groups in the tournament, facing matches against hosts Australia, eleven-time African champions Nigeria and set-piece specialists Ireland. And Canada must beat all of them — if the team finishes the group stage in second rather than first, trophy contenders England are its likely opponent in the knockout stages.