FIFA Women’s World Cup: Nigeria vs Canada Betting Odds
Olympic Champions Clash With Nigeria
Opening Day Group B Match
Canada turned more than a few heads by winning the Women’s Olympic soccer gold medal two years ago. Making their eighth straight FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance, Canada have reached just one semifinal. They’ll look to put on a good showing as they open up Australia & New Zealand 2023 with Nigeria. The Super Falcons are a force to be reckoned with in African soccer and made their first knockout stage since 1999 in 2019. As Group B opens up, we’ll run through the Nigeria vs. Canada betting odds.
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Nigeria vs. Canada
Date, time:
Location: AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia
Head-to-Head
Nigeria and Canada have played two previous Women’s World Cup matches. Nigeria are unbeaten in those games, with one win and a draw. In 1995, these teams played to a 3-3 draw and Nigeria beat Canada 1-0 in the 2011 group stage. Nigeria and Canada played two friendlies in 2022 and Canada went unbeaten, with one win and a draw.
Controversy Surrounds Nigerian Side
- FIFA Women’s World Ranking: 40
- Next Match: July 27th vs. Australia
Nigeria Women are by far the most successful team in Africa. They’ve won 11 of 14 Africa Women Cup of Nations and have participated in every Women’s World Cup. Still, that hasn’t necessarily translated to success on the world’s biggest stage. Nigeria have advanced out of the group stage just twice in eight tries. In 2019, Nigeria made the knockout stage for the first time since 1999.
They’ve never advanced past the quarterfinals and hold just a 4-3-19 record in Women’s World Cups heading into this tournament. Last time around, their World Cup scores were better than normal but still underwhelming. Nigeria defeated South Korea 2-0 but lost their other three matches at the tournament. At Australia and New Zealand 2023, Nigeria are in a tricky Group B. Opponents Canada, Republic of Ireland and Australia are all ranked ahead of Nigeria in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings.
That’s not to say Nigeria haven’t built some momentum in the lead up to this tournament. The Super Falcons are on a three-game winning streak heading into the World Cup. Two of those friendly wins have come against World Cup teams Costa Rica and New Zealand.
Still, there’s a fair bit of controversy surrounding this Nigerian side. Head coach Randy Waldrum claims he hasn’t been paid for seven months and there were rumors that the players would boycott this match because of unpaid wages. Things should proceed as scheduled and viewers should take note of Asisat Oshoala, one of the best forwards in the world.
Canada Dealing With Injuries
- FIFA Women’s World Ranking: 7
- Next Match: July 26th vs. Republic of Ireland
Defending Olympic champions Canada are dealing with a number of injuries heading into the Women’s World Cup. Coach Bev Priestmann certainly doesn’t have her best team available but Canada can certainly still cause problems in Group B. Janine Beckie, Canada’s fourth all-time leading scorer, is out for the tournament. So is midfielder Desiree Scott, who has made 185 appearances and defender Jade Rose.
A handful of players who did make the roster have been injured long-term, which means Canada haven’t had time to work out their best line up. So, they’ll have to figure things out on the fly and they have Nigeria, Republic of Ireland and Australia on their Women’s World Cup schedule. Canada have never made the Women’s World Cup final, but they have appeared in the last two knockout stages.
Given Canada’s recent success, Nigeria vs. Canada betting odds price Canada as the favorites for this one. Christine Sinclair, the all-time international goals leader, is back for one last hurrah. She’s scored 10 of Canada’s 34 goals at the FIFA WWC all-time. Adriana Leon is a solid secondary goalscorer, and Canada have a wealth of experience in midfield. Sophie Schmidt has made over 220 appearances, and Jessie Fleming has 115 caps.
Match Analysis & Odds
One could certainly point to Canada’s patchy form as a cause for concern heading into this match. In the SheBelieves Cup, Canada fell to Japan and the USA and beat Brazil 2-0. They also lost an April friendly at France and drew with England in a recent behind-closed-doors friendly. Still, the level of competition they’ve faced is quite high and should prepare them well for the Women’s World Cup.
Here, the Nigeria vs Canada betting odds price Canada as -335 moneyline favorites. Nigeria have never lost to Canada in the Women’s World Cup, but their last meeting in the tournament was 12 years ago. Since then, Canada have established themselves as a power in the Women’s game.
Canada -1.5 comes in at -125 odds, while Nigeria display -105 odds to cover the spread. The Super Falcons are +1000 moneyline underdogs, and a draw sits at +390 odds. The oddsmakers are expecting a handful of goals in this one. Over three goals are priced at -120 odds. However, none of Canada or Nigeria’s matches this year have finished with more than three goals.
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