Football isn't just for the boys. The
Woman's World Cup has reached the semi-finals and it's the good old US of A
flying the flag and taking on the French for a place in the final.
Wednesday night sees a battle royale as
America take on France in the Semi-final of the sixth FIFA Woman’s World Cup,
to book a place in the final with either Japan or Sweden (who play in the other
semi-final also on Wednesday). Bodog set their soccer odds with a France
win at +275, a draw at +240 and a USA win at -110.
France reserved their place
in the semi with a commanding performance over England that was closer than
might have been expected as England held back the dominating French and forced
penalties. France, more skilled and more astute, made 33 shots, 11 of them on
target while England managed just seven shots, three on target, in front of a
Leverkusen crowd of 26,395 . But chances are just that , and not goals and it
came down to the final kick of the game. That saw the English team losing 4-3
on penalties after extra time ended with the score level at 1-1. “France
rumbled us, they didn't let us settle. We had a game plan but we didn't
implement it.” said Hope Powell, England coach. It was a sad end to England’s
campaign, after they topped their group there was a growing confidence that
reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time was do-able.
Vive
la France!
The French were in a buoyant mood and
seemed to relish their opponents, "I've got no preference about whether we
play Brazil or the U.S.," said French playmaker Camille Abily said.
"The most important thing for us is that we won't be watching their game
back home in France." As it turned out it was the US who progressed. A
less kind-hearted viewer might say that’s bad news for France, as they have
lost 11 of their 13 previous meetings with the Stars and Stripes and the last
time the Europeans managed a victory came in April 1990, in a friendly match
played in Bulgaria.
Vive
le USA!
America are on form and clearly fancy
themselves, "We are feeling good. We are riding high a wave of confidence
right now. France are an excellent team. They put on a great show against
England and threw them out the tournament, kept the ball well and played an
attractive style. I think it’s going to be a pretty good game," said
midfielder Megan Rapinoe. The tactics of the United States seem to rely on long
balls and taking advantage of their players’ physical attributes. That should
prove to be an interesting match as the French tend to dominate the midfield
with a short, pass-heavy game. History also shows the quality of the United
States as they have qualified for the semi-finals of every FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It gets better and better, they went on to reach the Final twice, at China 1991
and on home turf in the United States in 1999; both times being crowned world
champions. In their other three, they made do with a third place finish. Just some reasons why thekid667 is backing USA in the forum.
The French coach thinks otherwise, “We have
a bit of an advantage over the United States because we’re already familiar
with this venue. The extra recuperation time has been kind to us – they’ve yet
to invent a machine that does a better job of helping players recover than
simply sleeping and resting, “said Bruno Bini. Bet365 have France qualifying at
+175 and the USA Women going through at -110 in their betting odds.
Goals galore?
The stats tell us that both these sides are
trigger happy and have both recorded 32 shots on goal up to this point in the
competition, They also boast the highest number of shots in general; 80 for
France and 76 for the North Americans. What’s more, team USA have found the
back of the net most often in the history of this event, with 93 goals. They
are now ahead of their nearest rivals in this category, Germany, who have been
knocked out this tournament.
I’m backing goals in this game. Check out
the lines on in-form French Striker Marie-Laure Delie who boasts a record of
almost a goal a game in international football. The numbers don’t mean much to
her though, “I don’t really think about things like that; I’m just happy to
give 100 per cent out on the pitch,” she said.
Both the French and the Americans were
forced to battle through extra time and a penalty shoot-out to secure their
ticket for the semi-final The United States went through after a 5-3 penalty
shoot-out win over Brazil in Dresden. But I doubt their match will end even at
90minutes and in soccer betting I am on the USA.
Prediction: USA all the way, with a 3-1 victory.