Australia W vs Nigeria W prediction: WORLD: World Cup Women betting tips on match 2023-07-26 10:00.
A failure to score from open play in their Women’s World Cup (WWC) opener left Australia manager Tony Gustavsson with plenty to think about, but nonetheless, the co-hosts collected three crucial points against Ireland (W 1-0) thanks to stand-in captain Steph Catley’s penalty. That may prove to be a glimpse of the goalscoring difficulties ahead of Australia without inspirational striker Sam Kerr, who is almost certain to miss the remainder of the group stage with a calf injury.
The Australian camp opted to keep Kerr’s injury secret for two days, only breaking the news when the team sheets were released, but Gustavsson was unapologetic for his deceit, describing it as necessary for thwarting Irish preparations. He then pointed to this month’s 1-0 friendly win against France, in which their only goal was scored after both Kerr and Caitlin Foord had been subbed off, as proof they have many bases covered.
Such sentiment was even acknowledged by Nigeria boss Randy Waldrum, who described the Australian side as “dangerous with so many different weapons” after his team collected a surprise 0-0 draw with FIFA’s #7 ranked nation, Canada. Although their upcoming opponents earned three points from the penalty spot, the Nigerians salvaged one courtesy of goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who denied Canada’s most prolific goalscorer Christine Sinclair from 12-yards.
That took the Super Falcons’ undefeated streak to four games (W3, D1), all four of which were against fellow WWC participants. But both Waldrum and defender Osinachi Ohale acknowledged they’ll need to “work hard” and continue improving, particularly now that they’ve been held scoreless in six of their last seven WWC games (W1, D1, L5), including a 2-0 loss to Australia in the 2015 edition.
Players to watch: Manchester City defender Alanna Kennedy has now started in each of Australia’s last five WWC wins, including the aforementioned game against Nigeria. After her outstanding performance between the posts against Canada, it’s no surprise that Nigeria goalkeeper Nnadozie has collected seven clean sheets from her last 11 games for club or country.
Hot streak: All but one of Nigeria’s last 18 victories were all accompanied by a clean sheet.