France W vs Jamaica W prediction: WORLD: World Cup Women betting tips on match 2023-07-22 10:00.
France are set to make their fifth appearance at a FIFA Women's World Cup (WWC) finals after a perfect qualifying campaign (W10), in large part thanks to an offensive unit that scored 54 goals, representing the third-highest total in the UEFA section. Having experienced two quarter-final exits in the last two editions, Les Bleues, currently ranked fifth by FIFA, will now look to break down barriers and lift the first major trophy in their history.
New head coach Hervé Renard is likely the right person to "seek this psychological trigger" as he recently stated, given that he led Saudi Arabia to a fairytale victory over Argentina during the last men’s World Cup! Renard can rely on his team’s ability to start the competition strongly, as France have won their opening group-stage game without conceding a goal in their last three WWC appearances.
Currently ranked 43rd by FIFA, Jamaica are expected to struggle to stop this trend of France clean sheets, especially after losing all three of their group-stage matches by an aggregate score of 12-1 in their first appearance at a WWC in 2019. With only one victory across their seven international matches in 2023 (D1, L5) – a 1-0 win against lowly Morocco – the Reggae Girlz’s form approaching this competition is no more encouraging.
Xavier Gilbert, the assistant to Jamaica’s head coach, Lorne Donaldson, has provided reassurance this week however, stating that the players are “physically and mentally prepared to face France”. Donaldson’s most pressing task is to improve on some poor recent starts though, after the Jamaicans conceded first within the opening 20 minutes in their previous three competitive outings (D1, L2).
Players to watch: Kadidiatou Diani, the Division 1 Féminine Golden Boot winner last season with Paris Saint-Germain (G17), could get France off to a strong start, having scored all but one of her last 12 international goals in the first half. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, the Women's Super League second-top scorer in 2022/23 (G20), will look to outdo Diani, averaging a staggering 1.45 goals per match with Jamaica (P38, G55).
Hot stat: Jamaica have conceded at least three goals in each of their previous four matches against UEFA nations.