Norway W vs Philippines W prediction: WORLD: World Cup Women betting tips on match 2023-07-29 07:00.
Norway were once one of the powerhouses of the women’s game, but the former European, World and Olympic champions currently look a shadow of the nation they once were. They sit bottom of Group A after their opening Women’s World Cup (WWC) defeat to co-hosts New Zealand was followed up by a 0-0 draw against Switzerland, extending the Grasshoppers’ winless run to six matches across all competitions (D3, L3).
That’s Norway's worst run of form for ten years, but more crucially now means they must beat the Philippines here to avoid crashing out at the group stage for just the second-ever time at a WWC. The other occasion was back in 2011, and that was the only edition in their eight previous WWC tournaments where they didn’t win their final group-stage match, losing 2-1 to Australia.
They would have been heavily backed to beat the Philippines before the tournament started, but as things slowly fall apart in Hege Riise’s Norway camp, it’s the polar opposite in Alen Stajcic’s squad. The Southeast Asian outfit secured a historic first-ever WWC win against New Zealand (1-0) in their second game, simultaneously bouncing back from their opening-match defeat to Switzerland and keeping alive their hopes of progressing in their debut WWC tournament.
Goalkeeper Olivia Davies-McDaniel was named player of the match in the wake of the win after a string of standout saves. She revealed post-match that the victory “meant everything” to her side, and she could play a crucial role against Norway, especially as the Philippines have scored more than a single goal in only one of their last five matches (W3, L2).
Players to watch: Caroline Graham Hansen could be in line for a Norway return after apologising for her emotional outburst aimed at coach Riise – she ended the season with Barcelona by registering 22 goal contributions (G13, A9) in just 19 matches. After scoring the last kick in a penalty-shootout win against Chinese Taipei to seal the Philippines’ spot in this WWC, it seems only right that it was Sarina Bolden who made history by scoring her side’s first goal at the showpiece event last time out against New Zealand.
Hot stat: Norway haven’t scored beyond the 60th minute in any of their last eight WWC matches.