Women's World Cup Finals Germany

Sweden v Australia
Australia v Norway
Australia v Equatorial Guinea




Sunday, July 10

Sweden v Australia

Winners of Group C, Sweden, tackle runners-up in Group D, Australia in what promises to be an intriguing quarter-final. Pre-tournament dark horses to win the tournament, Sweden's stocks sky-rocketed exponentially following the 2-1 defeat of tournament favourites, USA, and a maximum haul of 9pts from their three group encounters (1-0 win over Colombia, 1-0 win over North Korea). The comprehensively younger and more inexperienced Australians did it much tougher in their respective group with a nail-biting 2-1 win over Norway, paving the way to the knockout stages. Preceding this result, Australia defeated Equatorial Guinea 3-2 while suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Samba girls, Brazil.

At an average age of 27, it's safe to say that the majority of these Swedish players will be willing to make the most of this opportunity, especially after the dissapointment of 2007. Four years ago in China, Sweden were knocked out in the group stages with current players Sjogran, Larsson, Seger, and Schelin all part of that failed campaign. Australia has a plethora of young talent led by star striker Lisa De Vanna. Considering that most of these Aussies will not peak until four years down the track, a quarter-final birth is already a big achievement. Manager, Tom Sermanni, eluded to this in a pre-match conference - stating that this Matildas' squad had already surpassed the achievements of 2007, when Australia was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Brazil.

At this tournament, Sweden has shown to be a very organized and composed outfit. Led by captain Caroline Seger and Lisa Dahlkvist in midfield, the Swedes have a lot of bite in the centre of the park while Landstrom and the impressive Lotta Schelin are a handful going forward. Australia rely heavily on the skill and pace of Lisa De Vanna in addition to the creativity of midfielder, Collette McCallum. So far, the defense has been an obvious weakness for the Aussies and this is where I believe the Swedes can take advantage. With experience, squad depth, and superior technical ability on their side, I expect Sweden to have too much for their promising opponents.

Pick: Sweden -0.5ah @2.03 (10bet, 10 units)
Sweden 3 - 1 Australia


Wednesday, July 6

Australia v Norway


In the third and final game of Group D, Brazil has an almost unassailable lead with 6pts (+4GD) while Norway (-2GD) and Australia (0GD) are locked on 3pts following narrow wins over Equatorial Guinea.

In their most recent outing in Bochum, Australia made hard work of minnows Equatorial Guinea, despite dominating the game for long periods. In a game which will mostly be remembered for the worst officiating blunder of all time, two calamitous defensive errors by Aussie central defender, Servet Unzular, left the Aussies sweating in the final stages of the game. In the end, they held out for a 3-2 win which on the balance of play, should of been a much more emphatic score line.
Just as they did against Australia, Brazil's first half performance against Norway was well below satisfactory with the Scandinavians dominating possession and creating numerous goal scoring opportunities. However, the girls in red paid for their inaccuracy in front of goal as Brazil scored on their first foray forward with Marta's trademark mazy run and neat finish in the 22nd minute. Norway seemed to lose their way after that and following the half-time break, a quickfire two goals in the space of 2 minutes by Rosana and Marta put the result beyond doubt.
With Brazil already through to the next round, we wait to see who will progress out of Group D.

Thanks to their superior goal difference, Australia only need a draw to reach the last 8 while for Norway, nothing but a win is good enough. Both teams have shown obvious flaws in their game, especially in defence so a clean sheet for either team will be a surprise. Australia has displayed a better standard of football in the first two games with Khamis, McCallum, and De Vanna dangerous going forward. I expect Norway's long ball game to cause Australia some concern but I feel that Australia's superior passing game and numerous forward options gives them the edge.

Picks:
Australia dnb @2.0 (winbet, 10 units)
Australia 2 - 1 Norway
Over 2.5 goals @2.06 (dafabet, 5 units)
Australia 2 - 1 Norway

Sunday, July 3

Australia v Equatorial Guinea


Verdict: Following the first round of matches in Group D, both Australia and Equatorial Guinea find themselves winless. Australia can count themselves unlucky in the 1-0 defeat to World no.3, Brazil, after dominating for long periods up until half time. Brazil came out more determined in the second term. The pressure paid off when striker, Rosana, pounced on confusion in the Australian backline to score the winner.
Led by inspirational captain, Anonima, Equatorial Guinea acquitted themselves well against Norway, belying their low ranking of 61. Unfortutanely, Anonima's amazing 13 attempts on goal was to no avail as Norway's second half strike from close range condemned the Africans to a 1-0 defeat.

Ranked no.11 in the world, Australia is a rising force in the women's game. Since reaching the quarter-finals four years ago in China, the round ball game has grown in popularity in OZ with a semi-professional women's competition, W-League, established in 2008. Led by veterans Melissa Barbieri, Sally Shipard, Heather Garriock and star striker Lisa De Vanna, Australia is a very well organized outfit with a mixture of youth and experience. The Aussies expect big things at this tournament so with a tough game against Norway to come, it may come down to goal difference in the end.
Equatorial Guinea played a counter-attacking game against the Norwegians, sitting deep and drawing the Scandinavians in before playing long balls to captain Anonima. They visibly tired in the second half with several players falling over with cramp and other conditions so there's a question mark over general fitness.

If Equatorial Guinea are to cause an unlikely upset, they will need to play a higher line and not allow Australia to play easily through defense/midfield. On the evidence of their first game, I doubt the Africans are in the physical shape to play this style of football.

Pick: Australia -1.25ah @2.05 (pinnacle, 10 units)
Australia 3 - 2 Equatorial Guneia