China Women v England Women Tips

Sarina Wiegman’s England are two for two in the Women’s World Cup so far, and after a second performance much more convincing than their first they’re on the brink of the knockouts.

A retaken Georgia Stanway penalty was enough in the end at Lang Park against Haiti, and a fine Lauren James strike was the difference earlier this week as they saw off the tougher task of Denmark.

Like in their first two games, the Lionesses are the favourites for victory once again, but - like the Danes - their next opponents, China, are ranked in FIFA’s top 15 and will certainly back their chances of spring a surprise at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Football expert, Joe Crann, is on hand to take a closer look as Group D comes to a close.

Knockouts beckon

It could have been confirmed on Friday morning, but results elsewhere meant that even England’s win wasn’t enough to book their place in the Round of 16 – and a defeat on Tuesday could still see them crash out.

England are currently the third favourites to win the competition (8 outright winners), and The Steel Roses are at 9.2 to win this tie, but there has been plenty in Australia and New Zealand to suggest that the odds can be upset – Morocco and Colombia two of the latest examples.

Defeat wouldn’t be the end of the world for Wiegman or her team, and they will still be guaranteed to go through regardless if Denmark lose/draw – but they’ll certainly be looking to finish the group on a high.

The form guide

England have only failed to come out on top in six of their last 34 matches across all competitions, and their only defeat in the last two years came at the hands of Sam Kerr’s Matildas in April. Their latest win, though, came at a cost as they lost Keira Walsh to a knee injury.

With just three goals in their last five games they’ve hardly been clinical, and up against a difficult Chinese side it’d come as a surprise to see those floodgates open. Under 2.5 goals is at 1.79, and both teams to score comes in at 2.42.

Shui Qingxia’s side have just two clean sheets in their last six matches, but have won three of the last five and held their own in draws against the likes of Japan and Switzerland over the last 12 months. Wang Shuang scored in their 1-0 win over Haiti, and they’re at five for another clean sheet for this one, with England at 1.78.

Arsenal’s Alessia Russo (2.34) and Rachel Daly (2.5) of Aston Villa are viewed as the favourites to get on the scoresheet, but whether they both start remains to be seen.

Score first, win

If England can take the lead, they should be fine. Over the course of their entire time playing in WWCs they’ve never lost when getting the first goal, and they’ve gone on to win 14 of 16 matches in which they’ve done so.

They have also scored first half goals in all of their 10 wins since becoming European Champions, so seeing them take a lead into half-time wouldn’t be a shock.