Women’s World Cup: Japan and Sweden Duel in a Clash of Styles

Japan vs Sweden

It is guaranteed that we’ll have a new champion here in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and Japan and Sweden have a chance to stake their claim for the biggest prize.

Japan and Sweden are both entering this game with a ton of confidence following their Women’s World Cup 2023 results on the last matchday.

The Nadeshiko are fresh from a convincing 3-1 win against Norway in the previous round, while the Swedes put an end to the USA’s three-peat bid when they beat them via penalties following a 0-0 draw in regulation, a result that we kind of predicted here at SBOTOP.

Unfortunately, only one of these two nations can advance to the semi-finals, so who will it be?

Talking Points

Japan emerge as the dark horse contenders

Japan have scored 14 goals so far in this tournament, which is their most ever in their Women’s World Cup history. The Nadeshiko scored at least three goals in three of their four matches this year, which is as many times as they had in their previous 33 Women’s World Cup matches combined.

Hinata Miyazawa is mainly responsible for Japan’s resurgence. The 23-year-old has become the unlikely frontrunner for the Golden Boot award with five goals and counting.

The Mynavi Sendai midfielder does so much more than score because she also has an assist and has created five chances. She’s thriving as Japan’s No. 10 with a passing percentage of 84-per cent, and she only turned the ball over 20 times in four games.

But what makes Japan really hard to beat is the fact that they have only conceded one goal thus far, and they have Moeka Minami and Saki Kumagai to thank for that. The AS Roma duo has recorded 58 clearances and 45 interceptions combined, and they can score on set pieces too when the opportunity presents itself.

The Futoshi Ikeda-mentored squad actually came into this tournament with low expectations, but given their current form, they have now flown under the radar as the team to beat.

Every inch counts for Sweden, literally

Sweden managed to defeat the USA by the finest of margins, similar to the Japan-Germany matchup in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

The Swedes and the Stars and Stripes exchanged makes and misses during the penalty shootout. Megan Rapinoe and Sophia Smith actually had their chances to seal the deal for the Americans, but they both missed, and Sweden equalised.

Lina Hurtig had the final kick of the game with a chance to send Sweden through. USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher got a piece of Hurtig’s attempt, but it was deemed a score for the Swedes after the VAR determined that the ball crossed the plane by roughly a millimeter.

In this tournament, defence has been the name of the game for Sweden. They have played the last 342 minutes without conceding a goal thanks to the outstanding performances of centre-back Amanda Ilestedt and goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, but Japan will present their biggest challenge yet.

History

Friday marks the fourth Women’s World Cup meeting between Japan and Sweden. After losing their first two fixtures against the Swedes with a whopping aggregate tally of 0-10, the Nadeshiko won their most recent one, a 3-1 result in the semi-finals in 2011.

After eliminating Sweden in the semis, Japan won their first-ever Women’s World Cup trophy at the expense of the USA, beating them via penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation.

Sweden, on the other hand, settled for the bronze medal after defeating France in the third-place play-off.

Japan have won five of their six games played in the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup against European counterparts, with the only loss coming in the Round of 16 in 2019 against the Netherlands (2-1).

Sweden are going to play their seventh Women’s World Cup quarter-final on Friday, and only Germany and the USA have made more appearances at this juncture (8 each).

Betting Tip

The Women’s World Cup 2023 odds back Japan to win against Sweden. The Nadeshiko are priced to win at 2.23, while the Swedes are not far behind at 2.83, and a draw is at 3.15 in the 1X2 market.

Sweden’s defence has been hard to breach, but they’ve shown chinks in their armour against the USA. The Stars and Stripes had several chances against the Swedes, but they just weren’t clinical enough, and that is why they lost.

However, that won’t be the case against a more ruthless Japanese side, so going for Over 2.00 at 1.80 feels like your best bet.

 

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