Football betting tips: Women's World Cup 2023
1pt Rachel Daly to score 2+ goals at 15/8 (General)
1pt Melchie Dumornay to score anytime at 12/1 (General)
England kick off their Women's World Cup campaign against Haiti on Saturday morning as they look to consolidate last summer's Euro crown with world domination.
Their Caribbean opponents are making their bow on the global stage and are 22/1 long-shots to make the knockout stages, but Haiti are no also-rans and a professional Lionesses performance will be needed to quash an underdog playing without expectation.
The Haitians thrashed Senegal 4-0 in their intercontinental play-off semi-final before upsetting a well-fancied Chile side to secure qualification with a 2-1 win in February. Close 2-1 defeats this year against fellow finalists Nigeria and South Korea and a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica suggest an inflated England win such as the 10-0 qualifying maulings of North Macedonia and Luxembourg will not be in order, though Sarina Wiegman's side are still likely to revel in the opportunity to hit the net after scoring just once in four games.
Unsurprisingly for this David versus Goliath encounter, there's little value on offer in the win markets and score markets. But with England's number nine position the subject of a duel between new Arsenal signing Alessia Russo and WSL top-scorer Rachel Daly, there is one option that does catch my eye: RACHEL DALY TO SCORE 2+ GOALS.
It's hard to pin down which of England's two talented snipers will lead the line at kick-off on Saturday - they could even share the field, as we saw in the latter part of the April friendly against Australia - but it'd be highly surprising if we didn't see both given a decent run-out.
With no disrespect to Haiti, opening the group against the weakest side gives Wiegman the chance to experiment and with the role of main striker still seemingly up for grabs, it seems overwhelmingly likely that both will get their their chance, as they did against Portugal earlier this month.
Her record-equaling tally of 22 goals in as many games this term surely puts Daly ahead in the pecking order and her run of nine goals in her last five Aston Villa games bring her into this World Cup on white-hot form.
Though some will remember her as a left-back from England's Euro 2022-winning campaign, she has been every inch an attacker this term and given she lashed multiples against Tottenham, Manchester United and Reading in April and May, she's a good bet to do so at 15/8 against the world's 53rd-ranked team - especially with Russo pushing her all the way for the starting spot.
At the other end of the field, let's not forget the Lionesses' potential Achilles' heel: defence. Captain Leah Williamson is out injured while stand-in skipper Millie Bright rushes to be fit in time. Haiti have scored in seven of their eight matches in 2023 and at 12/1, MELCHIE DUMORNAY TO SCORE ANYTIME is worth entertaining as an outside shout.
The Reims forward, snapped up for next season by big-hitters Lyon and one to watch at this event, netted five goals in her last three French league games to close out the season.
Her team's star player, Dumornay - also known as 'Corventina' - could be the one to nick a consolation and that price seems long given her her big-league pedigree.
England v Haiti best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Rachel Daly to score 2+ goals at 15/8 (General)
- 1pt Melchie Dumornay to score anytime at 12/1 (General)
Score prediction: England 5-1 Haiti (Sky Bet odds: 16/1)
Odds correct at 22320 BST (19/07/23)
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