Women’s World Cup Betting – Germany vs. France

Germany (+100) vs France (+280), Draw (+229)

Two of the favorites for the 2015 Women’s World Cup title are, unfortunately, forced to square off in the quarterfinals today as Germany face France at the Stade Olympique in Montreal, Canada (4:00 PM Eastern).

Germany was a disappointment four years ago as host, losing to Japan in the quarterfinals. But, along with the U.S., the Germans have long been the dominant force in women’s soccer, and have looked every bit the part of world power this time around, outscoring their opponents 19-2 through four games.

With Team U.S.A. suffering a rash of injuries, Germany has become the overall favorite to win the tourney (at +187 versus +225 for the U.S.) thanks to their strong showing thus far.

After crushing Ivory Coast (10-0) and Thailand (4-0) in the group stage, the Germans suffered a surprise draw against Norway. But they got back on the winning track in the Round of 16, easing past a solid Sweden team, 4-1.

Germany will be facing a French team that finished a surprising fourth four years ago. No longer taking teams by surprise, France entered this year’s edition third in the odds (behind only Germany and the U.S.). Like Germany, they looked great in two round-robin games (beating Mexico, 5-0, and England, 1-0) but subpar in the third (a shocking 2-0 loss to Colombia).

Again like the Germans, France put in a very impressive performance in the Round of 16, dispatching of South Korea, 3-0.

Germany represents a significant jump in competition, but French manager Philippe Bergeroo sees his side as a force to be reckoned with, as well.

“The mental aspect is key because it’s going to be a tough match for France but for Germany, too. We have gotten ourselves closer, knowing we have a lot of respect for this team. They have been world champions twice, European champions eight times, but the women are really motivated to not go down without a fight”, Bergeroo told RMC.

These two sides met in the 2011 World Cup group stage with the Germans coming out on top (4-2). They also clashed in a World Cup prep game, though, and France emerged with a surprising 2-0 win. But there’s a reason Germany have distanced themselves at the top of the odds; their offense is simply too much to handle, and the French will learn that the hard way today.

Pick: Germany (+100). 

(Photo credit: Andreas Nilsson/bilderna.it [Attribution or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)