Women’s World Cup Betting – Japan vs. USA (FINAL)

Japan (+375) vs USA (-133, 2.5 o/u), Draw (+250)

Four years after their dramatic loss in the final of the 2011 World Cup, Team USA is set for a rematch with the defending champs from Japan this Sunday (7:00 PM Eastern at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada).

Japan surprised many by upsetting team USA in penalties at the 2011 World Cup. The squads traded goals in regular time and again in extra time to head to penalties knotted at two. There, the Americans missed their first three attempts and ultimately fell 3-1 with the ever-reliable Abbie Wambach netting the only goal.

Despite both teams being repeat finalists, the road to Sunday’s rematch hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for either side.

Japan needed a late own goal by England in the semifinals to advance. Japan had the better of the possession, but England was the more aggressive side for most of the game – putting 15 attempts at goal to Japan’s seven.

Japan won each their previous five games in the tournament by one goal, as well, taking care of the Netherlands (2-1) and Australia (1-0) in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively, plus downing Ecuador (1-0), Cameroon (2-1), and Switzerland (1-0) in the group stage.

Manager Norio Sasaki knows that his team has more to offer than what it’s shown so far, and he’s hopeful the championship match will bring out the best in his players.

“We didn’t play as well as I’d hoped, but we’ve qualified which is the main thing,” Sasaki admitted in his post-semifinal press conference. “In the final against the USA I think we can go in with a fresh perspective. It’s a final, and there is nothing beyond that. We must not be afraid to make mistakes. This is what I will tell the players.”

Team USA, meanwhile, has been a defensive-minded squad the entire tournament, scoring just nine goals so far but posting clean sheets in five of six games. The defensive approach is in marked contrast to their showing in the last World Cup where they averaged over two goals per game.

The Americans utilized their new scheme to perfection in an epic 2-0 semifinal win over tournament co-favorites Germany. Though the Germans put 15 attempts towards the American goal, keeper Hope Solo was only forced to make one save the entire match.

Carli Lloyd scored the game winning goal on a 69th-minute penalty and Kelly O’Hara added an insurance marker in the 84th to put the game out of reach.

Wambach was all praise for her more-than-game opponents after the match.

“In order to be the best team in the world at the World Cup, you have to beat the best teams,” said the striker to Fox Sports. “‘We just beat the No. 1 team in the world in Germany and now we face Japan, another team that we have so much respect for. They have an amazing team, and they’re the reigning World Cup champions, so I think it’s going to be a fantastic final.”

Japan is looking to follow in the footsteps of the 2003 and 2007 German sides and win back-to-back championships, while the US is after its first title since 1999.

Trend-wise, the squads have met five times since the 2011 World Cup with the US taking two, Japan one, and the other two ending in a draw.

Sunday’s final should be a close, low-scoring game featuring disciplined defense. However, the de facto home-field advantage should be enough to put the Americans over the top and return the World Cup trophy stateside.

Pick: USA (-133).

(Photo credit: rachael.c.king [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)