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Australia vs England betting tips:
- England to win – 13/10 with BetUK
- Over 9.5 corners – 10/11 with Unibet
- Alessia Russo to score – 3/1 with Bet365
England have been installed as the favourites to beat Australia when the teams meet in Sydney for a World Cup semi-final showdown on Wednesday.
Goals from forwards Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo powered the Lionesses to a 2-1 victory over Colombia in the quarter-finals.
They are now unbeaten in five games at this tournament and they should be full of confidence when they step onto the pitch at Stadium Australia.
The best betting sites make England the 11/8 favourites to win this game in 90 minutes, but they will need to dig deep against a resolute Australia side.
The Matildas will benefit from passionate home support on Wednesday and they will also gain confidence from the clean sheet they kept against France in the last round.
It promises to be a tense game played out in a hostile atmosphere inside the 80,000-seat arena, but England should get the job done if they stay focused.
We have analysed both teams’ chances of success below and we have broken down our best bets for this match, with Spain awaiting the winners in Sunday's final.
Back England to scrape through
England’s impressive 30-game unbeaten streak came to an ignominious end when they lost 2-0 to Australia in a friendly back in April.
However, the Lionesses can count themselves highly unfortunate to lose that game, which was held at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.
They had 71 per cent of the possession and came close to scoring on several occasions but they were profligate in front of goal.
Perhaps they were a little fatigued as they had beaten Brazil on penalties in the Finalissima just five days prior to that game.
Australia only managed two shots on target in the entire match, but both found the back of the net, so it was smash-and-grab stuff from the Matildas.
Since then, England have embarked on another six-game unbeaten streak, meaning they have lost just once in their last 37 matches.
Their last competitive defeat came in 2020 when they lost to USA in the SheBelieves Cup, so that result could be considered a blip.
They finished top of their Women’s World Cup group with a 100 per cent record and they managed to find a way past Nigeria in the last 16, despite having Lauren James sent off.
England displayed grit and desire by overturning a one-goal deficit to beat Colombia in the quarter-finals and their experience in winning Euro 2022 last summer should stand them in good stead.
Australia were not particularly convincing in the group stage as they clinched a narrow 1-0 win against Republic of Ireland, before losing 3-2 to Nigeria.
However, they thrashed Canada in their final group stage match before beating Denmark 2-0 in the last 16.
They rode their luck at times against France in the quarter-finals, but they managed to hold on for a 0-0 draw and they won on penalties.
The Matildas are well-organised and disciplined at the back, while Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord are terrific down the flanks.
However, star player Sam Kerr is carrying an injury, which restricted her to a cameo appearance against France.
England look capable of winning the midfield battle and they should scrape a narrow victory if they can drown out the noise inside Stadium Australia on Wednesday.
Tip: England to win – 13/10 with BetUK
Corners market looks appealing
England were awarded nine corners in that 2-0 friendly defeat to Australia in April, followed by 13 corners in a subsequent friendly against Portugal.
They have won an average of 6.2 corners per game across five matches at the Women’s World Cup, which reflects their tendency to bomb down the flanks and whip balls into the box.
Australia only won a single corner at Gtech Community Stadium that day but they have earned an average of 7.4 per match at this tournament.
That figure is skewed by the 15 they earned in their 3-2 defeat to Nigeria, but they did earn eight corners and conceded 12 against France in the quarter-finals.
For those reasons, odds of 10/11 on over 9.5 corners in this game look attractive. Most football betting sites will provide corner betting markets but you’ll find the best odds at Unibet at the time of writing.
Tip: Over 9.5 corners – 10/11 with Unibet
Can Russo seize the limelight again?
Russo has spearheaded the England attack in every game so far at this tournament, having seen off competition from Rachel Daly to land the role.
She repaid manager Sarina Wiegman’s faith by firing in the winning goal against Colombia, taking her tally to two in five matches at this tournament.
The Arsenal striker remains England’s main goal threat at this tournament while James is suspended and she could cause problems for the Matildas on Wednesday.
She will benefit from decent service from the likes of Hemp, Ella Toone, Lucy Bronze and Daly – who has been deployed on the left flank – and she looks well-priced to get on the scoresheet once again.
Russo may be a 20/1 Golden Boot outsider in the latest Women’s World Cup odds, but she can make her mark at this crucial stage of the tournament.
Updated by
Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
