Women's World Cup Betting: Is Japan a Deserving Favorite Over Sweden on Friday?

The stakes are ramping up as we are in the quarterfinals. Early Saturday morning, we've got a matchup between two of the teams that have been among the best in the tournament. Whoever wins this match will certainly have a chance to win the World Cup.

This one will kick off on Friday, August 11th at 3:30 AM Eastern.

All Women's World Cup odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Japan (-162) vs Sweden (+132)

Japan made the quarterfinals after beating Norway, 3-1, on Saturday. They continue to impress with their attacking abilities, having now scored 14 goals in four matches.

They continue to benefit from a nice run of shooting form, as they only created 1.0 expected goals (xG) in that match against Norway, with one of the goals being an own goal. This carries over from their 4-0 win against Spain in the group in which they amassed only had 0.9 xG.

It shouldn't go overlooked that Japan have also been solid defensively. The goal against Norway was the first they've conceded all tournament. They limited a very dangerous Spanish team to just 0.7 xG in said match in the group stage.

Hinata Miyazawa continues to have the tournament of her life. The 23-year-old currently leads the World Cup with five goals. She's listed at +240 to score at any time in this match and is also the favorite to win the Golden Boot at +130.

Sweden got through their last match by the skin of their teeth. They were one penalty kick away from potentially going home against the US and then had their winning penalty barely cross the line in order for them to advance.

It's fair to say that Sweden were outplayed by the US in that match. The Americans had 1.3 xG and 58% possession. It took a heroic goalkeeping performance from Zecira Musovic to keep them in the match before penalties, as she made 11 saves in the normal run of play.

This was a bit of a blip for Sweden, as they pretty handily won all of their other games, save for a slight scare against South Africa. They created at least 2.0 xG in all of their other matches and came into the tournament ranked third by FIFA.

Both of these teams have been impressive in the tournament, and it's easy to see either side advancing from this round and potentially winning it all. Sweden likely would have been favored in this match if it was the first game of the tournament, given the rankings of the two teams, but Japan's results at the World Cup have changed things.

Sweden had looked good before being outplayed by a US team ranked first in the world. In my eyes, it's easy to like getting Sweden at +132 to advance or +230 to win in regulation against a Japanese side that is likely headed for negative regression at some point.

Looking for more Women's World Cup betting opportunities? Check out all of the Women's World Cup odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.