Women’s World Cup Betting: United States, Spain Are Colossal Favorites on Friday

Day 2 of the Women's World Cup has three solid matchups on deck, with a pair of the tournament's two-biggest favorites -- the United States and Spain -- making their 2023 debut. East Coast audiences will have to stay up late to catch the first two matches as Friday's action kicks off at 1 a.m. EST and then again at 3:30 a.m. EST.

American fans are rewarded with a prime-time slot on Friday night with the United States starting at 9 p.m. EST. Below is a snapshot of each of the three games, and the World Cup odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook:

Philippines vs. Switzerland

After New Zealand's shocking upset of Norway on Thursday in the other opening-round clash in Group A, Switzerland has an opportunity to make a statement by taking three early points in this clash. The Swiss entered the tournament with the second-best odds to win Group A behind Norway, but Switzerland is right in the thick of it after Norway's opening-day loss.

On paper, this is Switzerland's easiest match. That's reflected in the odds -- although, New Zealand's stunner has already set the precedent for chaos this tournament. Despite slotting in at No. 46 in the FIFA rankings, the Filipinas won't go down easy. They are coached by technical genius Alen Stajcic, who will likely look to slow the game down and grind things out in a defensive affair.

While this is the Philipines' first World Cup, they won't be short on goal-scoring options. Across their last 16 international competitions, four Filipinas netted six goals: Katrina Guillou, Tahnai Annis, Carleigh Frilles, and Anicka Castañeda. However, it's American-born Sarina Bolden who has the shortest odds to score for the Philippines at +420. Bolden has notched 21 international goals across 36 caps since 2018.

For the 20th-ranked Swiss, they'll be looking for their first international win since last October -- having drawn five of their last six matches. Captain Lia Wälti may headline the team's possession-oriented attack, but she probably won't do the actual goal-scoring. She'll leave that to Ramona Bachmann (-125 anytime goalscorer), Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (+175), and Coumba Sow (+240) -- the three of which combined for 25 goals in their last 16 international appearances.

Spain vs. Costa Rica

The first of the true favorites to get on the pitch in this World Cup, Spain (No. 6 in FIFA) takes on Costa Rica (No. 36) to kick off Group C play. By the odds, this is a matchup between the best and worst teams in the group -- with Spain coming in as a -440 favorite to win the group and Costa Rica a +10000 longshot to do so.

Spain has the star power to play with anyone, and they've racked up 12 consecutive international wins dating back to 2021. Attacking midfielder Alexia Putellas rivals any women's soccer player on Earth, although fitness is a question mark. She was notably limited to just 57 minutes in their most recent friendly against Denmark but still owns the second-shortest odds to score at -320 -- a steep-but-fair number for the two-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Including the captain, Putellas, eight Spaniards are -105 or better to score. Chief among those is Putellas, along with Esther Gonzalez (-340) and Jenni Hermoso (-310). Gonzalez is Spain's top attacking option, and she has racked up 11 goals and 5 assists across her last 10 international appearances.

As for the underdogs, Costa Rica faces an uphill battle in keeping up with Spain. Costa Rica lost both of its friendlies this year -- 2-1 to Poland and 4-0 to Scotland. Considering some of Spain's recent results (7-0 against Panama and 4-2 vs. Norway), this could get out of hand -- fast.

That's reflected in Costa Rica's goalscorer odds, as the shortest odds a Costa Rican has to score is +3000, courtesy of Priscila Chinchilla. Costa Rica may be lucky to score at all, as both teams to score is listed at +310.

The lopsided nature of this match is also apparent in the correct score market. The two scorelines with the shortest odds are 4-0 (+490) and 5-0 (+500) wins for Spain. Spain to win 10-0 (+6000) is more likely than Costa Rica to win the match (+10000).

United States vs. Vietnam

Finally, the two-time defending champion United States takes on Vietnam. The USA enters ranked No. 1 in the FIFA rankings and is the odds-on favorite to win the World Cup at +220.

If you think Spain was a large favorite at -10000, the Americans are -20000 to beat Vietnam. In the previous World Cup, the US thrashed Thailand by a 13-0 score. We could see something similar here.

For a more complete breakdown of this one, check out our preview of the USA-Vietnam match.

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.