Women’s World Cup tips: Best bets and predictions for Thursday's matches

Despite a heavy defeat to Germany in the opening round, Morocco quelled doubters with a stunning victory over South Korea in their second match and find themselves with a fighting chance of reaching the latter stages.

Colombia, meanwhile, look to continue their rich vein of scoring form that currently stands at 15 consecutive matches in which they’ve found the back of the net. This should be hugely advantageous for the South American outfit as, comparatively, Morocco have failed to score in 10 of their last 12 outings.

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Reynald Pedros’ side are the first Arab team to grace a Women’s World Cup, but they are rank outsiders with  here on the back of two deadly displays from Colombia in their previous group games.

Despite being the first encounter between the nations, Nelson Abadia’s side have won all three previous games against African opposition and will be looking to end the group stage with a 100 per cent record for the first time in their history.

South Korea vs Germany tips – 11:00am on BBC Two

Germany headed to the World Cup with high hopes following their impressive qualification campaign (W9, L1). However, things haven’t been plain sailing for Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side and they find themselves with work to do in the final game following their dramatic 97 minute loss to Colombia. 

Scoring hasn’t been an issue for Die Nationalelf though, and star striker Alexandra Popp is in the golden boot race after notching three goals in her first two matches. 

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Likewise, things haven’t been perfect for South Korea, who were stunned by Morocco on Sunday. This leaves Colin Bell’s side with only pride to play for alongside their aim of avoiding a repeat of their torrid 2019 World Cup campaign which saw them lose all three group games.

With Germany needing victory and South Korea doomed, the value in this one comes from the goalscoring market. Expect a masterclass of possession from Germany that could result in a long afternoon for South Korea.

Billy Newton is a sports betting writer. He is a former match reporter and has freelanced for several publications primarily covering football, rugby league, darts and boxing.

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