Zambia takes on Japan to commence each nation’s 2023 Women’s World Cup Saturday. Kickoff from FMG Stadium Waikato is set for 3 a.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Zambia vs. Japan odds, and make our best Women’s World Cup bets, picks and predictions.
Zambia will be making its World Cup debut after qualifying as the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal winner. Zambia, No. 77 in the FIFA Women World Rankings, has played 9 matches this calendar year, winning 4 of them, drawing just 1 and losing 4. Zambia won 6 of 8 games in 2022. F Barbra Banda is the most notable player, having scored 22 goals in 10 caps.
Japan, ranked No. 11 by FIFA, qualified for the World Cup by being a quarterfinal winner of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. It has now made the event 9 straight times. Japan is 3-3 so far this year after going 3-2-1 in 2022. Japan lost 1-0 to Brazil on Feb. 16 and 1-0 to USA on Feb, 19.
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Zambia vs. Japan odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 6:22 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Zambia +775 (bet $100 to win $775) | Japan -375 (bet $375 to win $100) | Draw +475
- Over/Under: 3.5 (O: -115 | U: -120)
Zambia vs. Japan picks and predictions
Prediction
Japan 3, Zambia 0
Moneyline (ML)
PASS.
Japan has competed well against top-tier nations this year and should be primed to perform up to expectations in the World Cup. Zambia similarly hasn’t made the event before and may struggle to play at Japan’s level.
However, given the (-375) value on the favorite, there’s no reason to consider a moneyline play. The risk isn’t worth the potentially minimal reward.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET UNDER 3.5 (-120).
Japan beat Panama 5-0 on July 14. Other than that, it has gone Under 3.5 in in its other 5 matches this year. Japan went Under this total in 4 of 6 last year as well. Zambia has gone Over in 3 straight games, but this intensity should be higher than that of a friendly.
Japan also held 2 of the most potent offenses to just 1 goal each earlier in the year, so it should be able to tame Zambia. Considering how Japan should take the pace out of the game, back the UNDER 3.5 (+100).
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