England v Nigeria: Lionesses to roar once more
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England face Nigeria in Brisbane on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup.
The Lionesses struggled for goals in their first two games but their campaign burst into life with a 6-1 thrashing of China to make it three wins from three in Group D.
They are clear favourites at 1/10 to progress and 1/4 for victory in 90 minutes as we pick out some England Women v Nigeria Women betting tips.
Routes to the last 16
Lauren James was the star of the show against China with two goals and three assists as she led a revived England attack and ensured the Lionesses secured top spot in Group D.
Alessia Russo opened her account for the tournament after four minutes while Lauren Hemp and James made it three by the halfway point, with James seeing another chalked off following a VAR check in stoppage time at Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium.
Wang Shuang clawed one back with a spot-kick after the break, but strikes from substitute Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly assured the Lionesses of a more dominant victory following successive 1-0 wins against Haiti and Denmark.
Nigeria battled to a goalless draw in their opening Group B match against Canada, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie saving a spot-kick, before they stunned Australia with a memorable 3-2 victory in Brisbane.
Randy Waldrum’s side then secured progress into the knockout phase as group runners-up when they drew 0-0 against the Republic of Ireland.
American coach Waldrum has highlighted the chemistry and bond within the squad as key to their success so far.
Having fought their way out of arguably one of the toughest pools, expect more of the same determination, with Waldrum often utilising a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation to maximise impact as Nigeria aim for what would be a first win in the Women’s World Cup knockout stage.
This is undoubtedly their toughest test yet, though, and the Lionesses to win and over 2.5 goals in the match at 11/10 is the first of our England Women v Nigeria Women predictions.
Players to watch
James came on as a substitute against Haiti but started against Denmark and needed just six minutes to curl in what proved to be the only goal.
Her performance against China surely means she has cemented her place in the team and she will be a popular pick to score first at 5/1 in the England Women v Nigeria Women betting odds, while she is 2/1 to be on target in an England win.
The biggest danger for Nigeria looks to be midfielder Asisat Oshoala. A team-mate of England defender Lucy Bronze at Barcelona, Oshoala opened her 2023 World Cup account with what proved to be the winner against Australia.
Earlier in her career, the 28-year-old had spells in England with Liverpool and Arsenal, winning the 2016 FA Cup with the latter. Following a move to Barcelona from Chinese club Dalian, Oshoala – a five-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year – went on to win the Champions League as well as the Primera Division title.
Nigeria coach Waldrum is in no doubt about the impact she can make, saying: “When you have Oshoala, you have a chance against any team.”
Previous meetings
The Lionesses won their first meeting with Nigeria, Karen Farley striking twice in a 3-2 victory in the final group game at the 1995 World Cup.
Since then, however, the Super Falcons have emerged victorious in each of the two friendly fixtures between the nations.
They triumphed 3-0 in a friendly against Hope Powell’s England in Reading in April 2004 and were 1-0 winners when the teams met in Norwich in July 2002, Florence Omagbemi’s goal settling matters.
Nigeria are 12/1 to win in 90 minutes on Monday but England are a much improved team these days, even with some key players missing due to injury.
For the last of our England Women v Nigeria Women betting tips, we fancy the Lionesses to win 3-0 at 6/1.
Match Info
Where: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
When: 08.30, Monday August 7th
How to watch: BBC
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
