Third place games are never easy to predict, as you never know how either side is going to react to losing just a few days early. England suffered the cruelest of heartbreaks against Japan, while Germany was bullied around by the United States. Neither could be in the best of shape heading into Saturday's penultimate match of this tournament.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Don't tell the oddsmakers that this is a tough fixture to call, though. Germany is the heavy favorite at -200 to win this match in 90 minutes. The Germans are -1 on the Asian Handicap at -120 vig, while the Brits are even money at +1.
The total is understandably high, as these third place games tend to produce higher scoring results and more forward thinking on the part of the attackers. The total is set at a flat 3, the second highest total we have seen in a match here in the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Laura Bassett is devastated after the own goal, but without her, we wouldn't have been in the semifinal. It was a horrible moment, but you just have to look at how the team has supported her to understand that she'll be able to get over it. This group is so close-knit that the players are now friends for life." – England manager Mark Sampson following the 2-1 loss to Japan in the semifinal on Wednesday
RECENT FORM
Germany had no problem storming through this entire tournament before running into the Americans. To the Germans' credit, they played against a brutal road to reach the semifinal, going up against Sweden and France in two very difficult fixtures. However, to get bullied around by the Stars and Stripes for basically 75 full minutes after a great opening 15 or so was a shock for the No. 1 ranked team in the world.
Surely, you've seen the Laura Bassett own goal by now that knocked England out of the World Cup. The Brits played their hearts out, and they were arguably the better of the two teams going into stoppage time here in Edmonton. Still, that one poor touch of the ball from Bassett back past Karen Bardsley in net erased the wins over Canada and Norway before it.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
On form, we suspect that this is going to be a game with a ton of goals in it. The Germans had far more opportunities on Hope Solo than any other team has had against the US here in this tournament, and they were unlucky not to bag at least one on the penalty kick halfway through the second half.
Even though Dzsenifer Marozsan, one of the top midfielders in the world isn't truly healthy, Anja Mittag and Celia Sasic will surely get their chances, and they aren't likely to miss as they did against the US.
We really question the Three Lionesses right now. Sure, they played the game of their lives against Japan, and they really deserved much better in the match. If they play that well against Germany, they have a chance of getting third place, which would be a huge accomplishment.
However, we just don't see it happening that way. One bad moment on defense early on could see a lot of Brits' heads down in a hurry, and the second that happens, the blitz could be on.
Germany 4, England 1
BookMaker has Women's World Cup lines for every match of the season. Germany is lined as a -200 moneyline favorite, while the total is set at 3. You can make a futures bet and predict the champion, wager on head-to-head matchups or use BookMaker’s live betting feature to gamble while the match is happening.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The fixture between Germany and England is scheduled for Saturday, July 4, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The match will be televised live on FOX.
