Before the new European club seasons kick off later in the morning, Saturday’s soccer slate begins with a pair of matches at the Women’s World Cup.
The first game has two of the world's top nations when Australia host France, where I see value in the corner market.
Meanwhile, England look to reach the semifinal round for the second straight summer by defeating Columbia, leading me to a similar play as the match above.
Make sure you get your coffee ready because these fixtures are a great start to a day full of betting opportunities in soccer. So, let’s dive into the best prop bets on the board at the World Cup.
World Cup Picks – Australia vs France, England vs Columbia
Australia vs France – Over 8.5 Corners (-120 via bet365)
Coming into this tournament, Australia had plenty of excitement as one of the top countries in the world getting to host the event. However, an injury to star player Sam Kerr right before it began tempered expectations.
The Matildas responded by winning Group B without her before she featured as a substitute in the round of 16 win over Denmark.
Kerr, who scored 17 goals for Chelsea this past season, will be a massive addition to an already strong Australian side, and she may be needed to get past the French.
This is a France team that owns a +6.3 xGDiff and scored multiple goals in the last three matches.
These two squads with plenty of attacking talent in a competitive game should lead to chances, which I think opens up a look at taking the corners to go over 8.5 at -120 odds at bet365.
This has been a profitable bet recently in matches for both countries, with the same play cashing in nine of the last 12 involving Australia. The same can be said in nine of 13 for the French.
In the friendly right before the World Cup, this bet would have been a winning ticket, and I’ll take my chances for it to happen again.
England vs Columbia – Over 8.5 Corners (-125 via bet365)
England cruised through the group stage with a perfect record, averaging 2.1 expected goals per 90 minutes and posting a +4.2 xGDiff. Then, the Lionesses struggled with Nigeria in the round of 16 before winning on penalties.
To make matters worse, Lauren James, who leads the English side in goals, picked up a late red card and will miss this fixture.
Meanwhile, Columbia have been one of the surprises of the tournament, starting by winning their group that included Germany.
This is the first time in their nation’s history that they have advanced to this stage in the competition and the first by a South American country since Brazil in 2011.
As far as a play for this match, I’m following the lead from the pick above by going with the same prop of the total corners to go over 8.5 at -125.
One thing I failed to mention above was this bet would have cashed in 5-of-8 games in the round of 16. I also like the trend of England matches clearing this total in 10 of the last 14 fixtures.
With the under being a successful bet at this World Cup, I feel it has driven down the totals across the board, which gives us better value to take advantage of.
