Soccer Betting: How Will The Republic Of Ireland Fare At The Women’s World Cup?

Daire Walsh

It has been a long wait since they officially sealed qualification with a 1-0 win against Scotland last October, but the trailblazing Republic of Ireland women’s national team will finally get a chance to showcase their talents on the biggest stage of all on Thursday.

The clash of Ireland and co-hosts Australia in Sydney (kick-off 11am Irish time/8pm local time) is set to be the highlight on the opening day of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup with betting sites offering up some interesting odds for the game as well as for the tournament itself.

Whereas Australia (known affectionately as the Matildas in their home land) will be competing at their eighth consecutive World Cup finals, Ireland are set to make their debuts on the global international stage.

After falling short on seven previous occasions under a variety of different managers, Ireland eventually scaled new heights courtesy of Amber Barrett’s superb winning goal against the Scots in a play-off encounter at Hampden Park in autumn of last year.

Given they are yet to compete in a European Championship finals, this will not only be Ireland’s first time to feature in a World Cup, but also their maiden voyage in a major international tournament.

This means that every player within the Ireland squad – including the centurion quartet of Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Denise O’Sullivan and Aine O’Gorman – are in effect taking a step into the unknown.

Ireland Have Experienced Head At The Helm For World Cup Debut

However, team manager Vera Pauw did guide her native Netherlands to the semi-final of the European Championships in 2009 and she also coached South Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

She assumed the Irish reins in September 2019 just over two months on from the sudden departure of her predecessor Colin Bell, who will be in charge of South Korea at this year’s tournament.

While her first qualifying campaign – for the delayed European Championships that were eventually held in England last summer – ended in disappointment, Ireland have become extremely difficult to beat under her watch and a number of impressive group stage victories helped them to advance into that aforementioned play-off showdown with the Scots.

Irish Come Into The Tournament As Underdogs

Though they have grown accustomed to defying expectations at this point, it comes as little surprise that football betting sites have Ireland well down the list of potential World Cup winners.

From the 32 teams that will be competing at the tournament, Pauw’s charges are rated as the 19th most likely side to emerge triumphant.

In stark contrast to the odds of 5/2 on the USA securing the World Cup crown for a third time in succession, Ireland’s chances of ultimate victory are 250/1.

Australia Expected To Overcome The Girls In Green

Given Australia are fifth favourites to win the World Cup – and are rated at 10/1 with Bet365 – it certainly isn’t a shock to discover that they are expected to prevail in Group B’s opening game on Wednesday.

Bookies are all offering odds of 2/7 on Australia coming out on top in front of 80,000 plus spectators in Sydney, while some are setting an even shorter value of 1/4 on the home team coming away with all three points.

By comparison, the shortest odds on Ireland pulling a win out of the bag are 8/1 and the longest odds available on such a scenario are 11/1.

A Stalemate Could Well Be On The Cards In Sydney

Of course, as well as it being their first game at the tournament, this isn’t necessarily a must-win affair for both teams with subsequent fixtures still to come in the group against Canada and Nigeria.

That makes the prospect of a draw on Wednesday somewhat enticing and there are no fewer than 11 betting apps offering odds of 4/1 on this tie ending in a stalemate.

Although it is a home game for their opponents, it is anticipated that a large number of Irish supporters will be in attendance at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Additionally, Ireland got the better of Australia in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium that took place just before the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign and there is certainly belief within the camp that a positive result is well within their reach.

Barrett And Carusa Rated As Ireland’s Most Likely First Goalscorers; Kerr And Fowler Big Threats For Australia

While it is far from certain if she will feature on the day (and if she does it will more than likely be off the bench), Amber Barrett is rated at 14/1 in the ‘First Goalscorer’ betting for Thursday’s game.

The US-born Kyra Carusa is being given the same value as a potential deadlock-breaker with team skipper Katie McCabe at 18/1 to score the opening goal in Ireland’s first game of the tournament.

Owing to her status as one of women’s football’s most lethal finishers, Australian striker Samantha Kerr is the favourite to be the first goalscorer at 7/2. Interestingly, there are also enticing odds of 9/2 on Mary Fowler to open the scoring.

This will be an emotional game for the Manchester City player, whose father is originally from Ballymun on the northside of Dublin.

For those who are interested in predicting the correct score, you can get 5/1 on a 2-0 Australia win, 10/1 on a 1-1 draw and 25/1 on the Republic of Ireland securing a 1-0 success.

Even if the result doesn’t go their way on Thursday, Ireland will still be in the reckoning for a knockout spot ahead of a showdown with Canada in Perth on May 26 and – fingers crossed if you’re an Irish supporter – a meeting against Nigeria in Brisbane five days later.

Reaching The Last-Eight Not Out Of The Question For Ireland

Making it into the knockout rounds of the World Cup at their first attempt would be a considerable feat and it would be even more monumental if they matched the achievements of their male counterparts at the 1990 finals in Italy by making it to the quarter-finals.

Ladbrokes are giving odds of 10/1 on Ireland reaching the last-eight, though they might well have to get past current European champions England in order to do so.

That said, Ireland are intent on leaving their mark at this tournament and with Denise O’Sullivan making steady progress from the injury she suffered in an abandoned friendly against Colombia last Friday, you can expect Pauw’s troops to leave everything out on the field in each game they play at the World Cup.