Zambia W v Japan W Betting Tips [22 July 2023]

Zambia and Japan will meet on Saturday in the opening round of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In this competition, the two nations will battle it out in Group C alongside Costa Rica and Spain. Zambia are making their debut at the global stage. They are one of four teams from Africa in the tournament. Bruce Mwape’s charges qualified for the tournament after finishing third in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. The Copper Queens arrive for this match struggling for form. They have managed only two victories in the six build-up matches played to help prepare. Three of those matches ended in defeat with one being a share of the spoils. Goals haven’t been a problem for the Southern African nation but they have struggled on the defensive end. Zambia have scored eight goals in their last three matches but have also conceded eight in that same period. In their last friendly match, they defeated Germany 3-2 after earlier drawing 3-3 with Switzerland.

Japan have qualified for every edition of the World Cup and were crowned champions once, in 2011. They are one of six nations to have qualified for the tournament from Asia. The Nadeshiko qualified for this year’s edition after finishing as one of the four best teams in the 2022 Asia Cup. Japan had won the two previous Asia Cup tournaments before losing in the semifinals last year. Since winning the tournament, Japan have never failed to qualify from their group. The 2019 edition however saw their run to consecutive finals ended as they exited the tournament in the last 16 round. Futoshi Ikeda’s charges have been in good form recently and arrive for this tournament having won three of their last four matches. They thumped Panama 5-0 in their last match, bouncing back in style after losing 1-0 to Denmark. The two-time Asian champions have scored 10 goals in their last four fixtures and have conceded just twice.

Our prediction for Zambia v Japan is for the match to produce over 2.5 goals. Goals have been free-flowing for either team and should be the case here as both teams aren’t as solid at the back. Zambia especially have conceded goals at an almost similar rate as they have scored.