It may not get much publicity on this side of the world, but the sporting rivalry between England and Australia is one of the fiercest on the planet.
Whether in cricket, rugby or soccer, there’s no love lost between these two Commonwealth Nations, so Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal match between the Lionesses and the Matildas at the Sydney Olympic Stadium should be electric.
Even though it has home-field advantage, Australia is the underdog in this match.
The Matildas are +120 to advance to Sunday’s World Cup Final and are +220 to win the match in 90 minutes.
Will the Aussies pull the upset and keep the party going in the Land Down Under on Wednesday morning (6 a.m. ET)?
Australia vs. England pick
Some handicaps are straightforward endeavors.
On most occasions, bettors will rely on numbers to guide them to a decision.
But every once in a while a contest will come along where you have to take out the pencil and some paper in order to do some old-school handicapping. This one of those situations.
As noted above, England vs. Australia is a huge deal in international sporting circles.
The two countries obviously share history outside of the arena — Australia was founded as a penal colony by the British Empire hundreds of years ago — and that has spilled over onto the field of play.
World Cup semifinals are already a pressure-filled spectacle, but add in that it’s two bitter rivals going toe-to-toe in one of the team’s backyard and the notch gets turned up a bit.
So while England may be the more talented team on paper, this match could come down to a more subjective question: Which team will cope with the moment better?
A fortnight ago, I would have pointed to England as the answer.
That’s because Australia was in danger of getting eliminated in the group stage after getting upset by Nigeria, 3-2, and fans seemed to be disinterested and spent most of their energy voicing their displeasure with manager Tony Gustavsson rather than getting behind the squad.
But the Matildas, who also looked unconvincing in a 1-0 win in their opening match against Ireland, were able to rout Canada, 4-0, to ensure a spot in the Round of 16, where they defeated Denmark in front of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia.
Those results got the entire country invested and things only got more rowdy after a nail-biting penalty-shootout win over France in the quarterfinals.
Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps
- Check out the best sports betting sites
- Download the best sports betting app
And with all due respect to Denmark and France, they are not England, which means that the atmosphere at Stadium Australia on Wednesday should be absolutely electric as the Matildas try to defeat the Lionesses.
In a match between two of the tournament’s best teams, Australia’s home-field advantage should prove to be enough to get the job done.
Atmospheres like the one we’ll witness on Wednesday are uncommon in all sports, but they’re certainly rare in women’s soccer and having that kind of crowd behind you should provide enough of an edge to tilt the scale in favor of the underdogs.
The bet: Australia to advance +120 (DraftKings)