Group C of the 2023 women’s World Cup carries one of the top three teams per the oddsmakers, as Spain currently holds the third-best odds to claim the title according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
However, this sets up to be a potentially tricky group with several upstart, hungry teams. We’ll break down each squad in Group C and its chances to advance in the following sections.
Spain
Spain is currently ranked No. 6 in the world, and they are expected to make a deep run in this tournament, led by double Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas of Barcelona. The team known as “La Roja” has never made it past the round of 16 in the World Cup, and this is their best chance to make a serious run.
Spain is a heavy -650 to win a navigable Group B, and they have -110 odds (essentially a coin flip) to reach the semifinal. Anything short of a quarterfinal appearance would be considered a disappointment, but the expectation is to play beyond that.
Japan
Japan checks into this tournament ranked No. 11 in the world. They have +400 odds to win Group B, serving as the main competition to Spain. Even if Japan doesn’t claim the top spot in this group, they still have a strong chance to advance. In fact, DraftKings Sportsbook gives them strong -1000 odds to qualify out of the group.
Japan is still the only Asian team to win the women’s World Cup when they accomplished the feat in 2011, They’ll look to recapture that magic to make another run in this tournament a dozen years later.
Zambia
Zambia is currently ranked No. 77 in the world, which is the lowest ranking of any team that qualified for the World Cup. Still, Zambia made some noise in the 2021 Olympics led by Barbra Banda, who team up with Racheal Kundananji to pose a formidable attack that could surprise.
Zambia holds +550 odds to advance out of Group C, but they can score goals with the best of them.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is ranked No. 36 in the world, and this is their second appearance in the Women’s World Cup after first qualifying in 2015. They did not advance out of the Group Stage in that tournament while failing to get a win (0-2-1). The deck is seemingly stacked against them in 2023 as well.
The odds don’t look great for Costa Rica, as DraftKings Sportsbook makes them a longshot at +2000 to qualify out of the group. That implies only a 4.75% chance of advancing.
DraftKings Sportsbook odds to win Group C
Spain: -650
Japan: +450
Zambia: +5000
Costa Rica: +50000
Group C Schedule
July 21: Spain vs. Costa Rica (3:30 a.m. ET)
July 22: Zambia vs. Japan (3 a.m. ET)
July 26: Japan vs. Costa Rica (1 a.m. ET)
July 26: Spain vs. Zambia (3:30 a.m. ET)
July 31: Japan vs. Spain (3 a.m. ET)
July 31: Costa Rica vs. Zambia (3 a.m. ET)