It’s not exactly a stretch to say that the opening match against Italy didn’t go to plan for the Matildas but they haven’t got too much time to linger on what went wrong.
Up next is a clash against Brazil where the margin for error has gone and anything less than three points could spell disaster for their campaign.
What will Ante Milicic change for this game with Brazil or will he stick with the plan and back a response from the players?
Let’s take a look through the markets for this one and see if we can find some winning plays.
Total Goals
If there was one massive takeaway from the Matildas opening game, it was that if they continue to play their high line, they’ll probably give up plenty of chances to Brazil. If the Brazilians have a better grasp of the offside rule than the Italians did them Lydia Williams could be in for a busy afternoon. The Matildas thankfully have the strike force to keep up if this turns into a shootout, especially if they make a midfield change, such as bringing in Katrina Gorry who can make a whole range of passes and fire in a long range shot if needed. Because of that, I’m going to make my main play for this game over 3.5 goals since it seems like both forward lines will have plenty of chances.
Goalscorers
Much like the Italy game, there’s a few options for the goalscorer markets and while Sam Kerr ($5.00 FGS and $2.35 AGS) is the easy option for Australia, you also have to take a real look at Brazil given the defensive frailties exposed last time out. After putting a hat-trick past Jamaica, Cristiane ($5.75 FGS and $2.60 AGS) is certainly the best betting option for the Brazilians and she should have her share of chances. For the roughie plays, on the Australian side you’ll have to wait for team lineups to come out but if she starts, I’m happy to back the player nicknamed Mini (Katrina Gorry) to have a big impact on the game and get on the scoresheet at $4.75. Elsewhere Alanna Kennedy is always a threat from set pieces but does come with the risk of her chances being limited.
The Result
If I had to pick a winner in this game, and I accept this is done with a bit of faith but I’ll take the Matildas to bounce back. It’s easy to overreact to the first games and I’m going to stick with my thoughts pre-tournament. It certainly won’t be easy but the Matildas at over even money seems like a good play. Given the choice though, I think I’d rather steer clear of the result market because let’s be honest it really could go either way depending on who shows up.