Spain vs. Netherlands prediction and odds for Women's World Cup Quarterfinals
Spain has been the best team so far in the Women's World Cup.
The Quarterfinals in the Women's World Cup is officially set to begin on Thursday night for those of us in the Americas.
The best matchup of the bunch is a showdown between Spain and the Netherlands in what easily could be argued is game between the two best teams remaining. Spain cruised by Switzerland by a final score of 5-1 in the Round of 16, while Netherlands comfortably beat South Africa by a score of 2-0.
Let's dive into the odds for tonight's match and then I'll breakdown why I like Spain to advance.
Spain vs. Netherlands odds and total
Spain vs. Netherlands prediction and pick
Spain was my pre-tournament pick to win the tournament and I'm sticking with them as they go up against the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals.
If you evaluate teams based on "expected goals", then Spain has been the best team throughout the World Cup. They have an expected goal differential of +2.19, significantly ahead of Netherlands, which comes in at +0.87.
Spain is still being undervalued after an upset 4-0 loss to Japan, but if you didn't watch that match, Spain dominated from start to finish but had terrible luck both defensively and offensively.
Their offense is extremely smothering, averaging 2.83 expected goals per game while scoring an actual 3.25 goals per game. That's going to cause issues for a Netherlands team that has been leaky defensively, allowing an expected goals against of 1.10.
I'll back Spain to get it done in regulation.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.