Nigeria vs Korea Republic
There’s a must win game on Wednesday at the Stade des Alpes; and it doesn’t matter who you are supporting in the Women’s World Cup Nigeria vs Korea Republic clash.
Both teams fell to defeat in their opening fixture in the tough Group A, and another setback now will be the end of the tournament. Favourites France play Norway in the other fixture and Les Bleues are expected to win, so the victor in this game will be right back in the hunt.
A draw will suit neither team so there will be nothing left on the pitch at the end of 90 minutes.
Korea is in 11th position in the FIFA World Rankings, some 27 places above Nigeria in 38th. The Nigeria vs Korea Republic betting odds here at SBOBET point to a win for the Koreans and an early exit for Nigeria, but the Super Falcons will have other ideas.
Talking Points
Nigeria’s uphill battle
A 3-0 defeat to 1995 World Champions Norway was not the ideal start for Nigeria but it was no big surprise. The Super Falcons have won nine of 11 Womens’ African Cup of Nations but were pushed close last year by Cameroon and South Africa, and have lost their dominance of the continent.
A lack of games has been a problem. After winning the Cup of Nations in December 2016, they didn’t play again until April 2018, but they have had better preparation for this tournament. Former Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby has been brought in and he has instilled more structure to their play. But they have been handed a tough draw, and looked well off the pace in the opener against Norway.
Nigeria lost 8-0 to France in a friendly last year, so anything other than a win against Korea will spell the end for Dennerby’s team. Much depends on the form of Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala, who won the FIFA under 20 Golden Ball and Golden Boot in 2014. She has been African Women’s Footballer of the Year on three occasions and played for Liverpool and Arsenal and she scored seven goals in seven league games on loan at Barca this season.
At the back, the evergreen Onome Ebi is playing in her fifth World Cup, and at 36 she is as good as ever, combining impressive power with an astute reading of the game.
Is this really Korea Republic’s Golden Generation?
Korea was on the end of an opening day hiding at the hands of France, blown away in a first half in which they conceded ten corners and didn’t register a single shot on the France goal. Things improved marginally in the second half but they could hardly get any worse.
Confidence is shaky in the Korea camp, arriving at the World Cup on the back of a three match winless run, losing to Iceland and Sweden in the process. But they do have players to give them hope. Chelsea’s Ji So-yun has been picked for the PFA team of the year for the last four years, winning Player of the Year in 2015 and she scored a cracking set piece goal against Lyon in the Champions League semi final.
In midfield Cho So-Hyun pulls the strings. The West Ham player is captain of Korea Republic and is the heartbeat of the team. But their defence needs to tighten up, and doesn’t always fare well against physically strong teams so Nigeria’s striker Oshoala could benefit on Wednesday.
History
We don’t have any head-to-head Nigeria vs Korea Republic results to work on so let’s concentrate on current form.
Both teams come into the match having suffered four defeats in the last six games so this first meeting between them has a lot riding on it.
Reaching the knockout phase would be a good achievement for either, Nigeria hasn’t got through the Group stage since 1999, while Korea has reached the Round of 16 just once, in Canada four years ago.
Betting Tip
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Nigeria vs Korea Republic | Korea Republic 1×2 @ 2.03 |
| June 12, 21:00 (GMT+8) |
Korea is favourite to win this game and that’s no surprise given the respective world rankings of the two teams. Nigeria is available at 3.20 and the draw at 3.40.
Although they suffered at the hands of France in the opening game, Korea’s second half was more encouraging and they at least looked more solid. And a win on Wednesday will probably mean a victory over Norway in the final game will see then through.
With two leaky defences, over 2.75 goals at odds of 2.12 is an alternative bet, but I think Nigeria will concede more.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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