Title hopefuls Germany get their 2023 Women’s World Cup started with a group stage opener against African challengers Morocco in Melbourne on Monday.
Ranked 72nd in the world, Morocco are the lowest-ranked team in the Women’s World Cup field, one of eight teams making their debut in the competition.
Germany are on the opposite end of the spectrum, ranked second in the world and coming off a Euro final appearance last summer. A supremely talented side, Germany have been handed a relatively straightforward group, but must still earn their spot in the knockout stage like everyone else.
With Colombia and South Korea waiting in the wings, Morocco get the first crack at springing a group stage upset, but it will take a Herculean effort to accomplish that feat.
Germany vs Morocco match facts
- Date: Monday, July 24
- Kickoff Time: 4:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. BST / 6:30 p.m. AEST
- Location: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (Melbourne, Australia)
- Official: Tori Penso (USA)
- Last meeting: None (First meeting)
Germany vs Morocco prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Germany (-2000)
- Handicap lean (spread): Germany -2.5 (-155)
- Score prediction: Germany 3-0 Morocco
Despite Germany’s slip in a friendly loss to Zambia coming into the tournament, it’s hard to imagine anything truly wonky happening here. The European nation is still one of the giants of women’s world football, and they are too talented to see any huge misstep here.
Germany have lost just once in group stage play throughout their illustrious Women’s World Cup history, winning 19 and drawing four. There’s very little chance of an upset here, the only question is how lopsided the final score will be.
| Germany win | Draw | Morocco win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 3.5 goals | GER -2.5 | MAR +2.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | -2000 | +1350 | +2200 | +260 / -400 | +100 / -135 | -155 | +110 |
| SportsInteraction (Canada) | -2000 | +1000 | +3400 | +210 / -370 | -103 / -123 | -143 | +112 |
| SkyBet (UK) | 1/33 | 12/1 | 40/1 | 11/4, 1/4 | 4/11, 2/1 | — | — |
| Unibet (Australia) | 1.06 | 14.00 | 29.00 | — | 1.95 / 1.81 | — | — |
| Dafabet (India) | 1.03 | 11.00 | 23.00 | 3.57 / 1.25 | 1.92 / 1.78 | 1.67 | 2.07 |
Germany vs Morocco best bet
- Pick: Alexandra Popp to score 2+ goals
- Odds: +350 (BetMGM)
While I love to play handicaps in these games with large disparities between teams, the 2.5 goal handicap (spread) seems too accurate to mess with. Annoyingly, the total goal odds also feel spot on — the betting market has a way of getting it right.
Therefore, we have to look elsewhere. Germany is capable of running up the score on lesser opponents, and given that’s a likely scenario here, their main goal scorer Alexandra Popp will be hungry for a haul. She’s in great form, scoring goals in four of her last six club matches of the season, including in the Champions League final, and then getting one against Zambia in the warmup friendly, breaking a five-match goalless drought.
Popp has seven multi-goal games for Germany in her career, including two in her last 10 appearances. You can get Popp to score one goal at -145, which provides exceptional value in itself, but we’ll bump it up here to two goals to grab the better return.
Germany vs Morocco prop bet
- Pick: Morocco over 1.5 yellow cards
- Odds: -112 (FanDuel)
In women’s soccer, yellow cards are much less common than they are on the men’s side, so adjust your bearings somewhat as you approach this tournament.
As FIFA’s lowest-ranked side, Morocco have a mountain to climb in this match, and the squad may need to resort to some physicality to keep Germany in check.
Zambia picked up two cautions in their shock 3-2 victory over Germany in pre-tournament friendlies, and Morocco earned three cautions against Nigeria in their hard-fought Africa Cup of Nations semifinal victory last summer, so there are multiple precedents for multiple bookings.
Add in that American official Tori Penso isn’t afraid to go to her pocket in MLS play, and I’m tempted to go even higher here. Over 2.5 yellow cards for Morocco sits at +310, but for this purpose we’ll stick with the safe play.
Germany vs Morocco live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | FS1, Universo | Fubo, Peacock (Spanish), Telemundo Deportes site/app, Universo NOW, Fox Sports site/app |
| UK | ITV 1, STV Scotland | ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | TSN1, TSN4, TSN5 | TSN+, TSN site/app, RDS site/app |
| India | DD Sports | FanCode |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 1 NZ | Sky Sport NOW, Sky Go |
| Singapore | FIFA WWC CH01 | StarHub TV+, meWATCH |
| Hong Kong | Now TV | Viu TV |
| Malaysia | — | FIFA+ |
Source: sportingnews.com
George Barham, an accomplished journalist and avid gambling enthusiast, serves as the esteemed Editor-in-Chief at fly-to-australia.com, Australia’s leading source for comprehensive gambling news and insights. With an unwavering passion for both the written word and the ever-evolving world of betting and gaming, George brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the helm of our editorial team.
