Japan Women v Norway Women

Japan Women vs Norway Women Preview

Group C winners, Japan, will be looking to continue their winning momentum under coach, Futoshi Ikeda, when they take on Group A runners-up, Norway, at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday night as the Japanese have sparked into impressive form at just about the right time. Japan topped their group in comfortable fashion as they recorded convincing wins against Zambia 5-0, Costa Rica 2-0 before they recorded their most impressive result to date, that being the 4-0 trouncing of Spain in the final game of Group C although both nations had already qualified for the knockout round prior to that fixture.

Still, Japan made a definite statement of intent with that victory over 6th ranked Spain and having won six of their last seven internationals in all competitions, Japan look like they'll take some beating as the tournament enters the knockout phase of the competition.

Nevertheless, Japan will still be wary of Norway, especially as they had previously endured a four-match losing streak from mid-November last year through to mid-February this year.

Norway finally sparked into life in their final game in Group A as they inflicted a heavy 6-0 defeat upon Philippines after producing a slow and sluggish start to their group campaign which resulted in Hege Riise's side picking up just one point in their opening two games of the campaign.

A thoroughly disappointing performance against co-hosts, New Zealand, in the opening game of this World Cup resulted in a shock 1-0 victory for the Kiwis and although a reaction was expected from the Norwegians in their following game with Switzerland, they could only manage to muster a draw in what was a totally unforgettable 0-0 draw.

The writing was on the therefore on the wall ahead of meeting Philippines but Norway finally delivered, racking up six unanswered goals to sneak through to the knockout rounds ahead of third-placed New Zealand by virtue of a superior goal difference.

However, aside from that landslide win, Norway have done little else to suggest they can match the quality and technique of the Japanese as Norway have won just once in their last seven matches overall and failing to score in four of these seven games as well.

Japan Women v Norway Women Verdict

Despite the obvious disparity in height between the Japanese and the Norwegians, it's been Japan that have held the upper hand over Norway in previous exchanges as they have dominated their upcoming opposition, winning five of the last six meetings.

Japan's winning momentum and ability to score goals simply puts them in the driving seat for this clash at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday evening.

Therefore, our main bet will be Japan win @ 1.80

Other side bets worth considering:

Japan win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.60

Correct score: Japan 1-0 @ 6.00