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Home Field Makes Team Canada a Women’s World Cup Favorite

  • Frank Doyle's Author profile. Frank Doyle

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Team Canada kicks off its Women’s World Cup journey not as the odds-on favorite, but Canadian bettors are firmly behind their squad.

Team Canada faces its first test of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Saturday as a big -218 favorite against China and the lady Canucks sit fourth on the odds board to win the whole tournament at +685.

Sports Interaction Women’s World Cup Odds

But when it comes to the betting public, Canada is firmly supporting its girls. A day before the World Cup opener, Team Canada was seeing about 70 percent of the total futures handle to win the whole tournament.

However, while Team Canada head coach John Herdman has confidence in his group, he’s trying to manage expectation ahead of their first test.

“There are five teams that people do expect to win this tournament,” Herdman told the Guardian. “Canada might not be in the five, but we’re definitely in the top 10 and that gives us an outside chance.”

A lot is expected of the Canadian crowds at this tournament as well. The 2011 Women’s World Cup finished with about 846,000 tickets sold and this year’s tournament has already surpassed that number. The Canadian Soccer Association has set its goal at 1.5 million tickets sold.

Womens world cup

Team Canada’s Home-Field Advantage

“We know our country better than anyone else,” Herdman said. “We understand what these stadiums are going to look and feel like because we’ve prepared – we’ve played in these stadiums with packed attendances, we lived in the hotels. It’s our country. That’s what we expect to the X factor that takes us onto the podium.”

Canada hosts China at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday in front 46,000 fans.

“Player for player, if we’re up against a top team, we’re not the best team in the world,” Team Canada Kaylyn Kyle told reporters. “But as a collective whole and as a group of 23, I think we are the best team in the world. We are one of the most connected teams in the world and throughout a seven-game tournament, that’s going to show.”