Players and coaches on the England women's national team have made it clear that their goal in the 2019 Women's World Cup is to leave as champions. They are looking to build on their recent strong finishes that include a third-place mark in 2015, which came on the heels of consecutive appearances in the quarterfinals. But first, the Lionesses must get past an Argentina side that is surging with confidence following the first World Cup point in team history. The teams meet Friday in Group D Play from Stade Oceane in Le Havre, France with action getting under way at 3 p.m. ET. England started the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 with a 2-1 victory over Scotland, while Argentina pulled off a surprising scoreless tie against 2011 champion Japan. England is a -1100 money-line favorite (risk $1,100 to win $100), while Argentina is at +2700 to pull the outright upset (risk $100 to win $2,700). The draw is +900 and the over-under for total goals scored is 3.5 in the latest England vs. Argentina odds. Before you lock in your picks for England vs. Argentina in the 2019 Women's World Cup, listen to what European football expert David Sumpter has to say.
Sumpter is an applied mathematician and author of "Soccermatics," a book that explains how math works inside the sport. Along with other experienced analysts, Sumpter developed the powerful Soccerbot model.
The Soccerbot reads current odds and all team performance data, calculates key metrics and predicts upcoming matches. In the three seasons since its inception, Soccerbot is up an incredible 2,000 percent on Premier League picks. That's right -- 2,000 percent.
The model has crushed its 2019 Women's World Cup picks in the group stage, returning $625 already to anyone following it. The model correctly predicted the stunning Japan vs. Argentina draw (+825) -- a more than 8-1 longshot -- and was all over the Netherlands beating New Zealand, Germany outlasting Spain and England topping Scotland.
Now, the model has its sights set on England vs. Argentina. We can tell you it's leaning under, but its much stronger play is on the money line, saying one side has all the value. You can see that selection exclusively at SportsLine.
The model knows the Lionesses held a 14-7 edge in shots against Scotland and a 6-3 advantage in shots on target as they came out in aggressive fashion and asserted control. But they had a potential third goal early in the second half wiped away by an offside call and the momentum started to turn. Claire Emslie scored to pull Scotland within one and England spent the waning moments of the match turning back Scotland's desperate flurries.
Afterward, England manager Phil Neville said he was pleased with the victory but concerned with the second-half letdown. Neville said he hoped the experience would inspire his team to maintain its intensity for the full 90 minutes in subsequent World Cup matches. But on the bright side, he noted his team could be the fresher club against Argentina because England will have an extra day of rest.
Even so, the model knows the Lionesses aren't necessarily the best value on the England vs. Argentina money line against a talented squad looking for a signature win in the FIFA World Cup 2019.
Following the final horn in its opening match against Japan, players and coaches of Argentina celebrated as if they had just won a major championship. Such a reaction to a tie would be scoffed at in most other sporting circles, but soccer observers understood the magnitude of the moment for the club. The tie not only generated the program's first World Cup point, it was their first non-loss result in three tournament appearances.
Argentina has netted just two total goals in seven Women's World Cup matches while allowing 33. That's why the tie was considered not only a moral victory, but also a longshot that paid better than 8-1 for those who supported a draw. Argentina has no professional women's league, but its players have done plenty of outreach to generate interest and growth in the game in their home country. Standout forward Estefania Banini plays for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League.
So who wins Argentina vs. England? And where does all the betting value lie? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Argentina vs. England money line you need to be all over Friday, all from an expert who created a model that's returned a 2,000 percent profit on bookmakers' closing odds.
