A spot in the semifinals of the 2019 Women's World Cup is on the line Saturday when the Netherlands and Italy collide in a quarterfinal match. The action takes place at Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes. Neither the Dutch nor the Italians have ever reached the semifinals, so one side will make history. The Netherlands enter the match having won seven straight games, including a 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 16 in the 2019 World Cup bracket. Meanwhile, Italy is riding high after a 2-0 win against China, and the Italians are playing in their first World Cup in 20 years. The winner of Saturday's FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 match will face the winner of Germany vs. Sweden in the semifinal, and kickoff is set for 9 a.m. ET. Oddsmakers list the Netherlands as a +105 money line favorite, while Italy is going off as the underdog at +270. A draw in regulation is +235 and the over-under for total goals scored is 2.5 in the latest Netherlands vs. Italy odds. Before you make any Netherlands vs. Italy picks, be sure to see the 2019 Women's World Cup predictions from European football expert David Sumpter.
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 is crushing its 2019 Women's World Cup picks, returning a healthy profit to anyone following it. The model correctly predicted the stunning Japan-Argentina draw (+825) -- a more than 8-1 long shot -- and is coming off an impressive round of 16 performance in which it called Sweden upsetting Canada, USA beating Spain and the Netherlands' dramatic win over Japan in regulation.
Now, the model has its sights set on the Netherlands vs. Italy. We can tell you it's leaning over, but its much stronger play is on the Netherlands vs. Italy money line. That pick is only available at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account that the Dutch have multiple world-class attackers including Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema. Martens, 26, earned the FIFA Women's Player of the Year award two years ago when she led the Netherlands to the Euro title. In the knockout match against Japan, she scored both goals, including one on a penalty, in the 2-1 win. Meanwhile, after scoring two goals in the team's 3-1 win over Cameroon in group play, Miedema became the all-time leading scorer for the Netherlands with 60 career goals. She's just 22 and has a storied career ahead of her.
The model also has considered that the Dutch have put together an impressive string of wins. The team's seven-match winning streak includes victories against Canada (currently No. 5 in the world), Australia (No. 6) and Japan (No. 7). On the opposite side of the pitch, Italy has faced just three opponents this year ranked in the top 15 and is 1-1-1 against them.
But just because the Dutch seem to have the edge on paper doesn't mean they're the best value on the Netherlands vs. Italy money line.
The model also knows that Italy has attackers who can score. Barbara Bonansea, a star for Juventus who had three goals and six assists in eight World Cup 2019 qualifying matches, scored Le Azzurra's first two goals of the tournament. Aurora Galli already has three goals in the World Cup, all as a substitute. And Cristiana Girelli had a hat trick in the 5-0 group match win over Jamaica.
The model also knows that Italy has been stingy on defense. The Italians have allowed only two goals in four 2019 World Cup matches.
So who wins Italy vs. Netherlands? And where does all the betting value lie? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Italy vs. Netherlands money line you need to be all over Saturday, all from an expert who created a model that's returned a 2,000 percent profit on bookmakers' closing odds.
