Women’s World Cup: Count on Norway to bounce back Tuesday vs. Switzerland

Expected to win Group A without much fuss, Norway instead finds itself on the brink of elimination Tuesday morning (4 a.m. ET). Thanks to a 1-0 loss to host underdogs New Zealand in the 2023 Women’s World Cup curtain-raiser, the Grasshoppers need to avoid defeat against Switzerland to keep their tournament alive.

And while a draw would technically keep their hopes alive, it would also mean they’d need other results to go their way at some point, and that’s not a situation you want to find yourself in before the final match.

Norway is +115 to beat Switzerland on Tuesday. Will they get the job done?

We mentioned that there were some potential red flags (both tactical and intangible) for the free-flowing, attack-minded Norwegians against a happy-to-sit-back New Zealand on Thursday, but things should play out more to Norway’s liking against Switzerland.

After taking over as manager of the Swiss National Team last year, Inka Grings noted that she wanted to change the philosophy of the team from being an organized defensive unit into one that favors attacking football.

To say the results so far have been mixed would be too kind.

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While La Nati were able to ease their way into the tournament with a 2-0 win over the Philippines, that was their first win of 2023 despite playing a handful of matches against pretty soft competition. Switzerland drew with Poland (twice), China, Zambia and Morocco in friendlies over the last seven months and lost to Iceland, 2-1, at home back in April.

Norway has also had some bumps in the road over the last 12 months, but a few wonky results didn’t stop the betting market from tagging them as a big favorite to win Group A ahead of Switzerland and New Zealand. In fact, before the tournament began the market viewed the Swiss and the Kiwis as near-equals. And yet, New Zealand — despite playing at home — got as high as +900 before taking on Norway last week. That’s a much bigger number than the one bookmakers are dealing for Switzerland on Tuesday.

Even if you want to adjust Norway down a bit after losing to New Zealand, it’s hard to look at these odds and not think the market is overreacting to one match.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.