The Round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup has certainly delivered with some thrilling finishes.

We nearly woke up to another stunning upset this morning.

After Sweden eliminated the pre-tournament favourite in the United States with a win in penalties on Sunday, it was the favourite entering the Round of 16 in England that was pushed the distance by Nigeria this morning.

Nigeria was +460 to advance at FanDuel.

England, which was -900 to advance, was reduced to 10 players following a red card to Lauren James.

Despite having their backs against the wall for periods of the match, the Lionesses ultimately prevailed with a 4-2 win in penalties.

Meanwhile, co-hosts Australia cruised to a 2-0 win over Denmark in this morning’s other Round of 16 match.

We still have two more stops to go in the Round of 16, but if what we have seen so far in the knockout stage is any indication, we should in for a thrilling set of quarter-final matches.

This is the Morning Coffee for Monday August 7th, 2023.

 

England Survives Round Of 16 Scare At Women’s World Cup

There isn’t much room for error on the game’s biggest stage.

When Lauren James was sent off the field with a straight red card in the 87th minute, it put the Lionesses in a difficult position to close out their Round of 16 showdown with Nigeria.

Despite being nearly 5-to-1 to advance at FanDuel, Nigeria was the more dangerous attacking side for the majority of the match.

Nigeria hit the bar twice in both the first half and the second half.

Then they had a golden opportunity to capitalize after England was reduced to 10 players ahead of extra time, but couldn’t capitalize before the match went to penalties.

Ultimately, the Lionesses won in penalties and advanced as a -900 favourite.

My FanDuel Best Bet in my daily Women’s World Cup column – A Numbers Game – was a traditional parlay with England and Australia to both advance.

In the end, it turned out to be a much bigger sweat than I had anticipated, although we ultimately got the win.

England remains the favourite to win the Women’s World Cup at +200 odds at FanDuel.

Spain is the second choice at +340, followed by Japan at +430.

Australia (+650) and France (+750) round out the current top-five choices to win the Women’s World Cup.

France’s odds will likely be cut even further following its Round of 16 match with Morocco, which remains a 250-to-1 long shot to win the tournament even after qualifying for the knockout stage.

France is -2500 to advance to the quarters at FanDuel.

Meanwhile, Colombia is 31-to-1 to win it all at FanDuel and will be a -200 favourite to advance versus Jamaica in the Round of 16.

Jamaica is +160 to pull off the upset and 120-to-1 to win the tournament at FanDuel this morning.

Despite the overall lack of upsets, we’ve seen some thrilling action in the Round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup.

Hopefully, that will continue as the best in tournament rise to the occasion in the quarter-finals and beyond.

 

Messi Delivers Again For Inter Miami CF

With so much of my focus on the Women’s World Cup, I nearly forgot that Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF were in action in Leagues Cup on Sunday night.

Fortunately, our very own Luke Bellus was kind enough to fire over a text message and remind me.

We locked in Messi 1+ goals and Inter Miami CF to qualify for the next round at +140 odds at FanDuel.

Messi scored just six minutes into the match.

However, we needed him to score again in the 85th minute just for Inter Miami CF to tie FC Dallas at 4-4 late in regulation.

Then we needed more Messi Magic in penalties as he nailed the kick that propelled Inter Miami CF through to the quarter-finals.

At this point, you don’t need us to tell you that every match Messi plays is must-watch television.

Messi to score has also become a must-bet at FanDuel, as he continues to showcase the reason for all of the hype surrounding his arrival in the MLS.

 

A FanDuel Best Bet For Monday’s MLB Slate

We finished in the green again last week as we posted a 3-2 record with the FanDuel Best Bets in this column.

While we’re not as hot as we were in June or July, I’ve managed to consistently stay in the green throughout the months of July and August with a minimum of one best bet in each of these columns.

I expect to be in the green again this week beginning with another FanDuel Best Bet winner in this column.

For Monday’s MLB slate, I’ll lock in a traditional two-leg parlay with the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers to win at -114 odds.

Coming off back-to-back losses, the Braves are a massive -310 ML favourite versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Spencer Strider, who is 7-1 with a 2.93 ERA on the road this season, has emerged as the favourite to win the NL Cy Young award at FanDuel.

He should be able to help Atlanta get back in the win column with a solid performance in Pittsburgh tonight.

Meanwhile, the Rangers have won six in a row and will turn to Dane Dunning tonight as they look to extend their win streak against the Oakland Athletics.

Texas can’t afford to let off the gas with the Houston Astros right behind them in the AL West.

Dane Dunning is 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA this season.

The Rangers should be able to give him enough run support to help extend their win streak in Oakland.

The traditional parlay with Atlanta and Texas to win is -114 at FanDuel this morning.

I’ll lock that in as my FanDuel Best Bet for Monday’s MLB slate.

Good luck to anyone who tails!