The defending Olympic Gold Medalist takes to the pitch as Canada faces New Zealand. It is time to continue our 2024 Olympics Women’s Soccer odds series with a Canada-New Zealand prediction and pick.
Canada comes into these games looking for a repeat for the 2020 games. After taking the Bronze in 2012 and 2016, Canada upset Brazil and the United States in the knock-out round of the 2020 games. They would then go on to win gold in penalties against Sweden and will be looking for a repeat at the 2024 Olympics. Meanwhile, New Zealand has an uphill battle. They have not made it out of the group stage in the last two Olympics, and are the longest odds to advance out of anyone in their group.
Here are the 2024 Olympic Women’s soccer odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
2024 Olympics Odds: Canada-New Zealand Odds
Canada: -460
New Zealand: +1100
Draw: +500
Over 2.5 goals: -173
Under 2.5 goals: +127
How to Watch Canada vs. New Zealand in Paris
Time: 11:00 AM ET/ 8:00 AM PT
TV: Peacock
Stream: (Click Here for Free Trial)
Why Canada Will Win
Adriana Leon will be leading this Canadian attack. She has been solid in the first two friendlies in 2024, making one start, and scoring one goal. Leon was also the only goal scorer for Canadia in the 2024 World Cup, scoring once in three games. In 24 starts for the national team in her career, she has 20 goals and four assists. She is also a good passer, creating 2.62 shots every 90 minutes of gameplay for Canada. Cloe Lacasse will also be looking to make a major impact in these games. She is not a big goal scorer, with just two goals in her international career, but she did have one in her only start in a friendly in 2024. She is also good at generating shots. In the last World Cup, she generated 4.43 shots per 90 minutes of gameplay.
Jordyn Huitema will also be looking to bolster the Canadian attack. She has seven career goals in 19 starts for Canada, including four in her first-ever competitions back in 2016 as a 16-year-old. She struggled in the 2023 World Cup, as did much of the Canadian squad, but she will be looking to regain for in these games. Like many of her Canadian counterparts, she is a solid passer, creating 2.80 shots per 90 minutes of play in the 2023 World Cup.
Kailen Sheridan is expected to be in goal for Canada. She has lasted just once in her last four starts for the National team. Further, he has two clean sheets in her last five starts for the team. At the World Cup, Sheridan did have a clean sheet but also allowed five goals on just 13 shots on target. That gave her just a 69.2 percent save percentage. Sheridan also has some Olympic experience. She started one game for Canada on their way to a gold medal but allowed two goals, with one shot on target and one own goal. The one goal was a penalty kick, and she took the win in the game.
Why New Zealand Will Win
Jacqui Hand will be the striker looking to make a difference for New Zealand. She has one goal in her last four matches and has scored three times with an assist in her 15 starts with New Zealand. Hand will need to learn to create more opportunities for New Zealand than she did in the World Cup though. She created just 1.67 shots per 90 minutes of play at the World Cup. Further, he had a quarter of her crosses cleared out in those games.
Millie Clegg will be looking to help Hand out in these games. She is now projected to star and will be making just her second start for New Zealand on the international stage. Clegg was part of the 2023 World Cup team but did not see playing time. She saw her first start in 2024 in a friendly and netted a goal on her only shot on target. Still, in domestic league play, she has an average of .5 goals per 90 minutes of gameplay.
Anna Leat will be in goal for New Zealand. She will be looking to rebound from her 2020 Olympics performance. In 2020, she faced six shots in one game, allowing all six goals to go in. In international friendlies as of late, she does have a clean sheet, but she also allowed four goals to be scored when she faced Japan.
Final Canada-New Zealand Prediction & Pick
For Canada, it will all be about getting shots on target. New Zealand is a young squad without a lot of international experience. Further, they have struggled on defense on the international stage in the past few years. With Sydney Collins out for Canada, there will be some alternations to the game plan. Still, Canada will score enough to come out with the win and score plenty in the process in their first game of the 2024 Olympics.
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Final Canada-New Zealand Prediction & Pick: Over 2.5 (-173) and Canada ML (-460)
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