England are looking to make it a Euros/World Cup double as they open their Women’s World Cup campaign in Brisbane on Saturday morning (UK time). We take a look at their odds to win the tournament outright here with Betfred…

It is fair to say that the performances that Sarina Wiegman has gotten out of her Lionesses squad have been pretty darn superior to what Phil Neville was doing during his time in charge of the national side. It took 31 games for the new boss to have a defeat on her England resume. It was one of the two host nations here in Australia that caused the surprise 0-2 defeat back in April.

Expectations and optimism however are still sky high not only within the squad but in the nation itself. The lack of availability of Euro 2022 Beth Mead is certainly one serious problem for the England manager. The 28 year-old has been out long-term with an ACL injury suffered back in November and she hasn’t made the trip.

With Ellen White having retired, this means the focus in front of goal will be on current Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly. The 31 year-old is a converted left-back who has had a sensational season for Aston Villa where she scored 22 times in 22 games. Even my rudimentary mathematical skills puts that as a goal a game. She is 2/1 to be England’s top scorer at the tournament.

Captain Leah Williamson is joining Beth Mead on the sidelines due to injury and Ellen White has another big name alongside her in having retired with Jill Scott hanging up her boots following the triumph of last summer. This means that no fewer than four key first XI players who helped the Lionesses win Euro 2022 will not be playing this year for one reason or another. They are huge holes to fill.

The opening game for the Lionesses will be against the 53rd ranked nation in the world. This on paper should give them every opportunity to ease into the tournament with a relatively straightforward victory. Neither of the other two group games looks nearly as good on paper with both Denmark and China ranked highly by FIFA, at 13 and 14 respectively.

Our Euro 2022 champions are currently priced at 5/1 to become just the third nation behind Norway and Germany to follow up victory in the European Championships with holding the World Cup Trophy aloft. Only the USA have shorter odds as the World Number One are 5/2.

The team here at Betfred Insights will keep you up to date throughout the tournament and we’ll have a preview for every single match.