After shocking the world by beating Germany in their final pre-tournament friendly, Zambia will look to back up the warmup result with one of real consequence as they meet Japan in their first Group C match of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Ranked 77th in the world, the lowest-ranked side in the entire World Cup field, Zambia stunned Germany with a late stoppage-time winner to triumph 3-2 just a few weeks before the start of the tournament. Now ready to embark on the nation's first Women's World Cup appearance, the African nation will hope to repeat the performance on a bigger stage.
Japan have regressed since their 2011 Women's World Cup title, finishing as runners-up in 2015 before crashing out in the Round of 16 four years ago. Now, after falling short of even reaching the 2022 Asian Cup final, the world's 11th-ranked side harbours dreams of proving that they are still a global power in women's football.
Amongst a very difficult Group C field, this match could be critical towards deciding who from the group will advance to the knockout stage, with tournament powers Spain expected to top the charts.
Zambia vs Japan match facts
- Date: Saturday, July 22
- Kickoff Time: 3 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. BST / 5 p.m. AEST
- Location: FMG Stadium Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand)
- Official: Tess Olofsson (SWE)
- Last meeting: None (First meeting)
Zambia vs Japan prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Japan (-400)
- Handicap lean: Zambia +1.5 (+110)
- Score prediction: Zambia 1-2 Japan
Japan are heavily favoured to win, but Zambia are still given plenty of respect for the lowest-ranked team in the entire field against an established top global side.
Zambia's pre-tournament friendly results have seen them given a much bigger chance for an upset in this game, despite Japan's solid recent performances through 2023. Interestingly, while Zambia are still around 8/1 underdogs, they are expected to find at least a goal against a defensively solid Japanese side.
| Zambia win | Draw | Japan win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 3.5 goals | JAP -1.5 | ZAM +1.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | +825 | +550 | -400 | -165 / +120 | -140 / -100 | -160 | +110 |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) | 7.80 | 5.80 | 1.24 | 1.54 / 2.18 | 1.71 / 2.02 | 1.67 | 2.12 |
| SkyBet (UK) | 9/1 | 11/2 | 2/9 | 4/7, 5/4 | 8/11, 1/1 | — | — |
| Unibet (Australia) | 8.50 | 7.15 | 1.26 | 1.60 / 2.28 | 1.72 / 2.02 | — | — |
| Dafabet (India) | 9.20 | 6.80 | 1.29 | 1.61 / 2.33 | 1.73 / 2.07 | 1.66 | 2.16 |
Zambia vs Japan: best bet
- Pick: Barbara Banda anytime goalscorer
- Odds: +188 (BetMGM)
It's likely that Zambia, with their solid attacking presence and form, can find a goal in this match even against a solid defensive Japan squad. While there's not a ton of value on both teams to score, which is heavily favoured, there is value on backing Zambia's best goalscorer Barbra Banda.
The African forward became the first female Zambian footballer to sign with a European club, joining top flight side EDF Logrono in 2018 as just an 18-year-old, focusing fully on her football exploits after exploring a career in professional boxing. Since then, she's become a true goalscoring machine.
Now 23, Banda joined Chinese club Shanghai Shengli in 2020 and won the league's Golden Boot award in her first year at the club. She's in fine form coming into this tournament, having scored a brace, including the 112th-minute winner against Germany in their shock 3-2 friendly win just two weeks before the start of the World Cup.
Zambia vs Japan live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | FS1, Universo | Fubo, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Fox Sports site/app |
| Canada | TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 | TSN+, RDS site/app |
| UK | BBC Two | BBC iPlayer, BBC website |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | — | Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |
| India | DD Sports Channel | Fancode |
| Hong Kong | Now TV | Viu |
| Singapore | Singtel TV | StarHub TV+, Singtel TV GO, CAST, mewatch |
