Japan vs. England: Odds, Live Stream, TV Info for Women's World Cup 2019
England and Japan go head-to-head for top spot in Group D at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup on Wednesday at the Stade de Nice in Nice, France.
The Lionesses need only to avoid defeat to top the group after winning both of their opening fixtures.
Japan have four points, so they need to win to secure first place.
Date: Wednesday, June 19
Time: 9 p.m. local (8 p.m. BST, 3 p.m. ET)
TV: BBC One (UK), Fox Sports 1 (USA)
Live Stream: BBC iPlayer (UK), Fox Sports Go (USA), NBC Sports Live Extra (USA)
Odds: Japan (41-13), Draw (23-10), England (11-10)
Odds courtesy of Oddschecker.
This will be a rematch of the 2015 World Cup semi-final, which Japan won 2-1. The 2011 world champions would then go on to finish as runners-up to the United States.
Lionesses star Lucy Bronze said England have come a long way since then, though, per the Guardian's Suzy Wrack:
"We remember all the painful games. You remember all the big games that you've lost but that memory has long been put behind us. We've played Japan since then, beat them, and beat them well. We move on.
"Now we are more prepared. We have been to semi-finals. Back then it was so new to us—even getting to that semi-final was huge."
In March, England eased to a 3-0 win over Japan to win the SheBelieves Cup.
Journalist Emma Sanders expects the Lionesses to do so again on Wednesday after watching Japan's 0-0 draw with Argentina in their opening match:
Japan threatened more when they beat Scotland 2-1 in their next game, but they were fortunate at both ends of the pitch when it came to refereeing decisions.
The Scots arguably should have had two penalties, but the video assistant referee was not consulted for either incident, while Japan were awarded a spot-kick Yuika Sugasawa went down despite there being minimal contact from Rachel Corsie.
The win over Scotland was also only Japan's second victory in eight matches in 2019.
Former England defender Lindsay Johnson thinks England should win:
The Lionesses, who beat Scotland 2-1 before securing a 1-0 win over Argentina, have not been overly convincing when it comes to breaking down a defence after dominating both games.
Though Japan are a stronger opponent, that should make for a more open game and one that perhaps suits England more—they should be able to get the draw they need.
