2023 Women's World Cup soccer odds, props: American Alex Morgan favored as top goalscorer, but Zambia's Barbra Banda taking most action by landslide
The Women's World Cup begins on Thursday.
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The 2023 Women's World Cup begins early Thursday morning USA time with games from both New Zealand and Australia, while the USWNT, ranked No. 1 in the world and two-time World Cup champions, open Friday vs. Vietnam. USA forward Alex Morgan is the +450 favorite at BetMGM to be the tournament's top goalscorer, but the player taking by far the most action on that prop is Zambia's Barbra Banda at +3300.
The top goalscorer at each tournament is given the Golden Boot award. The 2019 World Cup was held in France and the United States beat the Netherlands 2-0 in the final. Morgan, teammate Megan Rapinoe and England's Ellen White tied for the most goals in that tournament with six each. (Rapinoe was awarded the Golden Boot, Morgan the Silver and White the Bronze.)
Six goals might be the benchmark as the leaders at the 2015 World Cup, won by the USA in Canada, also had six each – American Carli Lloyd was one of them. Morgan had just one goal that year. This will be her fourth World Cup. Morgan plays domestically for the San Diego Wave in the NWSL and has five goals in 11 starts.
The USA is not at full strength due to injuries. Mallory Swanson, Catarina Macario and Becky Sauerbrunn are all off the roster while they recover. Swanson and Macario had been the USWNT's two most productive attacking players. Sauerbrunn is the team's captain and only true experienced center-back. The Americans had a final warm-up on July 9 and beat Wales 2-0 in a friendly. Morgan was substituted at the start of the second half for Trinity Rodman, who scored both goals.
Morgan isn't among the top three in tickets or money on the top goalscorer prop, with Banda leading both at 69.0% of the tickets and a whopping 75.7% of the handle. The Copper Queens captain is the only player in the history of the Olympics to score back-to-back hat-tricks.
Banda was denied the chance to compete at last year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations after failing gender eligibility tests (elevated levels of testosterone) but will play at the World Cup because FIFA allows teams to undergo their own internal gender assessments. Banda had four goals in seven World Cup qualifying matches – it's the first World Cup final for Zambia, ranked 77th in the world – and has scored 30 international goals since 2017.
It will be a tough for Zambia to progress from a difficult group featuring Spain, Costa Rica and Japan, so it could be tough for Banda to lead the tournament in scoring. Hence the long price despite the obvious talent. No other players are getting even 6% of the tickets or handle on the top goalscoring prop.
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