It’s  on Tuesday, and they have somewhat of a grudge match on their hands as they face France at 6pm on BBC Two.

Spreadex is offering a host of different throughout the tournament, including Index spreads of for all of the Groups as well as the tournaments as a whole. For the Group Index, the winner receives 25 points, whilst 2nd place gets 10, 3rd place gets 5 and the bottom spot gets 0. There are similar rules for the : the tournament winner gets 100 points and the runner-up gets 75, whilst the losing semi-finalists get 50 each, the losing quarter-finalists 25 apiece, 10 for the losing last 16-ers and zero for everyone else.

This is the first Women’s World Cup to have 24 sides, and therefore the first to have a ‘last 16’ round, posing an interesting challenge for England who have gone out at the quarter finals in each of their 3 appearances at the tournament. Other than France, Mexico and Colombia are the other two sides that comprise Group F; Mexico, ranked 25th in the world, are at a Group F Index spread of 3.75-4.75, whilst Colombia, at 28th in the world, have a Group F Index spread of 1.5-2.5.



To give them the best chance of getting beyond the last 16 to the quarters and, hopefully, beyond, England will want to top their group. To do so they will have to best France, who sent them packing back in the 2011 World Cup. England had topped their group, impressively above eventual cup winners Japan, but an 87th minute goal by Elise Bussaglia in the quarter final pushed the game to extra-time, which gave way to penalties and heartbreak for the English team as France won the shootout 4-3.

However, England are in fantastic form going into tomorrow’s game. Despite losing friendlies against the USA, Germany and Canada in their World Cup run-in, England won the Cyprus cup, actually beating Canada in the final, and were dominant in their qualification, topping their group without dropping a single point, and only conceding one goal in the process. Combine this with 52 goals scored, and England now sit at 6th in the world with only Japan and Sweden between them and their Gallic cousins, who sit in 3rd. This leaves them at a Group F Index spread of 13.5-15, 21/10 fixed odds to be group winner and at a solid Women’s World Cup Index spread of 25-28.

Yet Les Bleues are looking just as formidable as England, if not more so. After their quarter-final victory in 2011, France then went on to be defeated in their semi-final by the USA, before frustratingly losing the 3rd place play-off to an 82nd minute goal by Sweden’s Marie Hammarstrom. Nevertheless, this was France’s best performance ever at a World Cup, and after a fantastic qualifying campaign that saw France, like England, win every game and end up with a goal difference of 51, they sit 3rd in the world behind only Germany and USA. In fact, France then went on to finish second in the Algarve Cup, ahead of Germany but behind the USA, who they lost to in the final.



Given their form, and their history against England, France are sitting at a Group F Index spread of 18.75-20.25 and at 4/9 fixed odds to be group winner. They are also at a Women’s World Cup Index spread of 39-43, the third best in the competition behind, in a recurring trend, Germany and the USA. Part of France’s success is due to their formidable front line, and they go into the tournament with their 2nd, 3rd and 4th top goal-scorers of all time in tow. Gaetane Thiney of FCF Juvisy scored 14 goals in qualifying and is 3rd of all time, whilst PSG’s Marie-Laure Delie got 9 and is second top goal-scorer of all time and Lyon’s Eugenie Le Sommer scored 7 and sits at 4th in the history books.

However, England are no slouches up front either. Currently sitting atop the FA WSL with Chelsea, Eniola Aluko scored 13 goals in qualifying and is England’s 5th highest goal-scorer of all time going into the tournament. Manchester City’s Toni Duggan also got 10 goals in qualifying, an impressive feat that pushes her international total to 14 goals in 15 games.

Yet England’s slip ups against bigger teams in their World Cup warm-up means they can’t compare to France’s current form, with Les Bleues losing only once in their last 15 games. This leaves the French with the advantage at a France/England Goal Supremacy quote of 0.8-1 with a Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.