Women's World Cup top goalscorer predictions: Smith can lead US charge
- Recommended bets
- Sophia Smith to be World Cup top goalscorer (win and each-way)
- Rachel Daly to be World Cup top goalscorer (win and each-way)
- Aitana Bonmati to be World Cup top goalscorer (win and each-way)
The Women's World Cup gets underway later this week and the tournament in Australia and New Zealand promises to be bigger than ever, with 32 teams set to compete for glory.
While winning the World Cup is the ultimate goal, players will also have their eyes on finishing as the tournament's leading scorer and following in the footsteps of Megan Rapinoe, who landed the Golden Boot in 2019.
Smith can herald a new era
Alex Morgan remains the star turn for the USA, who are hoping to claim their third successive World Cup, but it could be wise to keep an eye on a younger striker in the top-goalscorer market.
Sophia Smith is 22 and one of the new generation of young Americans looking to make her mark on the world stage, and she has been superb for the Portland Thorns, with 10 goals in 13 National Women’s Soccer League appearances this season.
She has proved she can find the net against top-class international opposition, netting in the 2-1 friendly defeat to England in October and an equaliser in the 2-1 win over Euros finalists Germany.
The USA should have a comfortable win over Vietnam in their first match and their 13-0 triumph over Thailand in their 2019 opener suggests they will look to fill their boots, so Smith could get her golden boot quest off to a fast start.
Daly flying into Lioness glory quest
Much has been made of the absence of Euros top goalscorer Beth Mead from the England squad, but Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly is capable of filling the void and having her own tournament to remember.
Daly scored 22 Women’s Super League goals in as many matches for Aston Villa last season, finishing the campaign with nine in her final five outings.
Like the USA, England have a straightforward opening game against Haiti and Daly will hope to get a starting berth ahead of Arsenal new girl Alessia Russo, who is also prominent in the market.
There seems an excellent chance that Daly can transfer her club form onto the international stage.
Bonmati can make her presence felt
There has been talk of dressing-room rows in the Spanish camp, but they are full of goals and opening group games against Costa Rica and Zambia could see them make hay.
La Roja have scored at least twice in 12 of their 14 games since they lost to England in the quarter-finals of the Euros and midfielder Aitana Bonmati could make a strong contribution.
She scored five goals in Barcelona’s successful Champions League campaign and was the competition’s top assist-maker.
That can be the difference if the number of goals are the same and with four places available on LiveScore Bet’s market for each-way bets, she is worth chancing at a big price.
