All three international top-tier fixtures currently in action have action on Thursday. Thus, legal Canadian and North American sportsbooks join them in that action with markets available for all six of Thursday’s high-profile matches.
The schedule includes two matches each in the 2022 Euros, Copa América, and the CONCACAF W Championship. For fans of both Canada’s and the United States’ national teams, that means some rooting interest Thursday night.
How to watch, the lines, and schedule for Thursday
All times below are Eastern Daylight Savings. The lines are from DraftKings except for the W Championship matches, which are from Unibet. All the lines are valid as of 7 a.m. EDT on Thursday.
- Euros: Italy (+110) vs. Iceland (+225), noon, ESPN (Draw +270)
- Euros: France (-500) vs. Belgium (+1100), 3 p.m., ESPN (Draw +650)
- Copa: Paraguay (-8000) vs. Bolivia (+2500), 5 p.m., FS1 (Draw +1500)
- W Championship: USA (-2000) vs. Costa Rica (+2500), 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network (Draw +1050)
- Copa: Chile (-130) vs. Ecuador (+285), 8 p.m., FS1 (Draw +270)
- W Championship: Canada (-400) vs. Jamaica (+700), 10 p.m., Paramount+ (Draw +450)
Euros action for Thursday includes two unprecedented matches
Italy and Iceland open the action of the final set of matches of the second round of the Euros. This is the first-ever meeting between Italy and Iceland at the UEFA Women’s Euros finals.
Italy and Iceland last faced off in April 2021 in two friendlies, a 1-0 win for Italy in the first of those matches before a 1-1 draw in the second. Italy suffered a 5-1 defeat to France in the first round of this year’s UEFA Women’s Euros, their joint-heaviest defeat at the European Championships.
Iceland has only won one of its 11 matches at the Euros, a win ratio of just nine percent. Among teams to play at least 10 games at the Euros finals, only Russia has a worse win percentage than Iceland.
Then, France clashes against Belgium. This is the first-ever meeting between France and Belgium in any major tournament.
The most recent encounter between France and Belgium came in July 2017 in a friendly in Montpellier; the French won 2-0 with goals coming via a Heleen Jaques own goal and a last-minute strike from Camille Catala.
France enjoyed its largest Euros win against Italy, winning 5-1. Belgium faced 23 shots in their 1-1 draw with Iceland, with only Finland facing more. Six of the eight goals scored in UEFA Women’s Euros matches involving Belgium have been scored in the second half, with the Belgians failing to score in the first half in any of their four matches. They are the only nation to appear in more than one Euros finals tournament and never find the net in the first half of a contest.
Copa América Group A matches could seal some deals
First in this fixture on Thursday, a surprising Paraguay meets Bolivia, who’s in dire need of results.
The prior three duels between these two teams had goals from both sides (18-5 on the aggregate for the Albirroja). The Paraguayans have won five of their last eight Copa matches, scoring an average of 3.1 goals per match.
Chile then meets Ecuador, which is also looking for its first win in this tournament since 2014. The record in three matches between these teams is a draw and a win for each side. Chile has lost just two of its last eight Copa matches.
Chile’s average possession in this year’s tournament is second-best behind Brazil.
W Championship semifinals could set up familiar final
Canada and the United States could be developing a legitimate rivalry that could be fantastic for the sport in both countries. First, though, both countries will need to need to dismiss their opponents Thursday.
The USWNT has won all 16 of its matches against Costa Rica by at least a three-goal margin, keeping clean sheets in all but one of those matches. However, only two of those matches have come in the last five years.
Canada will face Jamaica for the fourth time. Even with the current Olympic champions historically winning against the Reggae Girlz twice, there are two draws in their history, creating some doubts about the clear favorites for this one.
The last clash between the two was on Feb. 1, 2020, with a thumping 9-0 win for the Canadians, but this result could be far tighter.
