Women's Olympic Football Tips: World Cup winners Spain will start with 2/1 win

• World Cup winners Spain can take revenge on Japan

• USA will wrack up a big win

• Hosts France will edge opening game

Canada v New Zealand (Thursday, 16:00)

Canada are the defending gold medallists and have been drawn in Group A, alongside the hosts France. English coach Bev Priestman is still in charge of the Canucks and she has named a squad containing 13 of the players that triumphed in Tokyo.

New Zealand lost all three of their group games at the last Olympics and their current form doesn't bode well for their chances here. They are without a victory in four (D2 L2) and were thrashed 4-1 by Japan earlier this month. A Canada win and over 2.5 goals is 4/51.80.

Spain v Japan (Thursday, 16:00)

It is the first time that the Spanish team have competed in the Olympics, but having won the 2023 World Cup they hardly lack experience. Past issues between the squad and management will hopefully have been solved by the appointment of a female coach in Montse Tome. The Barcelona midfielder Patri Guijarro is back in the squad, having made herself unavailable for the past two years.

With Brazil also in the mix, Group C is packed with quality. Japan beat Spain 4-0 during the last World Cup, only to be eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Though Spain are the worthy favourites, this is likely to be more competitive than the odds suggest. Back a Spanish win and both teams to score at 2/13.00.

Nigeria v Brazil (Thursday, 18:00)

The second game in Group C sees Nigeria take on Brazil. Those that remember Nigeria pushing England to penalties in the 2023 World Cup, will know that they should not be underestimated in this equation.

Brazil are unsurprisingly the favourites here, but they are far from being unbeatable, losing six of their 24 games since the start of 2023 (W14 D4). This is another game where combining the favourites to win with both teams to score makes sense, this time at 11/53.20.

Germany v Australia (Thursday, 18:00)

The thing that immediately strikes you when accessing the German squad, is how much firepower they possess. Lea Schuller, Klara Buhl and Alexandra Popp are all prolific international scorers, which is a valuable commodity in a tournament which seems set to have a number of tight games.

In contrast, Australia are without their top striker Sam Kerr, who remains injured after picking up a knee injury at Chelsea last season. The Matildas have tended to lose when they have stepped up in class over recent months and you can back Germany to win half-time/full-time at 7/52.40.

USA v Zambia (Thursday, 20:00)

USA are always contenders for international competitions. They took bronze in Tokyo and come into this competition in good form. Unbeaten in nine (W6 D3), the Americans kept clean sheets in six of those games, which includes each of their last four outings.

Zambia are a decent team, but this is a major step up in class from their usual standard of opposition. You only have to look back to the last World Cup, where they were defeated 5-0 by both Japan and Spain, to see that USA should win this one handily. Back USA to score over 1.5 first-half goals at 11/102.11.

France v Colombia (Thursday, 20:00)

The hosts France enter the tournament with the experienced international coach Herve Renard in charge. They have just topped a tough qualifying group for Euro 2025 which contained England and Sweden. Though they suffered defeats along the way, they are at least well-prepared in terms of meeting top sides.

Colombia are a talented team, particularly in attack. France are likely to win this, but it should be close. Go for a French win and under 3.5 goals at 1/12.00.

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