France-United States match could become most expensive game in Women's World Cup history
The United States’ quarterfinal matchup against the host nation of France will be one of the most highly anticipated matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the ticket prices match the hype.
Although the results won’t be clear until after the match, it appears likely to become the most expensive Women’s World Cup game ever.
The cheapest tickets available on StubHub are being sold for €740.78, or the equivalent of $844.73. One user is selling a pair of tickets for €12,450 ($14,196.98) — although the seat locations aren’t listed — and there are 28 sets of tickets going for at least $2,000.
The Women’s World Cup is obviously a massive worldwide event and only occurs every four years, but these prices are well outside the norm. Tickets for Thursday's quarterfinal match between England and Norway range between $28.51 and $169.91.
The prices are especially impressive considering how much lower they were at the last Women’s World Cup. As ESPN pointed out, the USWNT’s quarterfinal match against China had an average resale price of $165, while the final against Japan had a high of $368.
America’s impressive attendance at the tournament is a big factor driving the ticket prices, as is France’s standing as the home team. There are naturally going to be more fans from each of those country willing to buy tickets as the teams go deeper into the tournament.
Still, it should be noted that the match is expensive because these are two of the best teams in the world. The U.S. entered the tournament as favorites to repeat, and France came in with the second-highest Soccer Power Index.
"Hopefully (it's) a complete spectacle, just an absolute media circus," U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. "I hope it's huge and crazy; that's what it should be. This is the best game. This is what everybody wanted. I think we want it. Seems like they're up for it. You guys of course are up for it, and all the fans. Maybe it'll be a pretty even split between the fans in the stadium. We've been traveling pretty deep in this World Cup. So I hope it's just a total s---show circus. It's going to be totally awesome. This is what everybody wants, and these are the biggest games that you kind of dream about as a kid."
FiveThirtyEight gives the U.S. a 54 percent chance of advancing to the semifinals, but either country would be favored in the next round. The website gives America a 29 percent chance to win it all with France having the second-best odds at 22 percent.
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