Figure 1 All the best women’s teams will be at the World Cup
All the big European football leagues have finished and Manchester City finally lifted the Champions League trophy that their wealthy owners craved more than anything. Fans of the beautiful game are going through a bit of a lull at the moment, unless they are betting on MLS games.
But there is a very important tournament coming up this year – and it promises to be the biggest of its kind. The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off towards the end of July in Australia and New Zealand, with more nations than ever before battling it out to become the undisputed World champions. But which teams should you be looking out for?
The Favourites – USA
The US is the most successful nation in the history of the competition and has won the last two editions. So, there is a lot of belief that the Americans will be able to do it all over again and three-peat. Unsurprisingly, Vlatko Andonovski’ side is number one ranked in the world and favourites to win the 2023 World Cup.
The US has won 21 of its last 24 games – and those three were all friendlies at the end of last year. There will be a number of new faces in the squad, so it will be interesting to see whether the big occasion will cause any nerves. But there are also experienced winners in the team, making the US the team to beat.
The Contenders – England, Spain, Germany
If the US isn’t able to claim its fifth title, there are a group of traditional powerhouses of the women’s game looking to take the plaudits. England won the Euros on home soil last year but recently lost to Australia and will be without a few key players because of injury. A possible round of 16 game against Canada or the Aussies could cause a few problems too.
The other big European sides in with a chance of lifting the trophy look to be Spain and Germany. Spain has been steadily climbing the rankings in recent years but will still be dealing with the fall-out of an internal row that saw 15 payers originally withdraw from the squad. Some of them will now be at the World Cup, but it remains to be seen if Spain will have a unified team.
Germany can look back on a long and successful history in women’s football and is regarded by many to be the main challenger to the US and England. Two World Cups and six European Championships tell their own story, but the rest of the world has caught up with Germany somewhat and a potential round of 16 clash with Brazil could be very interesting.
Figure 2 The tournament is sure to be a huge inspiration to girls everywhere
The Hosts – Australia and New Zealand
This tournament promises to be a huge boost to New Zealand, which has never made it past the group stage in five different World Cups. Beating that will be a tough task this year though, with the Netherlands the favourites in Group A and Switzerland also looking to progress.
But Australia will feel as if it has a real chance of upsetting the odds and become only the second host nation to win the World Cup, after the US in 1999. That victory over England in April took everyone by surprise, especially after losing to Scotland just a few days earlier.
There are some world-class players in the Australia squad, including Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter, and the Matildas should be able to progress to the knockout stage – even with Canada battling in the same group. From there, Tony Gustavsson’s side will be relying on some raucous home support to cheer it to glory.
The Details
With a bigger media presence than ever before – and more teams competing than in the competition’s history – World Cup 2023 is set to be an enthralling affair that should also inspire millions of girls worldwide.
The tournament kicks off in Auckland and Sydney on July 20th, with the two host nations facing their first group opponents. Then there will be 62 more games over the next month before the final in Sydney on July 20th.
