by The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in under twenty four hours, with co-hosts New Zealand facing Norway, while Australia will follow against debutants Republic of Ireland. Following the 2019 Women’s World Cup, there is plenty of anticipation in what many are hoping to be an even bigger tournament, in terms of quality, fanfare and viewership. If the world cup fever is yet to get you, or if you just cannot wait until the first whistle, here’s a short summary of teams and players to look out for from tomorrow.
The Favourites
The goal is obvious, to lift the trophy. The road to it? Not so much. More countries have poured effort into their sides and as the level continues to increase there are plenty of teams that have enough talent to compete for the title. Despite this, perhaps the following five are among those that one expects to see making the latter stages.
USA – They remain the undeniable favourites, bidding to make history by winning the trophy three consecutive times. It is a feat that has yet to be reached by any country, by the women or men’s teams. The USWNT is the most decorated in the women’s game, having always secured at least a best three finish. They head to Australia with a mix of known and youthful faces. Injuries to captain Becky Sauerbraunn and Sam Mewis, put a dent in the experience of the squad, but those returning still include Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, and of course Megan Rapinoe. However, look out for young talents like Naomi Girma, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith who are bound to make a splash.
Germany – The country is hailed as one of the giants and favourites to reach the final, based on its past credentials and considering the major talent packed in the squad. Following their runners-up performance in the EURO Championships last summer, the team will want to kick on and top their group before facing some tricky opponents. Revenge against England is likely to be on the cards during the knockout and that will certainly be a challenge that they will relish. With the combination of experience of Lina Magull, Merle Frohms, Melanie Leupolz and Alexandra Popp, against the young talents of Lena Oberdorf, Jule Brand, and Klara Buhl, this is a team to fear.
England – According to coach Sarina Wiegman, winning the EURO Championships cured a national ‘trauma’ of trophy droughts for the country. Considering this, lifting the World Cup would likely send it into cardiac arrest. However, following the euphoria of victory in the tournament last summer, the expectation was quickly dampened as several players including Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Williamson were struck down by ACL injuries. This on top of several retirements of the likes of Jill Scott and top goalscorer Ellen White. Despite this, there is plenty of talent in the squad, and though currently ongoing a goalless streak, there is enough talent on the pitch to make it to the final stages.
Brazil - Pia Sundhage’s team has been touted as a favourite to go deep in the competition, but there is often the caveat of ‘depending which version shows up’. The coach has been praised for her ability to bring forth a defensive structure to the flair so often associated with Brazilian football. Marta, Debinha together with a group of talented youngsters in the likes of Geyse and Kerolin will aim to traumatise defenses. The team boasts a solid defense marshalled by Rafaelle Souza at the back and gave England a run for their money in the Finalissima at Wembley last May, before winning against Germany. There is no telling just how far the side can go, but this is a side that has proven that it can hurt top teams.
Australia – The Matildas have only ever progressed to the quarter-finals, but with the home crowd on their side and a team packed with ambition and major talent, they will seek to break records and bring the trophy home. They dealt the first defeat to England under Sarina Wiegman’s reign, which followed wins against Denmark and Spain. With the likes of Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross in the team, there is enough to deal some major blows.
This discounts the likes of Sweden, Norway, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and France from making it to the end. Looking at the talent stacked in those squads justifies them as potential threats and just shows how much this is a World Cup not to be missed.
The Outsiders
One of the more exciting things in the competition is the emergence of plenty of sides that can cause upsets and compete for a place in the knockouts. Predicting qualifiers from the group stages has just been as difficult as predicting the winner in the competition for many.
There are plenty of sides who will be making their debut in the competition including Haiti, Morocco, Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Zambia, Vietnam, Portugal and Panama. Despite making their maiden appearance a few have already shown that they can upset the giants.
Zambia most notably won 3-2 against Germany in their send-off game, which featured a frenzy of goals in injury time. Meanwhile, Morocco is pledging to keep their exciting run going and challenge for a place in the knockouts. They face Germany, South Korea and Colombia. The Republic of Ireland landed in the group of death against Canada, Australia and Nigeria, but their grit, led by Katie McCabe, will be on display as the whistle goes.
Besides those making their debuts there will also be a few who have never progressed from the group stages, who will be hoping to make the step this year. Co-hosts New Zealand are one such nation. They will hope that the home crowd not only lifts them to their first ever win in the competition, but to the knockout stages.
South Africa and Argentina grace group G, and both are making a bid to their first ever qualification from the group stage. However, their group also includes Sweden and Italy, who have their eyes firmly set on qualification too. Costa Rica will also be hoping to make inroads in group C, however they face stern opposition in Spain, Japan and first time qualifiers Zambia.
Last Bows and Debuts
It is a competition that will see a few make their last appearance on the biggest stage of all. USA’s Megan Rapinoe has announced that this will be her final cup and you can bet she has her eyes set on going out with a bang. Brazil’s Marta has also confirmed that at thirty-seven this will be her sixth and final world cup journey. She has also been recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury for eleven months and coach Pia Sundhage has expressed doubts as to whether the star player will start the opening matches.
At forty years of age, Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair will be leading out her country once more in what will also be her sixth world cup. She has been a crucial mast in the team for many years and is still leading the charge despite lamenting the tiredness from fighting both on and off the pitch. Similarly, Nigeria’s Onome Ebi is another who will take to the pitch at forty years old and so though neither of these two have confirmed this will be their last, one questions how likely it is to see these players in 2027.
There are also several debutants though perhaps one of the more surprising facts is that this will be Pernille Harder’s first ever world cup. Astonishingly, this will mark Denmark’s first appearance in the competition in sixteen years. Pernille Harder, who is considered to be one of the world’s top players, will be making her debut in the competition at thirty years old.
Countries who are making their first appearances are of course chock-full with debutants, but even top nations will be seeing established players make their first dip into the competition. To mention a few, these include the likes of Cloe Lacasse and Jayde Riviere (Canada), Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo (England), Colombia’s Linda Caicedo and Australia’s Kyra Cooney-Cross. Last edition’s finalists, USA and the Netherlands, will also bring forth a fresh group of players including Esmee Brugts, Damaris Egurrola, Kerstin Casparij (Netherlands), and Alyssa Thompson (USA), besides those already mentioned above for the USA.
The Significance
Many hailed the 2019 edition as the one that truly introduced women’s football as a global phenomenon. This year’s competition is expected to confirm its place and as noted above is likely to be one of the toughest editions to date. One hopes that the competition will have an added effect to boost the sport in the hosting countries of Australia and New Zealand, much like last year’s EURO Championships led to an exponential growth not just in the UK, but in Europe.
One thing’s for sure, whether you are a returning fan or a new one, there is plenty of football to get excited about for the next month. It’s a packed schedule and if the time-difference is a problem, be sure to follow the link to get your calendar synced not to miss any action, with the group details listed below.
The first whistle blows tomorrow as New Zealand host Norway (Group A), followed by a gritty encounter between Australia and debutants Republic of Ireland in Group B.
Lead Image: FIFA
