Now that we are roughly 100 days away from the 2023 Women’s World Cup, I wanted to dedicate this blog to previewing the World Cup, the groups, and all of the teams.
This tournament will be featured in Australia and New Zealand, and it will be the first to go “Down Under”. For the first time in history, there will be more teams that have a chance to win than teams that don’t. This year will by far have the deepest field in Women’s World Cup history. We will see who takes advantage of a favorable draw, or who is able to get past the toughest of the toughest. So let’s preview each team…
Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippians, and Switzerland
New Zealand: The Kiwis will look to take advantage of a home World Cup, but they have never been able to get past the group stage. It will take a lot for this team to get past Switzerland and Norway, but if any year is going to be the year, it’s this one.
Norway: The European giants have had a rough few years, with a disappointing result at last year’s Euros when they failed to reach the knockout stage. It was a huge setback for this team, but hopefully the alarms went off in this program, and they will be ready this summer.
Philipppians: One of the many debutants this year, the Philippians main goal this summer will be to put themselves on the radar as an upcoming Asian team to watch out for. The odds are heavily stacked against them in Group A, but the possibility of them upsetting a higher ranked squad won’t be impossible.
Switzerland: After missing out on the last World Cup, the Swiss will look to their veterans that played on the 2015 squad to help lead them to the knockout stage. With this group, the possibility for the Swiss advancing is very high.
Group B: Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Ireland
Australia: The Aussies are hosting the WWC for the first time ever, and they will look for momentum to help carry them far. Australia has never reached the semifinals of a WC, but stars like Sam Kerr will look to help them change that.
Canada: Coming in as the defending Olympic champions, the Canadians will have a ton of pressure on them, but we will have to see how they can handle it. Christine Sinclair will be the veteran that they all look to, but if Canada wants to go far then they need to rely on their young players, just like they did at the Olympics.
Nigeria: The once dominant African squads have lost some of their grip on winning the African tournaments, and no one really knows what to expect from this team heading into Australia. They reached the knockout stage in 2019, but a string of tough losses means that Nigeria could look a little different from how we’ve seen them in the past.
Ireland: The Irish qualified for their first ever World Cup late last year. However, the group that they are in means that a deep run from them is highly unlikely. Although with Nigeria being a major question, the Irish only need a little bit of luck to advance out of the group stage.
Group C: Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, Zambia
Costa Rica: The CONCACAF squad returns to the WWC for the first time since 2015, and will have to rely on a young team to get them through the likes of Spain and Japan. For both Costa Rica and Zambia, that game against each other will be key for both if they stand any chance of going though.
Japan: A team that slightly fell off of everyone’s radar, Japan has been looking stronger and stronger the past few years. At this year’s SheBelievesCup, Japan looked as good as they did back in 2015 when they reached the finals. Without their star players from a few World Cups ago, this team will have to get their young players ready to be on the big stage.
Spain: This Spanish team has easily jumped onto everyone’s radar this year. Not one person should be underestimating them this summer. If all of their issues with their coaches get resolved, then Spain should be considered a favorite for the title, but we will have to see. They will rely on Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia Putellas to carry them through.
Zambia: This African squad surprised many at the Tokyo Olympics when they were discovered to be a goal scoring machine. With a good result at last year’s AFCON, Zambia is a huge team to watch out for, and if any team could upset a big team, it’s them.
Group D: China, Denmark, England, Haiti
China: The once dominant global powerhouse, China has had a string of solid results throughout the past 10 years, but they have yet to get a strong result in a major tournament. China has a great opportunity to make some noise this summer, but they have to be consistent.
Denmark: Hopes were high for this Danish squad at last summer’s Euros, but when they failed to advance past the group stage, doubts started to creep up. They are in a group where they can do something, but if their recent play is any indication, it might be a short tournament for Denmark.
England: By far one of the top three teams that are favored to win the WC, particularly after last year’s win at the Euros. The lionesses are riding a massive wave of momentum, but with some shifts in their lineup because of pregnancies and injuries, we might not see the same English squad as we did last summer.
Haiti: This Haitian team has been the biggest up and coming team the past year. They have a real shot to make some noise this summer, and they’ve never looked better. Haiti will need big results against China and Denmark, but with their recent form, good results are absolutely possible.
Group E: Netherlands, Portugal, United States, Vietnam
Netherlands: The Dutch were amazing back in 2019 when they reached the finals, but they will have to get back that form if they want to do anything this summer. Their group is absolutely manageable, and they will have the opportunity to ease into their games. A disappointing result at the Euros last summer means that they have a lot of work to do.
Portugal: The debutants will have their backs against the wall with the Netherlands and the U.S. in their group. The match against Vietnam is a must win for them, but advancing is very unlikely.
United States: The two time defending champions have been looking better and better after a string of losses to end 2022. They will need all hands on deck if they wish to three-peat this summer. Luckily this group has definitely given them the chance to go into the knockout stage with three wins. This team was disappointed with their bronze in Tokyo, and their hunger to win again is stronger than ever.
Vietnam: The odds of Vietnam winning even one game are very slim, and they will have to play their hearts out to even get a draw with one of these teams, but absolute kudos to them for even reaching this point.
Group F: Brazil, France, Jamaica, Panama
Brazil: The Brazilians are going into this WC to make an impact, if any of their recent results have shown us. They have endured heartbreak after heartbreak, and with their current form, this could be the first time in a while that Brazil will go very far. They need Marta, and all their other veterans to carry this team one more time before they retire.
France: The French have yet to make the finals in a big tournament. The Olympics, the Euros, and the WWC have never produced a final-making team. With a new manager change and players unhappy with the federation, it’s unlikely that this year will be that year, despite their semifinal run to the Euros last summer where they barely lost to Germany.
Jamaica: The Jamaicans know that this group is stacked against them with France and Brazil, but with the possibility of grabbing three points against Panama, Jamaica could do something. Their youth from the last WC will absolutely help them as they head into Australia and New Zealand this year.
Panama: A recent string of victories at the WC qualification tournament means that Panama will head into the WC this summer having already won a few games there. With this group, they will be needing any help they can get, and that might be the exact help that they need.
Group G: Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Sweden
Argentina: The Argentines are likely to place last in this group , but the fact that they came so close to making the knockout stage in 2019 means that they have been on this stage before. Because they barely made it out of qualification from South America, it’s unlikely that they’ll cause any upset this summer.
Italy: Heavy struggles in the past couple years means that Italy is absolutely on the upset watch this summer, particularly from South Africa. A surprising run to the quarterfinals in 2019 was a fan static showing from the Italians, but they performed very poorly at last summer’s Euros.
South Africa: The South Africans are heading into the WC riding the wave of momentum that comes when you win the AFCON tournament. They have the talent to beat Argentina and Italy, but it’ll come down to if they perform when the time comes. Though we don’t know now, South Africa will be a dark house of this tournament.
Sweden: The Swedes are one of the major players in the WWC, and they will be looking to raise the trophy for the first time ever. The closest they’ve been was being runner up in 2003. They narrowly got silver at the Tokyo Olympics when they were just one penalty away from winning, and they suffered a humiliating defeat from the English in the semis of the Euros last year. Morale might not be the best, but Sweden could definitely win this year.
Group H: Colombia, Germany, South Korea, Morocco
Colombia: Colombia is looking the best they’ve ever been, and although they are in arguably the toughest group, this could be the year when Colombia upsets some major squads. It’s certainly possible with the amount of young talent, but they will have to beat some pretty good teams. Losing in the finals of the Copa America last year means that they are ones to watch.
Germany: Losing in a heartbreaker in the Euros last year was all the sign that we need that Germany is here to win the WC. If any team has been looking consistently strong throughout the past year, and they look ready to win for the first time since 2007. Germany has one of the best mixes of young talents and veterans.
South Korea: The Koreans will most likely finish at the bottom of the group considering their opponents. However, they will try to make the knockout stage for the first time since 2015. The Koreans are very young, but haven’t followed off the radar of the best Asian teams.
Morocco: The AFCON runner ups were perhaps the most fun team to watch in 2022, and many hope that it’ll be no different this year. They have an extremely challenging group with Colombia and Germany, and what will really decide if the Moroccans advance or not.
So that was the preview for this summer’s WWC. There will be lots of unanswered questions heading into Australia and New Zealand, but all will be answered by the end. Be sure to watch the tournament this summer to see some amazing action.
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