The 2023 Women’s World Cup, which kicked off last week in Australia and New Zealand, is the biggest ever with 32 teams playing 64 games in a month.
It could also turn out to be the most competitive Women’s World Cup ever, with reigning European champions England; Germany, double world champion; Canada, Olympic champion; and the Netherlands, World Cup runners-up four years ago, among half a dozen teams poised to take down the United States, which is chasing an unprecedented third straight title.
“It’s our responsibility to find the next step, to find the next 1% to move the team forward and keep this team ahead,” USA manager Vlatko Andonovski said before the tournament started. Here’s a look at each of the teams in the biggest and deepest women’s football tournament in history.
group A
Preview of New Zealand vs Philippines
The buzz: This tournament has already been a wild ride for New Zealand, who opened the game by upsetting Norway with a Hannah Wilkinson goal for their first-ever World Cup, then two days later had their hotel in Auckland briefly burned down, with police arresting a 34-year-old man charged with burglary and arson.
A win here would virtually secure the Fougères a spot in the second round. The Philippines, making their first appearance in a World Cup or Olympic tournament, limited Switzerland to just one goal from the run of play in their opener, which ended in a 2-0 loss.
Anything less than a win here would leave the Philippines with only the narrowest path to the next round.
Preview of Switzerland vs Norway
The buzz: After dropping out of their opener against New Zealand, Norway need at least one draw here to keep any
the hope of reaching the round of 16 for the eighth time in nine World Cups. The Norwegians played well in their opener, beating New Zealand on shot, but they made a mistake and it led to Hannah Wilkinson’s counter-attack scoring for the only goal of the match.
Switzerland dominated everywhere except on the scoreboard in their first win over the Philippines, controlling the ball for more than 65 of 90 minutes, having a 17-3 advantage on shots and putting eight on target. But the Swiss managed only one goal in the course of the game in a 2-0 victory. A win here would only lock in a spot in the next round.
Group B
Preview of Canada vs Ireland
The buzz: Canada were forced to settle for a scoreless draw in their opener when Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie denied Christine Sinclair’s second-half try. That leaves the reigning Olympic champion needing a win here to improve his chances of a second-round berth. But Ireland, too, is aiming for the round of 16. She made it clear she wouldn’t give up as she gave Australia a battle in their opener before losing 1-0 from Steph Catley’s penalty. Beating Canada in its second World Cup match in history would maintain its chances of advancing.
Group C
The buzz: Japan beat Zambia 5-0 in their opener, edging the Africans 25-0, putting 11 shots on target and scoring four times in the second half, with Angel City’s Jun Endo scoring one of those scores.
Now, needing a win to give him a firm grip on a place in the second round, he faces a Costa Rican side who gave up an extraordinary 45 shots in a 3-0 loss to Spain.
As bad as that loss was for the Ticos, it could have been worse: goalkeeper Daniela Solero celebrated her 26th birthday by saving a first-half penalty and making 10 saves in total.
Preview of Spain vs Zambia
The buzz: This one could get really ugly really fast. Spain took 45 shots in their first win against Costa Rica while Zambia conceded 25 in their first loss against Japan. And Spain could be even better in this one after snapping up Alexis Putellas.
The two-time Ballon d’Or winner, who suffered an ACL injury 15 months ago, played the last 13 minutes from the bench against Costa Rica, proving her fitness.
A win here would clear a wide path for Spain to advance to the second round. For World Cup debutants Zambia, who made their first appearance on the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics, this tournament has already proven to be a valuable learning experience.
Group D
Group E
USA v Netherlands preview
The buzz: This is a rematch of the 2019 World Cup Final, a game the USA won 2-0 thanks to goals from Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle, neither of whom started the USA opener here.
The United States have not lost a World Cup match since the last group game in 2011, although they were unimpressive in last week’s botched 3-0 win over Vietnam. The United States, who took 28 shots, squandered most of their chances but were bailed out by Sophia Smith, who had two goals and an assist in her World Cup opener.
The Dutch, meanwhile, struggled more with Portugal despite building a 12-2 advantage on shots. The game’s only goal came when defender Stefanie van der Gragt headed a corner kick in the 13th minute.
These teams last met in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics, playing out a 2-2 draw. The United States then won a decisive shootout to eliminate the Dutch.
Group F
Group G
Group H
The buzz: Colombia are back in the World Cup after a four-year hiatus, qualifying for last summer’s Copa América Femenina, where they finished runners-up to Brazil. But her time in Australia got off to a bad start when her penultimate World Cup warm-up was scrapped after a choppy 20 minutes that ended with Ireland’s Denise O’Sullivan en route to hospital with a shin injury. (She recovered in time to play in Ireland’s first tournament.)
Since the Copa América, Colombia have lost just twice in 14 games and their roster includes Real Madrid teenager Linda Caicedo, one of the best young players in the world. She will likely be paired with Catalina Usme, Colombia’s all-time top scorer. South Korea have won just one game in three previous World Cup trips and prepared for this one with three consecutive victories, beating Haiti and Zambia twice by a total of 12-3.
Ji So-yun, the county’s all-time leading goalscorer, is known as Ji Messi at home due to her technical ability. But also watch out for 16-year-old Korean-American Casey Phair, the national team’s first mixed-race player.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.