With just two weeks to go before the 2023 Women’s World Cup kicks off, the excitement is reaching fever pitch in the 32 team camps and among supporters around the world.
Co-hosts New Zealand will launch the tournament on 20th July with a mouthwatering clash against a strong Norway team, while Australia will follow that game up when they meet the Republic of Ireland later in the day.
It’s the first women’s tournament to see 32 teams in the mix, and that means more game, more goals, and more drama.
The USA are aiming for a third consecutive World crown, and they will be a force to be reckoned with, while hosts Australia, along with England, Germany, Sweden, France, and Brazil will all have plenty to say.
How are the favourites shaping up?
Australia, led by the legendary Sam Kerr, will hope that home advantage plays into their hands. And last time out, they had a statement 2-0 victory over 2022 European Champions England. Next week, they will have a final warm up against another leading side, France.
England played put a 0-0 draw in their warm-up against Portugal last week and will hope to find their shooting boots when they take on Canada on the Sunshine Coast on 14th July. The Lionesses want to kick in after their success in 2022.
Germany will be strong again, and the SBOTOP odds will place them in second. But they had a difficult time in their final warm-up game, losing 3-2 to Zambia on Friday.
Star striker Alexandra Popp was on target, but the Germans conceded three goals on the break, and that is something for them to work on next week.
The USA team never stays away from the limelight, it’s in their DNA. And why should they? Megan Rapinoe and co come into the game in outstanding form with seven wins from seven in 2023, scoring 17 goals and conceding one in a 2-1 win over Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup.
USA included two hammerings of New Zealand in that run, 4-0 and 5-0, and the Stars and Stripes meet Wales in a final warm up before taking on Vietnam in their tournament opener.
The Women’s World Cup 2023 betting oddswill back USA as strong favourites, but they aren’t the only team with their eyes on the big prize.
Highly fancied Sweden are without a win in three, losing narrowly to Denmark and picking up draws with Germany and Norway, and they will warm up for the tournament with a friendly against the Philippines in Wellington.
Meanwhile, France, unbeaten in 2023, picked up a 3-0 win over Ireland last week and will finish their fine-tuning when they meet Australia on the 14th.
Brazil had the perfect preparation for their campaign with a 4-0 thumping of Chile before they jetted off to Oz, and head coach Pia Sundhage says her players should focus on their realistic chance of world domination.
They have arguably the best player of all time in prolific striker Marta, who has scored 115 goals in 175 games and has plundered a record 17 goals in 20 games across five world tournaments. And Marta will fancy her chances of going past the 20-goal mark in Australia and New Zealand.
The Brazil plane landed in Australia in a blaze of publicity. Their plane, owned by Argentine film producer Enrique Pinero, emblazoned with a tribute to Iranian human rights protestors.
The Iran team at the Qatar World Cup were vocal in their support for women’s rights, and this tournament brings another opportunity to highlight human rights issues.
Aboriginal flags will fly
In other Women’s World Cup 2023 news,the authorities in Australia and New Zealand have decided to pay homage to the indigenous populations of their countries by displaying their flags at the showcase event.
The host nations will fly indigenous flags, the Aboriginal flag at all 35 of the games across Australia and the Maori “Tino Rangatiratanga” flag will fly at all 29 matches in New Zealand. Australia have two indigenous players in their ranks, Kyah Simon and Lydia Williams and Simon said: “I’m proud of our culture and our First Nations people in the country. Every major tournament my family’s come along and brought their own Aboriginal flag and for me that’s part of my history and my culture; and to see my family in the crowd, holding up the flag, is something that’s close to home for me.”
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