It is the earliest the team had ever lost at the tournament, reaching at least the semi-finals in every edition of the World Cup, winning it four times.
Alex Morgan reacts to the defeat and Donald Trump. Photos: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Coming into this year’s event as the two-time defending champions, they were overwhelming favourites to win it all again, despite selecting an ageing and largely untested line-up.
Trump, who is the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, couldn’t resist the opportunity to slam a team he has had a number of run-ins with in the past.
Taking to Truth Social – an alternative and extreme social media platform set up by Trump after he was banned by multiple others – the 77-year-old unleashed.
Donald Trump on Truth SocialSource: Twitter
“The “shocking and totally unexpected” loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our (sic) once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” he wrote.
“Many of our players were openly hostile to America – No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close.
“WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!! MAGA.”
The last line is a reference to the penalty miss by outspoken US star Megan Rapinoe as the Swede’s progressed 5-4.
Megan Rapinoe and Kristie Mewis react to the defeat to Sweden. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
It’s not the first time Trump has taken an aggressive stance against the American team.
After the US ended with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Trump blamed the “leftist maniacs” on the team.
“If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of leftist maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the gold medal instead of the bronze,” he said in a statement he released back in August 2021.
“Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has.”
Megan Rapinoe missed a crucial penalty for the US side. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Trump went on to target Rapinoe after the Olympics result, a player named the world’s best in 2019 who has a history of political activism.
“The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about radical left politics and not doing her job!,” he said.
In the bronze medal match, which was against Australia’s Matildas, Rapinoe scored two of the four goals and was key to the team’s bronze medal victory.
The former Republican President and the American woman’s football team have not been on good terms since the group declined an invitation to the White House after winning the 2019 World Cup.
The fallout from the US team’s elimination from the Women’s World Cup is gathering pace as fans in America pile on a side being labelled “arrogant and unlikeable”.
The two-time defending champion American line-up was an overwhelming favourite to make it three straight titles in the event being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Even after a patchy group stage, when the US did enough to beat Vietnam 3-0, managed a draw with the Netherlands and only just escaped with a 0-0 draw against Portugal to progress, they were still the tournament favourites.
Kelley O’Hara, Alyssa Thompson, Megan Rapinoe, and Alyssa Naeher of the US react after the loss to Sweden. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
A commercial created by US World Cup hosts Fox Sports has since been doing the rounds on social media and it’s fair to say it has not aged well.
It starts with the line: “The whole world is wondering, what’s it going to take to stop this US team?”
A 1:25 long ad then weaves its way through a series of heavy, outdated stereotypes of countries trying new ways to compete with the Americans.
It has British people in dreary weather sitting on a London bus, Brazilians on the beach and some Germans in a lab using artificial intelligence “that mimmicks their every move”.
There is also a shady looking Italian complete with black turtle neck and black leather jacket overlooking US training who states: “We could steal their plays.”
A drone with Italian colours and an Italian flag on it, just in case we missed the subtlety, is then knocked out of the sky by American midfielder Rose Lavelle.
Sweden players celebrate after Rapinoe missed her penalty during the shootout. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
We can’t be sure, but there also appears to be an attempt at an Australian accent, with a blonde woman in a gold shirt and green and gold tie working in an airport with “Sydney” on an arrivals board over her shoulder saying “their flights could get cancelled”.
Without any hyperbole, the ad ends with a woman stating: “I mean, the entire world is going to do whatever it takes to stop the US.”
Veteran striker Alex Morgan then replies “good luck with that” with a half-smile before jogging off on the pitch.
The ad was re-posted on Twitter following the American’s loss with the caption: “Well isn’t this hilarious now?”
And the reaction has been swift and entertaining.
Noted American soccer analyst and ex-national team player Alexi Lalas also did not hold back in his assessment of the current women’s team.
While this US team earned widespread acclaim for its ultimately successful push for equal prizemoney for the country’s male and female teams, it has also been hammered in some circles for focusing too much on issues away from the pitch.
“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing,” Lalas wrote. “Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America.
“This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”
The defeat to Sweden capped off a terrible World Cup in general for the Americans.
It wasn’t just the round of 16 defeat to the Swedes, who are ranked third in the FIFA rankings behind the US and Germany.
Megan Rapinoe and an actress attempting an Australian accent.Source: TwitterA very subtle Italian portrayed in the commercial.Source: Twitter
They were then savaged and seemingly outraged an entire state when an attempt to show its affinity for the city of Melbourne was ruined by the use of the term “Melby” on social media, a term no one has ever used and will now be etched in infamy.
Plenty more reaction to the Fox Sports ad revolves around the Swedish team.
There are a number of shoutouts to the Swedish players, while someone also superimposed a Swedish flag onto the VAR graphic of the team’s winning goal.
A gif of Swedish heroes, defender Amanda Ilestedt and goalkeeper and player of the match Zecira Musovic, popping up and waving also seems a perfect way to answer the question: “What’s it going to take to stop this US team?”
The US Women’s National Team have been slammed ahead of their critical Round of 16 clash with Olympic silver medallists Sweden in Melbourne, with one pundit declaring their performances as “the worst I’ve seen them play”.
The top-ranked team in the world, led by midfielder Lindsey Horan, scraped through to the knockout stages after failing to win against the Netherlands and Portugal, and having the scoreline flatter them against a valiant Vietnam outfit, and now face a dominant Sweden side who have won every game so far, including a 5-0 demolition of Italy.
It’s been a poor performance from the heavyweights so far.Source: Getty Images
With the width of the post being the only thing between the USA and a catastrophic early exit from the World Cup for the reigning champions, former Matilda Catherine Cannuli told Optus Sport that she wasn’t impressed with the Americans.
“The movement off the ball for the USA the other day was non-existent. It‘s the worst I’ve seen them play in a long, long time,” Cannuli said on Optus Sport.
“Before, they were able to dominate teams with their physicality. Now, teams are starting to tactically outplay them, and that‘s going to be a big problem for them going forward.”
Former Denmark keeper Thomas Sorenson said that the current American transition would take time.
“It‘s a culture shift, and it takes time,” Sorenson said.
“They‘ve come from a period of great success, and now they’re struggling, it takes adjustment. All they need is one big win to kick on from, and there’s a chance they go far in this tournament.”
Cannuli, however, blamed coach Vlatko Andonovski, saying that the institutional domination of the Americans meant the nation had no excuses.
“Vlatko has had so much time with this team. He should be in a better position with the quality of the girls he has,” she said.
“Yes there‘s a generational shift, and a lot of players coming through, but all of his players play in the US and he gets them whenever he wants them. The NWSL stops so they can go on camps and play games. He should be doing better, and they should be asking what he’s been doing in this last four years.”
Coach Vlatko Andonovski has been heavily criticised.Source: Getty Images
American star striker Alex Morgan has herself remarked on her side’s problems in front of goal, telling press it had been a particular focus.
“I think we’ve broken down what went wrong, how we can fix that,” Morgan said.
“In possession, out of possession — how we can capitalise on the chances we have in front of goal, how we can create more chances in front of goal, how I can put away the chances that I’m given.”
The US Women’s National Team are the most dominant team in the history of the sport, and are gunning for a historic third consecutive World Cup title.
They have not been ranked lower than first in the world for over six years, but have struggled so far this World Cup amid historically poor form.
They play against Sweden in Melbourne at 7pm AEST, who defeated them 3-0 in their last head-to-head clash at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sophia Smith scored twice and set up another as a new-look United States launched their bid to win a third Women’s World Cup in a row with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam on Saturday.
One of six members of the USA starting line-up making her World Cup debut, lively forward Smith finished a fine move to open the scoring in the 14th minute at Eden Park in Auckland.
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Veteran Alex Morgan was then denied from the penalty spot before Smith struck again deep in stoppage time at the end of the first half in front of a crowd of just over 41,000.
She then set up the third goal for captain Lindsey Horan in the 77th minute, after veteran icon Megan Rapinoe had come off the bench to win her 200th cap.
“I think it was a good starting point for our team in this tournament. I also know that we have a lot more that we can give, a lot more to do, little things to work on,” said the 22-year-old Smith.
Vlatko Andonovski’s title favourites missed a hatful of chances as debutants Vietnam avoided the humiliation that befell Thailand at the 2019 World Cup, when they were thrashed 13-0 by the United States.
There is clearly room for improvement for an American side who will also play Portugal and 2019 runners-up the Netherlands in Group E, as they aim to win an unprecedented third consecutive title.
However, this was a new experience for many of their side, and for Andonovski, taking charge of a World Cup game for the first time having replaced Jill Ellis as coach not long after their triumph at France 2019.
They also limited Vietnam to no shots or even a single touch inside the opposition box, meaning the Asian nation was the first to achieve the feat, if you can call it that, since at least 2011.
Sophia Smith celebrates after scoring for the USWNT against Vietnam. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“Unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on all the great opportunities that we created and that is something we are certainly going to focus on in the lead-up to the next game, but the first one is in the books and the focus immediately shifts towards game two,” said Andonovski.
That will be against the Dutch on Thursday in a re-run of the 2019 final. With Rapinoe beginning her final World Cup before retirement on the bench, Smith and 21-year-old Trinity Rodman flanked Morgan in attack on their debuts at the finals.
Right-back Emily Fox, centre-back Naomi Girma, and midfielders Andi Sullivan and Savannah DeMelo also made their first World Cup appearances.
“I have to say I was happy with the way the team played. I think that if you look at the team it is the first time this XI have been on the field together,” the coach added.
“To see some of the connections and combinations was very positive.”
Rodman, the daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, needed lengthy treatment after suffering a knock inside the first minute before going on to have an impact on proceedings.
It was Smith who got the breakthrough though, controlling and finishing off a fine move expertly after Morgan flicked on a pass by Horan.
Alex Morgan missed a penalty against Vietnam. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
It was one-way traffic but it remained 1-0 until Rodman was clipped by Hoang Thi Loan in the area just before the break and the Moroccan referee gave a penalty after coming over to review the images.
Yet Morgan, playing in her 19th World Cup match, saw her poor kick saved by goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh diving to the right.
It continued the absurd streak of every game at the World Cup featuring a penalty, with two scored and four missed.
Instead Smith made it 2-0 towards the end of eight added minutes in the first half, firing through the legs of the goalkeeper and in after a Girma cross had been punched away.
The goal was initially ruled out before being given after another lengthy check confirmed there was no offside.
Rapinoe, her hair dyed blue, entered the fray to cheers just after the hour mark alongside Rose Lavelle, the two goalscorers from the 2019 final.
Teenager Alyssa Thompson also came on for her World Cup bow just before Smith pounced on a Julie Ertz ball forward and supplied a cutback for Lyon midfielder Horan to score.
Lavelle hit the underside of the bar late on as Vietnam escaped with a creditable scoreline on their World Cup bow.
The daughter of NBA superstar Dennis Rodman, Trinity Rodman is making her World Cup debut on Saturday as the USA starts it campaign against Vietnam.
Rodman has made it clear, however, that she wants to forge her own identity separate to her eccentric father, who she has a strained relationship with.
“He was an amazing athlete,” she said. “I got those genes from him, but I’m excited to be known as Trinity Rodman and not just as Rodman’s daughter.
“I’m excited to pave my own path and get better throughout this journey.”
She added: “Being in spotlights has been hard for us, him and me.
“We don’t have the best relationship, but at the end of the day he’s human I’m human… he’s my dad, and I’m his little girl that will never change. I will improve and look forward everyday as I hope he does.”
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TODAY’S FIXTURES/RESULTS (AEST)
Group E — United States 2-0 Vietnam, Eden Park
Group C — Zambia vs Japan, Waikato Stadium, 5pm
Group D — England vs Haiti, Brisbane Stadium, 7.30pm
Group D — Denmark vs China PR, Perth Rectangular Stadium, 8pm
Trinity Rodman before the start of the game against Vietnam.Source: Getty Images
Despite an early injury scare, Rodman started strongly and won a penalty for the US inside the first half, although it was missed by Alex Morgan.
Meanwhile, USA left superstar Megan Rapinoe out of its starting XI against Vietnam.
The veteran is playing her final World Cup but the US coaching staff is believed to be exercising caution in rushing her back.
England vow to put pay row aside in World Cup quest
England pledged to put off-field dramas aside Friday as they look to back up their Euro 2022 triumph at the Women’s World Cup, starting with an opening match against “unpredictable” debutants Haiti.
The Lionesses’ build-up has been overshadowed by an ongoing row over bonuses for the players, with the team pausing talks this week to focus on the task ahead, starting in Brisbane on Saturday.
Coach Sarina Wiegman insisted stalled negotiations with the Football Association (FA) had not been a distraction.
“I haven’t noticed anything about that,” she said after being peppered with questions on the issue at a pre-match press conference.
Canada held to goalless draw | 00:26
“When we go on the pitch everyone is aligned and focused on football and I haven’t seen any other behaviour. So, yes, we are ready.”
England players issued a statement on Tuesday expressing “disappointment” that talks with the FA over bonus payments and commercial structures had not been resolved before the tournament.
They are reportedly upset by the FA’s failure to follow the lead of the Australian and American federations — where collective bargaining agreements apply — in paying bonuses on top of the prize money paid to players directly by FIFA.
“Obviously, it’s not a situation that everyone wants to be in,” said captain Millie Bright.
“As players, we are not just programmed to play football, sometimes we need to have these conversations.
“But we have a very professional group and football is always at the front of everything.” “Our heads are now on the game, they always have been, and everything is on hold with those sorts of questions,” she added. “We will address this situation at a later date but for now it’s all about this tournament.”
Matildas’ Sam Kerr injury treatment praised by NRL coach
Roosters coach Trent Robinson has praised Matildas counterpart Tony Gustavsson for not disclosing Sam Kerr’s calf injury 24 hours before Australia’s World Cup campaign opener, arguing it was a tactical advantage to keep Ireland guessing.
Gustavsson was criticised for fronting a media conference on Wednesday with Kerr where they didn’t mention the injury, only for the public to find out 90 minutes before the game against Ireland.
The setback didn’t cost Australia in the end as they held on for a 1-0 win in front of more than 75,000 fans, although they’ll need to sort out their misfiring attack, with Kerr already ruled out of the next match with Nigeria.
“I want to say I hope you respect and understand the reason when I sat here yesterday that I couldn’t speak openly about it, so I hope there’s an understanding of that,” Gustavsson said on Thursday night.
“At that point of time, we didn’t know 100 per cent what it was and we were waiting for a result of a scan.
“Last night (Wednesday) we had a meeting and that’s where I got the exact news of what it was.
Sam Kerr is missing the opening two games through injury.Source: Getty Images
“Sam is a massive part of Ireland’s game plan as you can understand, and we didn’t want to give that away in advance.”
Robinson went through something similar in 2018 when grand final week was dominated by speculation over whether champion halfback Cooper Cronk would play.
The veteran playmaker had a serious shoulder injury that required needles for him to play, with most people assuming he would be ruled out.
Cronk was named in the No.23 jersey with Mitch Aubusson originally listed at halfback, but he ended up playing and helped the Roosters overpower the Storm for the first of their two back-to-back titles.
Robinson was criticised at the time for not keeping the public updated with Cronk’s injury status, but he doubled down on Friday morning, saying that coaches and clubs are not slaves to the gambling industry and SuperCoach players who demand this sort of information.
“There was a bit written about it at the time, but it’s not going to change people turning up,” Robinson said.
“The objective of a coach is to win a game – other people might have a difference of opinion, – but our job is to create intrigue and guessing in the opposition.
“Showing your cards days and weeks before a game is giving a bit of a tip sheet to the opposition, so I’ve got no issue (with what the Matildas did).
“People wouldn’t have turned up if they found out? People wouldn’t have watched?
“The coach’s job for Australia is to win the game, and if that was a tactical advantage so Australia could win the game, then I think we’re happy with that as Australians rather than having the knowledge hours before that Sam wasn’t playing.”
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
The co-hosts are heading into their sixth Women’s World Cup having so far failed to win any of their 15 previous matches at the finals.
They have never got out of their group at the tournament and it would be a surprise if they did so this time, even with the advantage of having a home crowd behind them.
A positive result of any sort in their first match — and the tournament’s opening game — against Norway at Auckland’s Eden Park on July 20 would be a huge confidence boost.
Ranked 26th in the world, the Football Ferns are coached by the Czech Jitka Klimkova, the former national Under-17 coach who took over in 2021.
They may be lacking in household names, but look out for CJ Bott, a full-back with English WSL side Leicester City.
Norway were powerhouses of the women’s game as they reached the final of the first World Cup in 1991 and then lifted the trophy four years later.
Recent performances have been more underwhelming. They lost comfortably to England in the 2019 quarter-finals and then went out of Euro 2022 in the group stage after a humiliating 8-0 defeat against the English.
The appointment as coach of former star player Hege Riise after the Euros has led to an improvement. Norway cruised through World Cup qualifying and in recent months have beaten the Netherlands, and held England, France and Sweden.
They have depth to their squad, with Chelsea’s Guro Reiten offering creativity from midfield alongside Barcelona duo Ingrid Syrstad Engen and Caroline Graham Hansen.
Then there is Ada Hegerberg, the 2018 Women’s Ballon d’Or winner and prolific striker who will be eager to impress after refusing to play at the 2019 World Cup.
Will hope to get to the last eight at least.
Guro Reiten looms as a key player for Norway. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
PHILIPPINES (FIFA ranking 46)
Coach: Alen Stajcic (AUS)
Star player: Sarina Bolden (Western Sydney Wanderers/AUS)
Best World Cup performance: first appearance
The 46th-ranked Philippines are appearing at their first Women’s World Cup, fresh from reaching the semi-finals at last year’s Women’s Asian Cup and winning the AFF Women’s Championship for teams from Southeast Asia.
They also took bronze at last year’s Southeast Asian Games but can be under no illusions as to the size of the task awaiting them in New Zealand.
They are rank outsiders in Group A, although in Alen Stajcic they have an experienced coach who has previously managed his native Australia at the Women’s World Cup.
Will hope to cause a surprise or two with Australia-based forward Sarina Bolden providing the main goal threat.
Star player: Ramona Bachmann (Paris Saint-Germain)
Best World Cup performance: last 16 (2015)
Qualified for just their second Women’s World Cup by beating Wales in a playoff after coming second to Italy in their qualifying group.
Will now hope to make a greater impression than at last year’s European Championship, when they went out in the group stage without winning a match.
Former German international Inka Grings took over at the beginning of the year and is aiming to take a side led by Paris Saint-Germain’s Ramona Bachmann and Barcelona’s Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic into the knockout stages.
That would boost morale ahead of Euro 2025, which the Swiss will host.
Ramona Bachmann will be tasked with guiding Switzerland to the knockout stages. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
GROUP B
AUSTRALIA (FIFA ranking 10)
Coach: Tony Gustavsson (SWE)
Star player: Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2007, 2011, 2015)
The Matildas have featured at seven World Cups and never progressed beyond the quarter-finals.
But on home soil and with momentum from a string of encouraging results, they are among the favourites with perhaps their most talented squad ever.
Much will depend on the form of Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, Australia’s skipper and leading goalscorer who is one of the superstars of women’s football. She will be the face of the tournament.
Kerr is supported by a host of quality players, including Lyon’s Ellie Carpenter, Caitlin Foord of Arsenal and Manchester City duo Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy.
Their Swedish coach Tony Gustavsson was appointed in 2020 and took time to settle in. He now faces the biggest test of his career.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (FIFA ranking 22)
Coach: Vera Pauw (NED)
Star player: Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Best World Cup performance: first appearance
Ireland scraped into their first World Cup with a playoff win over arch rivals Scotland, reversing decades of underperformance.
Former Netherlands manager Vera Pauw has been central to the turnaround, along with captain and Arsenal talisman McCabe.
In the qualifiers they beat Georgia, held Sweden to a draw and moved to a playoff place with narrow wins over Finland and Slovakia.
In the playoff, Amber Barrett’s 72nd-minute strike was enough to propel them past Scotland and into a maiden finals.
Along with the versatile McCabe, Ireland will rely heavily on experienced US-based Denise O’Sullivan and Birmingham City’s Louise Quinn, who both have more than 100 caps each.
Katie McCabe is Ireland’s talisman. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
NIGERIA (FIFA ranking 40)
Coach: Randy Waldrum (USA)
Star player: Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1999)
The Super Falcons are by far Africa’s most successful international women’s football team, winning 11 Africa Cup of Nations titles, most recently in 2018.
One of the few nations to have qualified for every World Cup, they are contesting their ninth in Australia and New Zealand, with their best result the quarter-finals in 1999.
In Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala they boast one of the greatest African footballers of all time in the women’s game, while inspirational captain Onome Ebi will be playing in an incredible sixth World Cup at age 40.
CANADA (FIFA ranking 7)
Coach: Beverly Priestman (ENG)
Star player: Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns, USA)
Best World Cup performance: Fourth place (2003)
The Tokyo Olympic gold medallists have qualified for every World Cup except the first in 1991, with a fourth-placed finish in 2003 the highlight so far.
They enter this tournament after a disrupted build-up that saw them threaten to strike over pay, funding and contractual issues.
They are also missing key forward Janine Beckie, who has a knee injury. That makes 40-year-old skipper Christine Sinclair, who is the all-time leading scorer in international football, even more pivotal.
Now in her 23rd year on the Canadian team, she is at her sixth World Cup and has made more than 300 appearances for her country.
“We’re going there to win it,” she declared last week.
Christine Sinclair is competing at her sixth World Cup with Canada. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
GROUP C
SPAIN (FIFA ranking 6)
Coach: Jorge Vilda (ESP)
Star player: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best World Cup performance: Last 16 (2019)
Spain’s preparations were thrown into turmoil last year when 15 players declared themselves unavailable “until situations that affect our emotional and personal state” were resolved.
The players were unhappy with several issues, including the leadership of coach Jorge Vilda. The Spanish federation nevertheless backed him to lead the team into the World Cup.
Three of the 15 were named in the squad for Australia and New Zealand after agreements with the federation were reached on some points, but that means Spain are missing key players.
Twice Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas was included after returning from injury.
Despite the disruption Spain have been mostly winning since the protest began, their only defeat coming against co-hosts Australia.
Vilda’s side remain a serious contender in spite of the off-field troubles.
COSTA RICA (FIFA ranking 36)
Coach: Amelia Valverde (CRC)
Star player: Raquel Rodriguez (Portland Thorns, USA)
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (2015)
Costa Rica made an impact in their only previous World Cup appearance, in 2015, exiting at the group stage after conceding a late goal against Brazil in their final game.
That came after impressive draws against Spain and South Korea that belied their status as tournament minnows.
“Las Ticas” have struggled though for results going into this year’s tournament, losing five matches in a row before defeating fellow qualifiers Haiti 2-0.
Costa Rican great Shirley Cruz was a controversial omission from the squad in what was to have been her swan song.
But they can still call on the goalscoring midfielder Raquel Rodriguez and Priscila Chinchilla, who plays for Scottish champions Glasgow City.
Raquel Rodriguez provides plenty of goals from midfield. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
ZAMBIA (FIFA ranking 77)
Coach: Bruce Mwape (ZAM)
Star player: Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli, CHN)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Zambia was one of the first African countries to field a women’s team in the 1980s and they are now reaping the reward after qualifying for their first World Cup.
The Copper Queens are enjoying an unprecedented wave of success after also appearing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where they claimed a draw with China and lost to Brazil by a single goal.
But an Olympic-record 10-3 thrashing by the Netherlands exposed Zambia’s lack of experience at the top level and they go into the World Cup as the tournament’s lowest-ranked team.
That said, they stunned Germany — one of the World Cup favourites — 3-2 away in a friendly last week with skipper Barbra Banda scoring twice.
The forward, who hit back-to-back hat-tricks at the Tokyo Olympics, has been cleared to play after missing last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations because she had excessive natural testosterone levels.
JAPAN (FIFA ranking 11)
Coach: Futoshi Ikeda (JPN)
Star player: Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
Best World Cup performance: Winners (2011)
Japan have fallen behind the top teams since winning the World Cup in 2011 but they remain dangerous and will be looking to re-establish their credentials in Australia and New Zealand.
More Japanese players now ply their trade overseas and Manchester City’s Yui Hasegawa and Angel City’s Jun Endo are among those bringing a new dimension to the national team.
Defender Saki Kumagai, who scored the penalty that won Japan the title in 2011, is the only World Cup winner still around, with Tottenham forward Mana Iwabuchi a surprise omission from the squad.
Recent results have been up and down, and wins over the world’s top sides have been scarce.
But Japan still have plenty of pedigree and coach Futoshi Ikeda knows his players well after previously taking charge of national youth sides.
Manchester City star Yui Hasegawa is a key player for Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
GROUP D
ENGLAND (FIFA ranking 4)
Coach: Sarina Wiegman (NED)
Star player: Keira Walsh (Barcelona/ESP)
Best World Cup performance: Third place (2015)
England are reigning European champions and along with holders the United States favourites for the World Cup.
But if they are to win the tournament for the first time England will need to do it without several key players because of injury.
Captain Leah Williamson, Arsenal forward Beth Mead and Chelsea’s Fran Kirby will all miss out with knee injuries.
England’s form has also been a little patchy in recent months. They were held 1-1 by Brazil and then lost 2-0 at home to Australia as their 30-match unbeaten run came to an end.
England’s final warm-up match for the World Cup was an underwhelming 0-0 stalemate with Portugal at home.
But the Lionesses have strength in depth to make up for the injuries and in Sarina Wiegman they have one of the best coaches in the women’s game.
CHINA (FIFA ranking 14)
Coach: Shui Qingxia (CHN)
Star player: Wang Shuang (Racing Louisville/USA)
Best World Cup performance: Runners-up (1999)
China hosted the first Women’s World Cup, in 1991, were fourth in 1995 and then runners-up to the United States in 1999.
But since then they have been caught up and overtaken by the European countries in particular.
China squeezed into the knockout rounds in 2019 before bowing out 2-0 in the last 16 to Italy.
There were better signs however last year when they defeated former World Cup winners Japan in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup on penalties.
China then beat South Korea 3-2 in the final and attacking midfielder Wang Shuang, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain, was one of the players of the tournament with five goals.
Much will depend on Wuhan-born Wang if they are to make an impression in Australia and New Zealand.
Wang Shuang played an important role in helping China get to the World Cup. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
HAITI (FIFA ranking 53)
Coach: Nicolas Delepine (FRA)
Star player: Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/FRA)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Haiti are one of the feel-good stories of this World Cup.
They defied instability back home to qualify for the first time in their history, via the play-offs.
The young squad, boasting a number of players who ply their trade in France, is considered something of a “golden generation”.
The undoubted pick is the 19-year-old Melchie Dumornay, whose performances for Stade de Reims earned her a move to heavyweights Lyon.
The attacking midfielder is considered one of the most promising players in world football.
Haiti will be many people’s second team, but it would be a shock if they get out of the group.
DENMARK (FIFA ranking 13)
Coach: Lars Sondergaard (DEN)
Star player: Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/GER)
Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1991, 1995)
The Danes will be expected to make it out of the group along with England, having romped their way through qualifying with a perfect eight wins in eight matches.
Pernille Harder will be key if they are to equal or improve on their best World Cup showing of getting to the quarter-finals.
The skipper made her international debut aged 16 and promptly scored a hat-trick.
Now 30, she is a two-time UEFA Women’s Player of the Year and has been described by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes as “one of the best attacking players in the world”.
Recently left Chelsea at the end of her contract and joined Bayern.
Pernille Harder is a two-time UEFA Women’s Player of the Year. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
GROUP E
UNITED STATES (FIFA ranking 1)
Coach: Vlatko Andonovski (MKD)
Star player: Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign)
Best World Cup performance: Winners (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019)
The superpower of international women’s football, the United States are aiming to win a third consecutive World Cup and a record-extending fifth overall.
English-born Jill Ellis led the team to their last two victories before being replaced by Vlatko Andonovski.
Born in the former Yugoslavia in what is now North Macedonia, Andonovski moved to the USA over two decades ago and became national coach in 2019 after enjoying success at club level.
After only taking bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, Andonovski’s side must show that they can still outperform an ever-improving European contingent, not to mention an Australia side with high hopes as co-hosts.
The tournament represents a World Cup farewell for icon Megan Rapinoe, who is now 38 and will retire after this season.
There is still huge quality throughout the squad, even with Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario falling victim to the knee injury curse sweeping through the women’s game, with Alex Morgan no doubt set to play a starring role.
Would be a huge surprise if they failed to make the semi-finals at the very least.
VIETNAM (FIFA ranking 32)
Coach: Mai Duc Chung (VIE)
Star player: Huynh Nhu (Lank FC Vilaverdense/POR)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Vietnam are heading to their first World Cup — men’s or women’s — off the back of their run to the quarter-finals of last year’s Asian Cup.
History was made by a team coached by Mai Duc Chung, who told FIFA.com that Vietnam “won’t set high ambitions”, but added: “We are not scared”.
An opening game against the holders is a daunting prospect, and Vietnam will hope to avoid the fate that befell their Southeast Asian rivals Thailand, who lost 13-0 to the United States in their first game at France 2019.
Vietnam’s star player is striker Huynh Nhu, who last year became the first woman from the country to join a professional European club when she signed for Lank Vilaverdense in Portugal.
NETHERLANDS (FIFA ranking 9)
Coach: Andries Jonker (NED)
Star player: Lieke Martens (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
Best World Cup performance: Runners-up (2019)
The Netherlands only recently emerged as a force in the women’s game, winning Euro 2017 as hosts and then enjoying a remarkable run at the 2019 World Cup as they went all the way to the final before losing 2-0 to the United States.
Yet a repeat of that performance appears unlikely.
Those feats were achieved under former coach Sarina Wiegman, who left after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to take charge of England. Her successor, Englishman Mark Parsons, oversaw a quarter-final exit to France at last year’s Euro and was replaced by Andries Jonker.
The Netherlands eased through World Cup qualifying but they head to New Zealand without prolific striker Vivianne Miedema as she continues her recovery from an ACL injury suffered last December.
It will therefore be up to the likes of winger Lieke Martens and midfielder Danielle van de Donk to lead the Dutch charge.
Lieke Martens must take up the attacking impetus due to Vivianne Miedema’s injury. (Photo by Armando Babani/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
PORTUGAL (FIFA ranking 21)
Coach: Francisco Neto (POR)
Star player: Jessica Silva (Benfica/POR)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Portugal took the long route to qualify for their first Women’s World Cup. They came second in their qualifying group behind Germany, then won play-offs against Belgium and Iceland.
That set up an inter-confederation playoff in February against Cameroon, which Portugal won 2-1 thanks to a 94th-minute Carole Costa penalty.
Before that, Francisco Neto’s team went out of last year’s Euro without winning a game, but they did hold European champions England to a 0-0 draw away in a friendly earlier this month.
Being drawn in a group with the two finalists from the 2019 edition means it would be a big surprise if Portugal were to go beyond the first round.
GROUP F
FRANCE (FIFA ranking 5)
Coach: Herve Renard (FRA)
Star player: Kadidiatou Diani (unattached)
Best World Cup performance: Fourth place (2011)
France are in many ways the great underachievers of international women’s football. They have never won a major title and have made a nasty habit of falling short, going out of the last two World Cups in the quarter-finals and in the semi-finals of last year’s Euro.
Les Bleues are also recovering from a turbulent few months following the sacking of Corinne Diacre as coach in March.
Diacre was ditched after several leading players, including captain Wendie Renard and star forward Kadidiatou Diani, said they would no longer play under her.
She was replaced by Herve Renard, who led Saudi Arabia to a famous win over Lionel Messi’s Argentina at the men’s World Cup in Qatar.
The new coach’s task is complicated by injuries, with attacking stars Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto ruled out of the competition.
Nevertheless France have the quality to go far and the quarter-finals must be a minimum objective.
JAMAICA (FIFA ranking 43)
Coach: Lorne Donaldson (JAM)
Star player: Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/ENG)
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (2019)
Jamaica are back at the Women’s World Cup after losing all three group games on their debut in 2019. They qualified after finishing third at last year’s CONCACAF W Championship.
The Reggae Girlz will be doing very well to make it out of the group but they will at least hope to avoid losing every match this time.
In prolific Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw they have one of the very best in the business — she scored 20 goals in the English Women’s Super League in the season just finished.
Others ply their trade at a high level in Europe or the United States, but a dispute with their national federation over what the team called “extreme disorganisation” has clouded their preparations for the tournament.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw scores goals for fun with Manchester City in the WSL. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
BRAZIL (FIFA ranking 8)
Coach: Pia Sundhage (SWE)
Star player: Marta (Orlando Pride/USA)
Best World Cup performance: Runners-up (2007)
Brazil got to the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup and then reached the final in 2007, losing to Germany. However, they have faded as a force in recent years, going out of the last two World Cups in the last 16.
Nevertheless, the team that dominates in South America will hope to make an impact this year in what will be the last World Cup for Marta, the six-time world player of the year who is now aged 37.
From Tamires and Rafaelle at the back, to Geyse and Andressa Alves up front, Brazil have enough other top-level players to go beyond the first knockout round this time.
The team is coached by the veteran Swede Pia Sundhage, who twice led the United States to Olympic gold and won Olympic silver as coach of her home country.
PANAMA (FIFA ranking 52)
Coach: Ignacio Quintana (MEX)
Star player: Marta Cox (Pachuca/MEX)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Ranked 52nd in the world and appearing at their first Women’s World Cup, Panama are one of the rank outsiders in Australia and New Zealand.
The Canaleras, coached by the Mexican Ignacio Quintana, were the last team to qualify when they beat Paraguay 1-0 in the final inter-confederation playoff in New Zealand in February.
Midfielder Marta Cox was key in qualifying and will have an important role to play, while Panama also have high hopes for Riley Tanner, a United States-born forward with Washington Spirit who has opted to represent the land of her mother’s birth.
Their first match is against Brazil in Adelaide on July 24.
GROUP G
ARGENTINA (FIFA ranking 28)
Coach: German Portanova (ARG)
Star player: Estefania Banini (Atletico Madrid/ESP)
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (2003, 2007, 2019)
Lionel Messi and his side won the men’s World Cup in Qatar, but ambitions are far more limited for Argentina’s women’s team.
Argentine women’s football is still semi-professional, meaning players can only make a partial living off the sport.
They have been at the Women’s World Cup three times and are yet to win a match in nine attempts.
In 2019, they again failed to get out of their group, but they did pick up points in draws with Scotland and former world champions Japan.
In Australia and New Zealand, they are aiming to make a piece of history by reaching the knockout rounds.
“We don’t think we’ll win the World Cup, but we’ll give a good account of ourselves,” veteran goalkeeper Vanina Correa told FIFA.com.
Experienced midfielder Estefania Banini, an ever-present for Atletico Madrid, is the team’s talisman.
Estefania Banini will be pivotal to Argentina getting to the knockout stages. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
ITALY (FIFA ranking 16)
Coach: Milena Bertolini (ITA)
Star player: Manuela Giugliano (Roma/ITA)
Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1991, 2019)
Coach Milena Bertolini left out the 34-year-old long-time captain Sara Gama from her squad as she looks to the future.
The teenage Barcelona midfielder Giulia Dragoni was called up, underlining how Bertolini is putting her trust in a new generation.
Dragoni is unlikely to start given the stiff competition in a midfield led by Manuela Giugliano, but she could well play a part as Italy try to show that they are better than their dismal display at Euro 2022.
They flopped at the tournament, finishing bottom of their group, taking one point from three games.
Italy reached the quarter-finals at the last World Cup, but expectations are more modest on this occasion.
Their time could come instead in 2027.
SOUTH AFRICA (FIFA ranking 54)
Coach: Desiree Ellis (RSA)
Star player: Thembi Kgatlana (Racing Louisville/USA)
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (2019)
The lowest-ranked team in what looks like an open group, South Africa will have to do something special to reach the knockout rounds.
They have appeared at the tournament only once before, in 2019, when they lost all three matches and scored one goal.
Preparations for this World Cup were overshadowed by a pay row with South African football authorities, but that seems to have been resolved.
The Banyana Banyana are African champions and their squad is largely made up of players from the domestic league.
US-based forward Thembi Kgatlana is a lynchpin of the side and is now fit and firing following injury.
Attacking midfielder Linda Motlhalo is another playing overseas, with Glasgow City in Scotland.
Thembi Kgatlana has been a constant presence for the Banyana Banyana. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
SWEDEN (FIFA ranking 3)
Coach: Peter Gerhardsson (SWE)
Star player: Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona/ESP)
Best performance: Runners-up (2003)
Undoubtedly the strongest team in the group, it would be a major surprise if Sweden do not get to the last 16 at the very least.
They have a long and proud history in women’s football, having featured at the first World Cup in 1991, where they finished third.
Sweden have been to every World Cup since, losing to Germany in the 2003 final and coming third last time.
They reached the semi-finals at the Euros last year before being soundly beaten 4-0 by hosts and eventual champions England.
Sweden’s squad boasts some top talent and numerous players who feature at leading European teams, including the Chelsea pair of midfielder Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.
There is also the Arsenal trio of Stina Blackstenius, Lina Hurtig and Amanda Ilestedt, plus Filippa Angeldal at Manchester City.
Fridolina Rolfo is a goal-scoring and pacy left winger at Barcelona who can also play up front.
GROUP H
GERMANY (FIFA ranking 2)
Coach: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (GER)
Star player: Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg/GER)
Best World Cup performance: Champions (2003, 2007)
Germany are two-times world champions and will once again be among the favourites.
They suffered heartbreak after losing to hosts England 2-1 in extra-time in the final of last year’s Euros.
It was especially devastating for star player Alexandra Popp, who was ruled out of the match at Wembley after picking up an injury in the warm-up, having scored six goals on the way to the final.
Germany have beaten the United States and France in friendlies since then, but recent results have been mixed and they lost 3-2 at home to fellow World Cup qualifiers Zambia earlier this month in a major shock.
The Germans have quality throughout their squad and feature 10 players from Champions League runners-up Wolfsburg.
They start just behind England and holders the United States as favourites.
Alexandra Popp will not want to miss out on yet another final should Germany go all the way in Australia. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
MOROCCO (FIFA ranking 72)
Coach: Reynald Pedros (FRA)
Star player: Ghizlane Chebbak (AS FAR/MAR)
Best World Cup performance: First appearance
Tournament debutants Morocco are the first Arab nation to play at a Women’s World Cup, having finished runners-up at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations behind winners South Africa.
The Atlas Lionesses can draw on players from around Europe’s top leagues and at home, led by inspirational captain Ghizlane Chebbak.
Coach Reynald Pedros also has pedigree, having led women’s giants Lyon to two Champions League and two domestic French titles before joining Morocco in 2020.
Morocco start among the lowest-ranked teams at the World Cup and results in friendlies this year have been inconsistent.
But Chebbak insists she and her teammates “aren’t going to the World Cup to make up the numbers”.
COLOMBIA (FIFA ranking 25)
Coach: Nelson Abadia (COL)
Star player: Daniela Montoya (Atletico Nacional/COL)
Best World Cup performance: Last 16 (2015)
Colombia are known as “the Powerpuff Girls” and will be hoping to pull off some superpowered results in Australia and New Zealand.
The Colombians beat Argentina to reach the final of last year’s Copa America and only missed out on the trophy after a 1-0 defeat to Brazil.
Colombia have fared well against weaker sides since then but lost to both France and Italy in friendlies earlier this year.
They have still come a long way since their World Cup debut in 2011, when they exited at the group stage without scoring a goal.
SOUTH KOREA (FIFA ranking 17)
Coach: Colin Bell (ENG)
Star player: Ji So-yun (Suwon FC/KOR)
Best World Cup performance: Last 16 (2015)
South Korea stuck a total of 10 goals past Zambia in two friendly matches earlier this year, then beat another World Cup team, Haiti, 2-1.
Led by creative force Ji So-yun, now back in her home country after eight successful years at Chelsea, the Koreans are aiming to get past the World Cup group stage for only the second time.
Their recent record against European teams is not good though, losing to England, Belgium and Italy at the Arnold Clark Cup in February.
English coach Colin Bell will relish facing Germany, having spent three decades there as a player and coach.
He will be relying on a mostly domestic squad, with 16-year-old US-born forward Casey Phair a notable exception — and an exciting addition to an otherwise unspectacular team.
Midfielders: Quinn (OL Reign), Simi Awujo (University of Southern California), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Julia Grosso (Juventus), Sophie Schmidt (Houston Dash)
Forwards: Jordyn Huitema (OL Reign), Cloe Lacasse (Benfica), Adriana Leon (Portland Thorns), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns), Nichelle Prince (Houston Dash), Deanne Rose (Reading), Evelyne Viens (Kristianstad), Olivia Smith (Penn State Nittany Lions)
Forwards: Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid), Esther Gonzalez (Real Madrid), Eva Navarro (Atletico Madrid), Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona), Alba Redondo (Levante)
Costa Rica
Goalkeepers: Priscila Tapia (Saprissa FF), Daniela Solera (Sporting FC), Genesis Perez (University of Central Florida)
Defenders: Mariana Benavides (Saprissa FF), Maria Paula Elizondo (Saprissa FF), Valeria del Campo (Monterrey), Fabiola Villalobos (Alajuelense), Maria Paula Coto (Alajuelense), Gabriela Guillen (Alajuelense), Carol Sanchez (Sporting)
Forwards: Wang Shuang (Racing Louisville), Wang Shanshan (Wuhan Jiangham University), Tang Jiali (Shanghai Shengli), Xiao Yuyi (Shanghai Shengli)
Kerr reveals the ‘key’ for WC success | 01:10
Group E
United States
Goalkeepers: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
Forwards: Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham)
Vietnam
Goalkeepers: Tran Thị Kim Thanh (Ho Chi Minh), Khong Thị Hang (Than KSVN), Dao Thị Kieu Oanh (Hanoi).
Defenders: Chuong Thị Kieu (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thị Thu Thao (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thị Thu (Ho Chi Minh), Hoang Thị Loan (Hanoi), Tran Thị Hai Linh (Hanoi), Le Thi Diem My (Than KSVN), Luong Thị Thu Thuong (Than KSVN), Nguyen Thị My Anh (Thai Nguyen), Tran Thị Thuy Nga (Thai Nguyen).
Midfielders: Nguyen Thị Tuyet Dung (Ha Nam), Nguyen Thị Bcch Thuy (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thị Thuy Trang (Ho Chi Minh), Ngan Thị Vạn Su (Hanoi), Nguyen Thị Thanh Nha (Hanoi), Thai Thị Thao (Hanoi), Duong Thị Van (Than KSVN)
Forwards: Phạm Hai Yen (Hanoi), Vu Thi Hoa (Ho Chi Minh), Nguyen Thị Thuy Hang (Than KSVN), Huynh Nhu (Lank Vilaverdense)
Netherlands
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar (Twente), Lize Kop (Ajax), Jacintha Weimar (Feyenoord)
Defenders: Stefanie van der Gragt (Inter Milan), Merel van Dongen (Atletico Madrid), Aniek Nouwen (Chelsea), Lynn Wilms (VfL Wolfsburg), Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City), Caitlin Dijkstra (Twente), Dominque Janssen (VfL Wolfsburg)
Midfielders: Sherida Spitse (Ajax), Danielle van de Donk (Lyon), Jackie Groenen (PSG), Jill Roord (Wolfsburg), Victoria Pelova (Arsenal), Damaris Egurrola (Lyon), Jill Baijings (Bayer Leverkusen), Wieke Kaptein (Twente)
Midfielders: Peyton McNamara (Ohio State), Drew Spence (Tottenham), Trudi Carter (Levante), Solai Washington (Concorde Fire), Giselle Washington (University of Tennessee), Rachel Jones (Southern Soccer Academy), Atlanta Primus (London City Lionesses).
Forwards: Khadija Shaw (Manchester City), Jody Brown (Florida State), Tiffany Cameron (ETO FC Gyor), Kameron Simmonds (University of Tennessee), Kiki van Zanten (Notre Dame), Mikayla Dayes (Maryland), Paige Bailey-Gayle (Crystal Palace)
Brazil
Goalkeepers: Leticia Izidoro (Corinthians), Camila (Santos), Barbara (Flamengo)
Defenders: Hanane Ait El Haj (ASFAR), Nouhaila Benzina (ASFAR), Nesryne El Chad (Lille), Rkia Mazrouai (Charleroi), Yasmin Mrabet (Levante), Zineb Redouani (ASFAR), Sabah Seghir (Sampdoria)
Defenders: Shim Seo-yeon (Suwon), Lee Young-ju (Madrid CFF), Lim Seon-joo (Incheon Hyundai), Kim Hye-ri (Incheon Hyundai), Jang Sel-ji (Incheon Hyundai), Choo Hyo-joo (Suwon), Hong Hye-ji (Incheon Hyundai)
Midfielders: Kim Yun-ji (Suwon), Jeon Eun-ha (Suwon), Bae Ye-bin (Uiduk University), Cho So-hyun (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee Geum-min (Brighton), Ji So-yun (Suwon), Chun Ga-ram (Hwacheon)
Forwards: Kang Chae-rim (Incheon Hyundai), Son Hwa-yeon (Incheon Hyundai), Moon Mi-ra (Suwon), Park Eun-sun (Seoul), Choe Yu-ri (Incheon Hyundai), Casey Phair (unattached)
Thousands of football fans marched over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to mark 25 days before the Women’s World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand.
Football’s governing body FIFA estimated around 4,000 braved chilly temperatures to take part in the early morning event on the famed bridge, which was temporarily closed to traffic.
Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand kick off the 32-team tournament on July 20 when the Matildas play Ireland in Sydney and the Football Ferns face Norway in Auckland.
FIFA says more than one million tickets have been sold for the 64 games in nine host cities, surpassing total sales for the 2019 World Cup in France.
FIFA official Rhiannon Martin told AFP she expected this year’s tournament would be a “milestone” for women’s football in Australia.
“We’ve seen how women’s football has developed here over the last years,” added Martin, who is head of FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Matildas alumni gathered as one to celebrate the looming tournament.Source: News Corp Australia
FIFA has said each player at the World Cup will earn at least $30,000 USD, with the winners taking home $270,000 USD apiece.
Martin said the boost to the prize money pot showed that “women’s football is really being valued”.
James Johnson, chief executive of Football Australia, told AFP it “starts to bridge the gap” between prize money for the men’s and women’s World Cup.
“We still have a bit of work to do over the next four years, but being the World Cup where the lift occurred makes us very proud,” he added.
Thousands of fans participated in the event.Source: News Corp Australia
US STAR SKIPS HIGH SCHOOL GRAD FOR WORLD CUP
The US women’s national team are favourites to claim a third-straight World Cup title, but coach Vlatko Andonovski has named a bold squad for the upcoming tournament after being hit by a raft of injuries.
Forwards Catarino Macario, Mallory Swanson and Christen Press, midfielder Sam Mewis, and standout centre-back duo Becky Sauerbrunn (captain) and Abby Dahlkemper are all missing.
Rose Lavelle is included but hasn’t played since April 8 as she recovers from a knee injury, while Julie Ertz has only returned the same month after maternity leave since 2021.
Matildas name provisional World Cup team | 01:06
While there are some veterans – Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Megan Rapinoe will be playing in their fourth Cups – fourteen of the 23 players will be competing in their first World Cup.
25-year-old midfielder Savannah DeMelo has never played for the USWNT, the first uncapped player to reach a USWNT roster since 2003.
And 18-year-old forward Alyssa Thompson is enjoying her stunning rise, becoming the second-youngest player to be named in a US World Cup squad in history.
Thompson played for the US in the U-20 World Cup just last year before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NWSL Draft in January.
After being named to the team, her reaction was incredible.
“I missed my graduation but I’m going to the World Cup, so it’s give and take. It’s honestly crazy to me because it was just two weeks ago that I graduated,” she said.
Sport offers an immediate cue to lifelong memories of time, place and people. Great sport is meaningful in itself but more so because it offers context, writes MIKE ATHERTON on the beauty of the Ashes.
For many of us who write in or read these pages, sport is a thread that runs through our lives. One of my earliest memories is of being taken to (the other) Old Trafford by my dad when I was seven years old, meeting Matt Busby and Jimmy Murphy, the man who had taken Manchester United to the FA Cup final in 1958 in Busby’s post-Munich absence, and, randomly in the players’ tunnel, seeing the left back Arthur Albiston (big moment!) in the distance. Naturally, I’ve been a United supporter ever since.
Like smell (I’m told), sport offers an immediate cue to lifelong memories of time, place and people. Great sport is meaningful in itself but more so because it offers context: it allows us to remember what we were doing, who we were with and where we were when Ben Stokes, for example, cut Pat Cummins to the boundary to win the Headingley Test four years ago, or when Bob Willis took the final wicket, arms raised and wheeling away in triumph, at the same ground in 1981.
In a rapidly changing cricketing landscape, the Ashes is a constant. Five Tests, every four years, home and away alternately, a gold standard of top-class sport. For many readers, I imagine, the contest represents a simple way of measuring and accounting for the trajectory of their lives, from childhood, to maturity, to old age. The clockwork regularity of the Ashes offers us opportunity by which we can remember significant moments – births, deaths, anniversaries, friends, family get-togethers and so on.
Recently Martin Tyler, the football commentator, contacted me on just this theme. He said he could remember as a boy going with his grandad to the first day of the Lord’s Test in 1953, 70 years ago: the gates were locked before the start, and he had to sit on grass just behind the boundary in front of the old Mound Stand. He was seven or eight years old, the same age as my childhood trip to Old Trafford, and the age at which memories start to lock in.
Then he remembered watching on TV later in the summer as Denis Compton hit the winning runs at the Oval to seal the Ashes, the first time for a generation. He had memories of Jim Laker’s 19 wickets at Old Trafford in 1956; of Derek Underwood causing havoc on a wet ‘un at the Oval in 1968, and, being a great mate of Willis, the 1981 Ashes was a memory like no other. He will not be alone.
Two of our writers, Elgan Alderman and Owen Slot, have been working on long pieces about the winning moments at Edgbaston and Headingley in the 2005 and 2019 Ashes, the one about the 2019 match we published this week. No doubt the memories of many of our readers can stretch much further back but we asked them to send in their memories of what they were doing at those moments in time, and I took a sneak of some of the replies.
Daniel Ogunshakin, 41, from Manchester, recalled being a divemaster on the Thai island of Koh Tao in the summer of 2005, watching the series in a bar owned by an Australian friend of his. When Michael Kasprowicz gloved Steve Harmison down the leg side to Geraint Jones, he said the owner of the bar immediately shut the place down out of disappointment, forcing them to seek celebratory drinks elsewhere.
James Davies, 31, from Hertfordshire, remembered being in such a state of frenzied nervousness with his brother-in-law at Edgbaston that day that they made a pact to drink a bottle of HP sauce if England won. They followed through on the pledge. Alex Morgan, 47, from Kingston upon Thames, remembered driving through the New Forest, on a quiet and picturesque road, woods either side, and ruining the tranquil English scene by blaring his horn when the moment came.
Of 2019, Tom, 37, from Twickenham, recalled watching the Stokes denouement on a phone screen with three friends outside a bar by Avignon Cathedral, having given away tickets for the day as a friend was getting married in France. “It’s one of my greatest regrets that I missed being there,” he writes, “but still a memory to cherish.” Aiden, 45, from Harrogate went to every day of the Headingley Test, sitting in the front row of the old East Stand. When the winning moment came, he hugged strangers and danced a jig. “We knew we had seen something extraordinary,” he writes.
There were many more shared after we published Slot’s piece on Headingley. Thinking of my own Ashes memories, there is the winter of 1974-75 first of all, watching the highlights (would it have been the news or a special highlights programme?) in the lounge with my dad and asking him why England’s batsmen were not getting forward to Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Then, in 1977, leaping off the sofa at my grandad’s, spilling some food, when Derek Randall caught a skier at Headingley to win the Ashes. He did a cartwheel, too, but I don’t remember that.
There was ‘81, of course, and Lillee’s bright yellow headband, as he came running up the hill at Headingley, which I watched one day live from the old Western Terrace. The end of the Manchester Test of ‘81 was spent listening to the car radio waiting to get a ferry back from a family camping holiday in France. When Chris Tavare and Geoff Miller combined with a parried catch at Melbourne in 1982, as the match went to the wire, I was listening to the radio under my duvet.
Like Stuart Broad, I’ve voided every Ashes series defeat in which I played, which means the entirety of my career between 1989 and 2001.
On the other side of the fence again, post retirement, I remember glibly saying a cheery good morning to Nasser Hussain on the first morning at Brisbane in 2002 and wondering why he had ignored me (he hadn’t, of course, but was consumed in the moment, blinkered to all else – a quick reminder not to forget what it’s like in the middle of it). When I presented the urn to Michael Vaughan on the presentation podium at the Oval in 2005, I was slightly on tenterhooks, it being the day my daughter was due (she held off for a week, helpfully).
I could go on, but then so can we all. Whether you have played in it or watched it, the Ashes will spark a host of memories that have nothing to do with cricket: good memories, bad memories, happy and sad. It would be good to read some more of yours.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr is a shock omission from the final three nominees for the FIFA Best Women’s Player of 2022 award.
The Chelsea star was last month named among a 14-strong shortlist for the award.
However. the list has now been reduced to three players, and prolific striker Kerr isn’t one of the then.
Instead, Spain’s Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), England’s Beth Mead (Arsenal) and American Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave) will battle it out of the award.
That’s despite Kerr – who was runner-up to Putellas for the award last year – having enjoyed a stellar 2022.
Her achievements included winning the English Women’s Super League Golden Boot for a second straight season, being named the English PFA’s players’ player of the year and claiming the WSL-FA Cup double with Chelsea.
“I’ve said it over and over again: she deserves to be the Best Player,” Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson told ABC’ Summer Grandstand program.
“She’s not just a world-class player, she’s a world-class person as well, and I’m so privileged to get the chance to work with her.
“In my opinion, it’s long due for her to get that prize. She should have had it already, but definitely this year.”
Sam Kerr has snubbed for a major FIFA award. Picture: Matt King/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Kerr’s good form has continued this year, with the former Perth Glory attacker having scored four goals for Chelsea on Friday morning (AEDT) in her side’s 7-0 League Cup semi-final thrashing of West Ham.
Following the win, she left England to return home to Australia to represent the Matildas in the four-team Cup of Nations tournament, which starts on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the final three nominees for the Best Men’s Player of 2022 award – French pair Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) and Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) – have also been announced.
The awards are voted on by an international jury respectively made up of all women’s and men’s national team coaches, the current captains of all women’s and national teams, one “specialist” journalist from each territory represented by a national team, and fans registered on FIFA.com.
Former Central Coast Mariners star Alou Kuol had been on a shortlist of 11 for the FIFA Puskás Award for goal of year.
But Kuol’s memorable “scorpion kick” effort for the Australian under-23 team against Iraq wasn’t enough to secure him a spot in the final three, which is made of goals from Poland’s Marcin Oleksy, Frenchman Dimitri Payet and Brazilian Richarlison.
The winners of the Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 will be announced in Paris on February 27.
