Everything about the Women's World Cup

Everything about the Women’s World Cup

Posted On: July 18, 2023

The football planet has an appointment July 20th to August 20th on the other side of the world for the Women’s World Cup, which is being held in Australia and New Zealand. Four years after the coronation of the United States in France, the best nations meet in Oceania for the ninth edition of the competition. Les Bleues and their new coach Hervé Renard meet Jamaica in their first group game on Sunday. The favorites, the specifics of this World Cup, jet lag, epidemic of knee injuries, we explain everything you need to know.

8 groups, 32 teams, 10 stadiums

For the first time in the history of the Women’s World Cup 32 teams will compete against each othercompared to 24 in France and 12 during the first World Cup in 1991. An increase in the workforce accepted by FIFA to “Promote the development of women’s football“.

Small peculiarity of this edition, which takes place in two countries whose capitals are still 2,155 km apart: groups A, C, E and G play their game in New Zealand and the other four in Australia. France will therefore play its games in Australia. The top two teams in each group qualify for the round of 16. And the final will take place at Stadium Australia in Sydney in front of 83,500 spectators.

Group A

Teams: New Zealand (hosts), Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Venues: Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton in New Zealand

Group B

Teams: Australia (hosts), Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Venues: Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in Australia.

Group C

Teams: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Venues: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand

Group D

Teams: England, Haiti, Denmark, China
Venues: Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney in Australia

Group E

Teams: United States (defender), Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Venues: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand

Group F

Teams: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
Venues: Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney in Australia

Group G

Teams: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Venues: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand

Group H

Teams: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea
Venues: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia

Les Bleues as outsiders?

After the crisis between the players and coach Corinne Deacon, the Bleues approach this World Cup in a spirit of appeasement. The arrival of Hervé Renard last March was good and the French team go into the competition with an almost perfect record. But after three wins in a row, the French lost their last warm-up game against Australia
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The Bleues need to make some adjustments ahead of Sunday’s first game against Jamaica. Starting with the defense. It is Hervé Renard himself who says it: “Defensively we weren’t ready to play a game like that“he said after the loss to Australia.”We lost a lot of duels in the first half, especially in the middle line..

Another factor to consider is the time difference. After the defeat, the French team still didn’t seem acclimatised. The coach made no secret of the fact that there were physical inequalities within the group.

A fifth title for the USA?

Will American supremacy endure this year? Since the first World Cup in 1991, the USA has won four titles and always been on the podium. With that, the team is going into the competition in Australia and New Zealand as hyper favorites and wants to win the third title in a row. But beware of overconfidence, Americans have shown some signs of weakness lately. They have notably lost three of their fourteen friendlies, each time against big nations.

The United States must therefore be careful because there will be opportunism at this World Cup. Especially on the part of Canada, England and Germany. The Canadian women, Olympic champions in the title, are proving to be her closest rival. England, reigning European champions, want to continue their march forward and can count on a top-class workforce. Also look out for Germany, two World Cup titles and eight European Championship titles.

The five stars follow

Five players are one step ahead of the others in this World Cup. Start with Alexia Putellas, 29, Double Golden Ball and FC Barcelona playmaker. The Spaniard has established herself as the most impressive player in European football. After an injury, his team is confident in his form.

For Australia, co-host country, the chances of victory will inevitably be slim Sam Kerr, local legend of the women’s team. Aged 29, the Chelsea centre-forward has 121 caps and scored 63 goals for the Australians, including five goals at the last World Cup.

Despite his advanced age, 38, Megan Rapinoe is selected for the World Cup and will compete with the United States in his fourth and final World Cup. The forward is aiming for a third consecutive title and will have 200 caps if she defeats Vietnam on Saturday. With 63 goals and 73 assists, the legendary OL Reign franchise player will retire at the end of the season. A leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and equal pay in her sport, Rapinoe remains the most recognizable face of women’s football in the world to this day.

In France, Kadidiatou Diani is the one she can’t take her eyes off of. The footballer has just left PSG (expectedly in Lyon) and has much of the French squad’s hopes between her feet. The absences of the Bleues’ other two main offensive weapons (Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto) through injury leave a heavy responsibility on Diani’s shoulders. But the 28-year-old wasn’t afraid to play the game alone at PSG this season. As a substitute at the front of the attack, she scored 17 goals in 17 women’s D1 games.

After all, it will be necessary to rely on it Adam Hegerberg, the first winner in the history of the Women’s Golden Ball. The Norwegian had long positioned herself as the best centre-forward in the world before being plagued by injuries in recent years. The orienteer is a precocious talent and has been making waves in European football for more than a decade but is still in her 30s (only 28). The Norwegian, who is also committed to the fight for equality, did not hesitate to retire from her national team for five years between 2017 and 2022, and in particular denounced the unfair treatment between the men’s and women’s teams. Hegerberg, the top scorer in Champions League history (59 goals), seems to have returned to her best level in recent weeks but her selection from Norway remains at the last Euro with an elimination by the Chickens and a strict 8-under Shelling -0 Goal conceded against England.

Epidemic of stars with knee injuries

This World Cup will take place in the absence of many football stars. In France, neither Marie-Antoinette Katoto nor Delphine Cascarino, to name a few, are out of the group due to serious knee injuries. For several weeks, this list has been growing internationally for a variety of reasons: physiology, inappropriate equipment, and game intensity.

Around 50 major league players have picked up knee injuries this season, and some will not travel to Oceania. This long list suggests that female players are more affected by this type of injury than male players. In addition, the deadlines for returning to competition are often extended: for example, Katoto has not played a single game in over a year.

The reasons ? For Gordon Mackay, a Scottish knee surgeon interviewed by AFP, they are multifactorial. In particular, training on the right surfaces and using shoes specifically designed for women. The specialist also believes that these injuries happen.at least four times, maybe six timesmore in female players, noting that the shape of the pelvis could also be a factor. Hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle have also been identified as potentially risk-increasing factors.

VAR decisions are broadcast live

This is another novelty of this Women’s World Cup. The explanations of the decisions of the VAR, the video arbitration procedure, are broadcast both in the stadiums and live on television. The FIFA Referees Committee states that they have adopted this procedure to simplify the process.more transparent“It will be a first at a major tournament.”

At World Cup matches, referees have the opportunity to consult a pitchside screen before explaining their decision, the reason for it, the players involved and a brief description of the situation in English to the audience via an attached microphone on their shirt.

Matches broadcast on France Télévisions and M6, significant time difference

After several months of uncertainty, the Women’s World Cup matches will be broadcast in clear text. France Télévisions and M6 shared the television rights. If the TV channels of European countries were cautious, it is mainly due to the significant time difference with the two countries of Oceania. In Australia it takes between 8 and 10 hours in advance, in New Zealand 12 hours in advance.

In France, the seasons will be very different. The earliest time is at 2am (Argentina – South Africa). Most games are broadcast between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. A round of 16 takes place at 4 a.m., a quarter-final at 3 a.m. The semi-finals take place at either 10 a.m. or 12 p.m. The final will take place at 12pm French time.

The French team calendar: