The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is officially here! It’s day 5 of the World Cup. Australia and New Zealand are the co host’s this year; the tournament kicked off excitedly on July 20th at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, and finals will be held on August 20th at the Sydney Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia. Both countries will be hosting games throughout the month.
The Woman’s World Cup was organized by the International Federation Association of Football (FIFA) and was first played in 1991 and held in China. The Cup is played every four years. The last Cup was played in 2019, where the United States beat the Netherlands scoring 2-0 and will play this year to defend their championship.
This year the tournament features 32 women’s soccer teams from five different confederations representing their countries worldwide. Eight groups will play round robins before the top two teams from each group will move on to a knockout round totalling 16 teams playing for medals.
Group A comprises New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, and Switzerland. Group B includes Australia, Canada, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland. Group C is Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, and Zambia. Group D consists of the People’s Republic of China, Denmark, England, and Haiti. Group E’s pool is the Netherlands, Portugal, United States and Vietnam. Group F is Brazil, France, Jamaica, and Panama. Group Gi is Argentina, Italy, South Africa, and Sweden. Lastly, Group H has Colombia, Germany, the Republic of Korea, and Morocco.
The opening match between the Co-host New Zealand against Norway came out in favor of New Zealand, who scored 1-0 and took home their first-ever win in the Women’s World Cup. “I am so, so proud,” Ali Riley, the co-captain for New Zealand, shared. “We have been fighting for this for so long.” The Inaugural match also occurred on July 20th, with Co-host Australia playing the Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia. Australia did take a victory scoring 1-0.
Day 2 was no shortage of action as Switzerland beat the Philippines 2-0 in Group A, and Nigeria and Canada came out of Group B with a tie score of 0-0. Spain with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Group C, and The United States won 3-0 against Vietnam in Group E.
As teams continue to play for a spot in the knockout rounds, some players and teams are achieving many accomplishments along the way. Today the Philippines returned New Zealand’s win with a 1-0 victory of their own over the Co-host. The goal scored by #7 Sarina Bolden became the Philippines’ first win in The Women’s World Cup. “I’ve got everyone else’s tears all over my eyes, it’s so emotional,” said Philippines coach Alen Stajcic. “You saw how long New Zealand had to wait for its first win — six World Cups — and (for the Philippines) to get it today was incredible.”
With the recent tie game against Nigeria, Canada now focuses on the Republic of Ireland ahead of their game tomorrow. With tournaments with high stakes such as these, there are so many possibilities, surprises and twists and turns. As women in sports continue to evolve and grow, this sets a great example for young female athletes. Over the next couple weeks teams will continue to fight to be the top of their group while continuing to make their countries proud.
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