Days before the opener, Women’s World Cup hosts Australia suffered a massive blow. Star forward Sam Kerr, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, suffered a calf injury in training. Shortly after, it was revealed Kerr would miss the first two group-stage matches, leaving the Matildas in trouble. However, another forward […]
The 2023 Women’s World Cup is underway, and the hosts couldn’t have asked for a better start. New Zealand and Australia both recorded 1-0 victories over strong opposition, giving them great odds of advancing to the Round of 16 already. New Zealand, ranked 26th internationally, opened the tournament against Norway, ranked 12th. Neither team scored
In 2026, the World Cup will have a record 48 teams. This means more countries will have the opportunity to make their World Cup — however controversial, this is something that is needed. In the 2022 edition, Qatar was the only nation to make its debut in the tournament. In 2018, it was two (Panama
Well, that was exciting. The World Cup group stage is officially over, with 16 of the original 32 teams moving to the knockouts. Many of those 16 teams were not expected to advance: just look at Australia, who stunned Denmark to advance. South Korea advanced over Uruguay, Japan over Germany, Morocco over Belgium: the list
Group H has many of the biggest storylines in Qatar. For a starter, Ghana are playing Uruguay in a rivalry 12 years in the making. This stems back to the 2010 World Cup when Luis Suarez batted away the ball on the goal line, preventing Ghana from becoming the first African country to reach the
Group G has some of the typical World Cup powerhouses. Brazil, obviously, are fixtures in the tournament — they’ve never missed one and have more wins than any other country. Switzerland, too, are regulars at the tournament, having only missed the tournament once since the turn of the century. Cameroon missed out on qualification in
Group F of the World Cup has some of the most interesting teams in the whole tournament. Croatia reached the final in 2018, losing to France after an impressive run. That same year, Belgium finished third, narrowly losing to France in the semi-finals. Both nations will depend on a young core this tournament, with several
Group E has two of the strongest candidates for the World Cup: Germany and Spain. While both of these teams struggled in the tournament’s last edition, they have both won since 2010. Both have also rebuilt with some younger stars, including some of the best young players in the game. Japan, too, has a strong
In 2018, France won the World Cup after navigating through a tricky group that consisted of Peru, Australia, and Denmark. Four years later, they return to the tournament again being considered the favorites in a similar group. Not only are Denmark and Australia returning, but Australia additionally had to beat Peru in the World Cup
Group C could be a group with some surprises. Obviously, the focus is going to be on Lionel Messi and Argentina, who pose a threat as World Cup candidates. However, there’s going to be a lot of competition: Poland has an impressive team and has rid themselves of inept manager Paulo Sousa. Mexico, too, has