Throughout the past three and a half weeks, the world has been graced with gripping action, from the best soccer players in the world. This being the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia, and New Zealand. It has been a tournament for the record books, and it still has some pretty important games to go. On Sunday morning, the Lionesses of England will take on Lá Roja of Spain, to see who will become the new world champions.
How did we get here? Well after two thrilling semifinals (in very different ways), England and Spain were able to take down their opponents in Australia, and Sweden to reach the ultimate game. Before I preview the final, I must talk about what has led up to this and the memorable moments we’ve seen from this World Cup so far.
It began on opening night on July 20th in a sold-out Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The Kiwis of New Zealand were able to pull a stunning upset over Norway 1-0, with a fantastic Laura Wilkinson goal. Just a few hours later in a sold-out stadium in Sydney, Australia, the Matildas were able to defeat Ireland 1-0, off of a Steph Catley penalty. Over 75,000 energized Aussies saw the beginning of what would be a phonemic tournament for Australia.
As the tournament got underway, two things became apparent, Japan and Spain were on their game, and unfortunately, the USA was not. The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) kicked off their World Cup with a 3-0 win over Vietnam. Good right? Wrong. The U.S. looked predominantly flat, with many signs right away that it was going to be a difficult tournament for the Americans. Teams like England, and Sweden barely scraped by with their opening wins, while others such as France, could only manage a draw with a far inferior Jamaican side.
This was the first set of games for each team. Matchday two for everyone saw many surprises. The Philippines upset New Zealand to give themselves their first-ever World Cup goal, and win. Norway continued to struggle as they had to play without their star and former Ballon d’Or winner, which is awarded to the world’s best player, Ada Hegerberg. Japan and Spain continued to breeze through group play, while Canada had a close one over Ireland. It would be wrong to not talk about the “Olympico” goal from Ireland’s very own, Katie McCabe, which was scored directly from a corner. The U.S. only managed a draw with the Netherlands, who posed a real threat to the Americans. It took a ticked-off Lindsey Horgan, to give the U.S. a much needed goal, but alas they were able to salvage a point. Teams like Australia fumbled the bag in a 3-2 loss to Nigeria, while France and Sweden started to find their feet.
Morocco scored their first-ever goal, and victory, with a 1-0 win over South Korea, yet that was not the craziest thing that happened in this group. In what was the game of the tournament, Colombia led by the sensational teenager, Linda Caicedo, upset the powerful Germans 2-1. A goal sent down from God himself saw Caicedo juke out two defenders before scoring a beauty to give the Colombians the lead. Colombia held this lead till the 89th minute when Alexandra Popp converted a penalty to level the game. Many thought that the game would end in a draw, but Colombia had other plans. In the 6th minute of stoppage time, Manuela Vanegas scored a beautiful header off a corner kick to stun the Germans, and what better way to end match day two.
Matchday three provided both heartbreak and triumph. Co-host New Zealand, was heartbreakingly eliminated from Group A, making this the earliest exit from a host nation ever at the women’s World Cup. Australia routed the reigning Olympic champs Canada, a whopping 4-0 to eliminate them and push the Aussies through. Though they already advanced, Spain was handily defeated by Japan 4-0 as well. England finally seemed to find their groove as they crushed China 6-1, thanks to Lauren James.. The U.S. was a mere two inches away from being ousted as Portugal almost defeated them in stoppage time, but they were able to get the draw and advance. Jamaica stunned the world as they were able to knock out powerhouse Brazil, in group F, who had looked to be a potential favorite. South Africa scored a last-second goal to propel them through and take out Italy in the process. Morocco stunned Colombia 1-0, while South Korea earned a draw against Germany which meant that for the first time ever, Germany had not advanced out of the Group Stage. This was only half of the craziness that match day three brought.
Now the knockout round had finally arrived where only more drama was to come. Spain and Japan both thumped Switzerland and Norway respectively while the Netherlands was able to handle a dangerous South African side. For U.S. fans, the story ended here in the round of 16 as the USA was eliminated by Sweden in a penalty shootout. The problems with this game and with US Soccer as a whole will be featured in the next few weeks where I will take a deep dive into where this all went wrong for the USWNT. The World Cup continued without the USA for the first time ever as this had been their earliest ever exit. England beat Nigeria on penalties but only after Lauren James’ red card for… walking on a Nigerian player? Australia, still with a recovering Sam Kerr, defeated Denmark and Colombia got their first-ever knockout stage win over Jamaica. France was able to pounce on a weaker Moroccan side.
Alas, the quarterfinals had finally arrived. Spain was able to knock out the Netherlands in extra time in a very wonky game that saw many missed chances from Dutch forward, Linda Beerensteyn, who had a lot to say about the USWNT before the game. Could it be karma? We’ll never know. Sweden was able to stun a Japanese side that many thought would be winning this tournament with their form. England narrowly squeaked by the fan-favorite Colombia, who truly showed up and showed out with their players but also their fans as well. Lastly, in a game that gripped the nation, Australia defeated France in penalties in what was the longest shootout in World Cup History with each team having 10 players take a shot. Onto the semis!
In the semifinals, Spain and Sweden had been playing somewhat of a dull match till the 51st minute when two-time Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas, was subbed out for rising star, Sara Parauello. Spain had made the right decision with that sub as it would bring them a goal in the 81st minute. It looked like Spain was going to hold it out until Rebeca Blomqvist scored seven minutes later to equalize for Sweden. Yet, a mere one minute later saw Olga Carmona scored to send Spain to the finals. In the other semifinal, England were able to take down Australia in a thriller. In a game that gripped the host nation with over 75,000 in attendance, England pulled out a 3-1 win. Goals from Ella Toone in the 36th, Lauren Hemp in the 71st, and Alexia Russo in the 86th minute were too much for Australia. However, nothing can be taken away when Sam Kerr scored one of the goals of the tournament with a screamer from way outside the box to tie it up at 1-1. It would not be enough as defensive miscues would cost Australia just minutes later.
Australia will meet Sweden in the 3rd place game on Saturday and it will be a great way for Australia to close out a magnificent tournament. Did I mention that the semi-final with England and Australia was the most-watched event ever in Australian history. Over 42% of the population watched on one channel alone. One. Channel. Alone. This is not even taking into account streaming, other channels, fans in the stadium, fan festivals, and other stadiums that set up watch parties. It was udder madness in Sydney.
Women’s World Cup Final: Spain vs England at 5 AM on FOX
Through all the craziness this is the final we got. The tiki-taka style of Spain against the gritty aggression of England. Can the Lionesses bring it home? That will be the question that most ask. With Sarina Wiegman as manager, England can accomplish a lot. After all, they have had one loss in the 37 games with her which included a Euros win last year. Wiegman’s resume is stacked: Euros win in 2017 (w/ Netherlands), World Cup final in 2019 (w/ Netherlands), Euros win in 2022 (w/ England), and World Cup final in 2023 (w/ England). Meanwhile, Spain’s head coach Jorge Vilda has a very different resume. In early 2023, 15 players walked out of the national team including stars like Bonmati and Putellas, who have since come back, yet the remaining 12 have stayed away in protest against his coaching. Some of the accusations include things such as making every player sleep with their doors open at tournaments. No one wants this controversy to overshadow this amazing final, but naturally, it will be a talking point. Back to the game though, Lauren James returns from suspension and will only add on to England’s lethal attack. Will Jennifer Hermoso score for Spain? Will Chloe Kelley score for England? We will have to see on Sunday who will lift the most coveted trophy, the World Cup.
