VIFF 2023 Intro And Review: The Promised Land (Bastarden)

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Mads Mikkelsen plays Gustav Kahlen, a settler in 18th Century Denmark in the film The Promised Land.

VIFF INTRO: Normally I do a separate blog for VIFF when it opens. Since the Festival ended on Sunday the 8th, I’ll do a brief summary here. The Vancouver International Film Festival returned. This year, there were no longer films to stream as VIFFaccess is no longer. It became a case cinemas are working to bring crowds back to the theatres. Same with VIFF as its films were shown at seven different facilities. There was a reduced number of films shown at 140. Now that the pandemic is almost over, the arts communities have to downsize in order to rebuild itself. Nevertheless a lot of great films to see coming from 73 nations. A wide selection of Canadian films, Indigenous films, LBGT-themed films, documentaries and an excellent number of films directed by women are yours to watch. And even after the Festival with VIFF repeats just after! The Festival may be over but the reviews are still worth posting as the films could return to the VIFF theatre, get wider release or even be put on a streaming service.

One of my goals of the Vancouver International Film Festival is to see at least one film that’s a nation’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for this year’s Oscar race. I did it on my very first VIFF film: Denmark’s The Promised Land. This film already has a lot of buzz, and rightly so.

It’s the middle of the 18th Century in Jutland; territory ruled by Denmark. A peasant man named Ludvig Kahlen of unknown fatherhood sets out to cultivate the untouched heath land in hopes to win honor from the king. Even though the king’s men accept and give him servants, he soon makes an enemy with Frederik Schinkel who owns the land and wants to believe his say supersedes that of the king’s. He also reminds Kahlen that those who attempted to cultivate the land before him have failed. Nevertheless Kahlen is stubborn and is determined to make it work with the minister Anton Eklund and a servant couple. He also meets a dark-skinned Romani orphan girl named Anmai Mus who tries to connect with him, but he rejects her at first with the common racist attitude.

Over time as Kahlen gets better at his work, Schinkel gets more envious and more control-hungry. He even takes the servant husband, has him whipped in his private chamber and executed with boiling water poured on him in a dungeon. All are shocked but Schinkel is remorseless. A distraught Kahlen soon develops an intimacy with the servant’s widow. He even welcomes Anmai Mus in his life and soon it becomes a family-like situation between the three. As for the heath, Kahlen and the two work tirelessly against a stack of odds to make the land work. If it’s not the land that’s hard and lacks fertility, it’s the unpredictable weather, workers that desert and the murder of Eklund by Schinkel’s men.

In the second year, Kahlen gets a new set of settlers from Germany. They are hesitant to help Kahlen out as they view Anmai Mus as a wicked child because of her dark skin. Kahlen is insistent since he has developed a fatherly love for her. Meanwhile problems threaten Kahlen’s goal and his unity with Ann Barbara and Anmai Mus. The jealous Schinkel starts coming onto Ann Barbara and creating a love triangle between her and his cousin wife. In addition, the workers refuse to assist as long as Anmai Mus is there. They consider her bad luck. Kahlen makes a resolution to send her to a boarding school miles away. It works in getting the settlers to work, but Ann Barbara is disgusted how he did this in the name of his pride.

The cultivation of the heath becomes successful, but the envy of Schinkel gets to the point he feels he has to destroy what Kahlen has created. Kahlen’s land and livestock are set ablaze. Kahlen responds by killing some of Schinkel’s men. That leads him to being captured by Schinkel and sentenced to death. The method being whipping and boiled water: the fame fatal punishment Ann Barbara’s husband receives. Kahlen is whipped mercilessly and Schinkel would delight in seeing him burned to death but as Kahlen is put in the dungeon, Schinkel is called to his chamber. Ann Barbara awaits him and promises him an unforgettable night. After a cup of tea, which Ann Barbara poisoned, Schinkel convulses and Ann Barbara has him at his most vulnerable. Ann Barbara does not resist arrest at all for his murder.

Schinkel’s murder is successful in stopping Kahlen’s execution, but Ann Barbara is imprisoned for life hundreds of miles away. Before Kahlen returns to his farm, he takes Anmai Mus away from the boarding school and promises never to let her go. Upon returning to the fame, Kahlen leads and demands the settlers treat Anmai Mus with respect. Over the years, the farm is prosperous and Kahlen earns the title of baron from the king. Also Anmai Mus grows up to be a successful woman who wins the eyes of a young man in the area. It is after her marriage to him and her goodbye to Kahlen that Kahlen knows what he must do. The ending is slow, but it comes with a surprise result.

This is one of those films that is based on a historical person that gets you questioning if it’s real or not. This story of Ludvig Kahlen as he and his wife try to grow a farm and overcome the ruthlessness of landowner Schinkel does appear farfetched in how it plays out. Actually this is based on a novel from Danish writer Ida Jessen. Nevertheless this film does tell a lot about the case of classism and racism. It was as problematic back then as it is today. It will shock many how the settlers viewed the dark-skinned daughter as bad luck, but that’s how most people thought back then. Also seeing how someone who owns the land thinks he has bigger empowerment on situations than the king, we can see examples of people like that in the world.

I’ve seen films based on a novel based on a historic person before. It seems to be a common thing now. Although it is still common to do historical dramas, it’s become more common lately to adapt novels of stories loosely based on historical people. Gets you wondering about the “Based on a true story” factor. In this film, we see a case where a historical figure overcomes racism and adopts a dark-skinned girl. He overcomes classism by making the Heath fertile and marries the widow of his servant. He overcomes geographic odds by cultivating land in Jutland. He also overcomes his own class odds by him, a bastard peasant son who’s normally destined to stay in the peasant class, achieving Baronhood. It’s uncertain how much of this is true or loose fiction, but it is a story to get one thinking.

You can either welcome a loose story of historical figures like this or you can pan it for its inaccuracies or farfetched drama. However you view it, this film plays this story out in a unique style. One can say it plays out in the style of an epic film with all this recreation. Some would even view the film as an unlikely romance. Some even say this story plays out with the common dramatic elements of an American western. It takes a story of a historical person few have heard of and makes people get intrigued by the drama and even anticipate what will happen next. It even adds some comedy with the behavior of people, including Schinkel. The stupidities of Schinkel are behaviors that can easily remind people of bad behavior of some rich people of today. In addition, this story does not end like your typical drama. There are atypical twists at the ending, surprising people who didn’t expect the film to end that way. Maybe sending the message this film isn’t what they thought it would be about.

Top credits go to director Nikolai Arcel. Arcel has already amassed a good reputation with having written for fourteen previous films and directing five. One film he wrote and directed, A Royal Affair, was nominated for an Academy Award. In this film that he directed and co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen and Ida Jessen, he goes back into the genre of epic films and delivers a drama that’s grand in spectacle and thrills. Also worthy of top honors is lead actor Mads Mikkelsen. Here he temporarily leaves behind the MCU and Indiana Jones that has catapulted his stardom and returns to Denmark for a character he helps create and enhance with his performance. Also worth admiring is Simon Bennebjerg who creates a villain in Schinkel that succeeds in making you hate him for being evil and laugh at him for being stupid. Additional good performances include Amanda Collin for adding the drama as Ann Barbara and Melina Hagberg for adding in the charm as Anmai Mus. The set designers did an excellent job in recreating the barren land of the 18th Century and the score by Dan Romer adds to the dramatic feel of the film.

Danish film has really had it strong at the Academy Awards in the 21st Century, especially these last ten years. In the Best International Feature Film category, Denmark has achieved two of its four wins, six additional nominations and three years making it into the annual shortlists this Century. Arcel himself had one of his films, A Royal Affair, nominated in that category back in 2012. The Promised Land is the second of his films submitted as Denmark’s official film in this category. This film was even nominated for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. At that same festival, Arcel was given Honorable Mention for the SIGNIS Award.

Whether it is true or mostly made up, The Promised Land is an intriguing story about classism and racism and the lust. Even a telling story about what it’s like to live under a monarchy. It’s also an unlikely love story.

VIFF 2023 Review: The Invention Of The Other (A invenção do Outro)

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
The Invention Of The Other is an intriguing look at a mission to reunite lost members of a Brazilian indigenous peoples.

One thing about documentaries is that they give an intriguing look at people from various parts of the world. The Invention Of The Other is an intriguing look at Indigenous Brazilians and how they try to continue to live their way of life at a time of increased modernization.

It’s 2019. The Brazilian government has organized a mission. The mission is conducted by FUNAI: a Brazilian state protection agency that works with Indigenous rights. The mission, led by Bruno Pereira, is the most complicated mission in decades. The mission is to go into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, make contact with the Indigenous peoples, provide medical services, and locate and reconnect separated family members from the Korubo tribe, an isolated group. The Indigenous leader who is to be reconnected with his people is named Xuxu. This mission will take them along the borders of Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

This will not be an easy task. There was one previous mission where it was attempted and many who participated were killed either by loggers, miners, fisherman or drug traffickers. Reuniting with his people will not be easy for Xuxu as he has become quite modernized in many ways. He is still able to do things in traditional Indigenous manner like hunt food, but there’s concern his many years in developed society could lead to strain. He talks of eating Brazilian food of how it’s good and it takes some getting used to. He often speaks with Bruno as he’s the one Brazilian who best knows how to speak Korubo. During the trip, Xuxu sings his native songs on a daily basis.

The trip takes them along the far reaches of the rainforest along the Amazon River. Over time, it becomes obvious the Indigenous people never lost their original hunting skills. The then have to go into the jungle in order to meet up with their lost people. In the jungle, they face dangerous obstacles like trees and wild animals. Finally Xuxu and the other men reunite. It is a warm unite. His fellow tribesmen welcome him well with a dance and a ritual. Many thought he was dead. Over time we learn that Xuxu’s singing was a way to keep some connection with his people. Near the end, Xuxu tells his people of the medicines coming and prepares them for it. The film ends as a boat with cases of medicine arrives. We also learn at the end Bruno Pereira was murdered along with British journaist Dom Phillips during a 2022 expedition.

In recent decades, talk of indigenous rights has been a hot topic not just in Canada but in many nations in the Americas. The last few decades have seen a lot of achievements in fighting injustices and dismantling many oppressive systems. The national governments appear more cooperative than ever to help them along the way, but they definitely fall short. It’s either a case they don’t make it enough of a priority that they should, they simply don’t know how to do it right or they’re just not even trying to do it right.

As we watch the mission, it becomes less of a story of people trying to make their way into dangerous territory and more of a study of peoples. We learn of the Indigenous peoples and of how they live, how they hunt, how they develop a community and a family. These are people whom we’ve often dismissed as too primitive but as you look closer, they have a set of values. You see it in their families and of how Xuxu is welcomed back into the community as a brother. They have family relations and community relations that sometimes make you wonder how on earth did we as people isolate ourselves from others? How is it we can’t treat our own family and value family members the way we do? They may not have lost their primitive ways but they’ve also haven’t lost their ability to relate to other people or keep a family bonding we never bother to give.

The thing about this film is that it does a very good job of showing the peoples, the values they live by, how they live their lives and how they make peace. The problem with this film is that it appears too drawn out. There were a lot of scenes where it appeared it just took longer than it should in some moments. Even the whole running time of almost 2 1/2 hours will make some people wonder if it was really necessary to have the film that long. I’m sure the filmmaker would want to capture the essence of many of the moments, but you wonder if all that time on that scene was really necessary?

This is a good documentary form Bruno Jorge. The Indigenous people are a common subject in Jorge’s documentary. In this documentary, he takes us on a rare mission where we don’t know what will happen next but we discover the story along the way. He lets those in the mission and the cameramen who follow the various people around do the storytelling. This documentary tells the story of the mission and of the people. They tell of ways that refused to be lost to modernism and of a set of values owned by a people that should make us envious. The problem of the drawn-out scenes don’t take away from the quality of the documentary but they do drag various scenes out. It’s nice to showcase their rituals and their habits and their reunions, but the dragged-out scenes make it feel like it’s overdone. Despite this, this documentary has won an a Jury award for Best International Documentary at the Docville Film Festival in Leuven, Belgium.

The Invention Of The Other is a unique look at a peoples and the difficult mission created to reunite them with others and to bring medicines to them. The problem is it’s too long and feels drawn out. Worth seeing, but it shouldn’t be this long.

VIFF 2023 Review: Lynx Man (Ilveskuiskaaja)

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Finnish hermit Hannu and his fascination with the endangered Eurasian lynx is the subject of the documentary Lynx Man.

The documentary Lynx Man showcases a man who you’d first think to be an eccentric. Over time, you’ll see his work is less of a hobby and more of a mission.

The film begins with an old Finnish man finding a dead Eurasian lynx near the street. He picks it up and takes it with him. Soon we learn this man’s name is Hannu. This Eurasian lynx is not just any animal he came across. This is an animal he has studied. But how could he study them? He lives in a house in the forest completely away from all people?

Over time, we learn that Hannu has set up video cameras in the wild in various set-ups. He has one by a mirror near a pond. He has one by a tree where he has a hanging rooster. He has many other cameras set up in the wilds surrounding his little hut. Over time, we learn the videos he takes of these lynxes are observances of their behavior. They are a study in how they behave, how they hunt, how they lead their children. One could say that Hannu knows how to study the lynxes well.

There’s more than meets the eye. Hannu’s filming does more than just document the lynx’s behaviors. Hannu can also differentiate between the lynxes. He can recognize and identify each one. He knows the males from the females and he gives names to the ones he distinguishes. He even knows their behaviors. He talks of “Joseph” and about how he knows his way and how he lures females to his area. He talks of another he names “Grumpy Girl.” He even talks of the other animals in the area like the deer, the rabbits and the birds that could end up being the lynx’s prey.

We also learn about Hannu. He has become a nature man ever since he asked his doctor about going outdoors just once for the sake of his mental health. His love for the outdoors never stops. Even with his sauna habits and playing music to himself, he occasionally goes out and hikes and skis. Sometimes he wears a lynx mask on and does some bizarre dancing like a ritual to nature. The filming of the lynxes is almost like his connection to nature. It’s almost as if he has made friends with these lynxes that he’s never come face to face with. Sometimes we sense the lynxes know about him.

Soon we learn about a skin disease on one of the lynxes. He calls one of the veterinarians about the skin disease found on their tail and learns it’s a contagious disease. Soon he finds the lynx dead. Hannu has pictures of the deceased lynxes that he has known. It breaks his heart, but he has an environmental battle to deal with the Finnish government.

It’s easy to think of Hannu as an eccentric person. This man who lives in a remote area of northern Finland and has a seemingly-bizarre fascination with the Eurasian Lynx will get you thinking this way at first. Over time, we see this fascination less bizarre and even gain an appreciation for it. It’s interesting seeing the various camera arrangements Hannu does and of the various videos Hannu achieves from what he does. Even though Hannu never comes face to face with them, he develops a friendship and a closeness with them. As we watch this film, we feel it is a good thing that he does so. Not mentioned in the film is that Hannu is a divorced man who withdrew from the work force after a work accident did a lot of physical damage to him. When you know that, it seems like nature is his one connection to the outside world. He never comes close to the lynxes but the videotapes and his studying of them and giving them names gives him a connection of some sort.

The story presents itself as Hannu and his lifestyle. We see him relaxing in t he sauna, we see him eating, we see him in the various ways he sets up his videotaping of the lynxes, we see his finished results and learn of the names he has for them. Near the end, we see why he does the filming. The northern area of Finland has been threatened with expanded urbanization. We see how a highway threatens the habitats of the lynxes. Modernization and urbanization threatens the ways of a lot of species all over the world. The Eurasian lynxes have proved in numbers since their threats of extinction were brought to light but they still face new threats as time passes.

The best part of the documentary is that it takes us into Hannu’s world. As he becomes fascinated with the lynxes and their behaviors, we share in that fascination. When he sets up the cameras in their unique poses and their unique concoctions, we’re tempted to see what the end result will be. When we see the footage played, we also get curious on how the lynxes react, Do they play along with Hannu’s concoctions? Do they wreck one of the cameras? Do any of the lynxes become prey or prey on other animals? Anything can happen in the wild. The film is slow, but the slowness helps your intrigue in these lynxes grow as well.

This is a great film from documentarian Juha Suonpaa. Suonpaa lets Hannu tell and show his own story. Suonpaa shows how Hannu studies the lynxes and befriends the lynxes. In many ways, he shoes how Hannu has more knowledge about these endangered animals than the best zoologists. Suonpaa also shows Hannu’s habits like playing music, exercising and spending time in the sauna. Sometimes it appears his sauna time is to get out his personal frustrations. Suonpaa does a great job in making an intriguing documentary about a person one would either not be intrigued with or would want to judge as an eccentric.

Lynx Man doesn’t just show you a man, his studies of a certain animal and his mission to do it. The film also succeeds in making the viewer appreciate his work and even get a feel for his passion. That’s what makes this documentary unique.

2023 FIFA WWC: My Prediction For The FINAL And Third-Place Playoff

Jon The Blogcentric4 Comments

I know that sometimes my predictions can be quite off. I got all eight of the Round of 16 winners right, I got three of the four quarterfinalists right, but I got none of the semifinalists right! That’s why I tell people not to completely trust my predictions if you’re placing bets!

HOST NATION KUDOS

First off, I would like to say that both New Zealand and Australia did an excellent job of hosting the Women’s World Cup here. I know there was a lot of concern from FIFA and the New Zealand tourism industry in trying to get game tickets sold. The group stage saw a lot of near sell-outs of the games involving New Zealand or the USA, but low crowds for some of the other less lauded teams. As the rounds got bigger, New Zealand began to improve in their ticket sales and attendance has been great. As for overall, attendance has been excellent. It has set a Women’s World Cup record of 1.85 million! Per game, it’s just very short of the 30,000-per-game mark but it will have no problem passing it with the attendance of these last two matches. In the process, it ill become only the third Women’s World Cup with an average attendance of 30,000 per game or more!

Third-Place Playoff:

Yes, I’m one of those that’s willing to make a prediction for the third-place match. Besides I’m sure there will still be people betting on that match. The most intriguing thing about this match is that both teams are coached by a Swedish coach! So here are my thoughts:

Head-To-Head Stats:

Australia and Sweden have faced each other fifteen times before. Sweden won nine times and Australia have won twice. Worth noting is the most recent meet-up, in Melbourne in November 2022. Australia won 4-0!

Team-By-Team Analysis:

SWEDEN: It is always tempting to feel sorry for Sweden. They almost always seem to have a team that can contend for the top, but constantly falls short. They won the first-ever Women’s Euro, but have yet to win a second after eight more Top 3 finishes since. They two two Olympic silver medals, losing on penalty kicks to Canada in Tokyo 2020. And here in the Women’s World Cup, they find themselves in their fourth bronze-medal match! No doubt they would’ve wanted to be in their second Final, but Spain was the better team.

The Blagult have shown themselves to be top-notch players. They went through the Group Stage with straight wins and did very well in the knockout round until Spain beat them 2-1. Turns out Spain exposed their weak side as Spain had more ball control and better attack. If Sweden wants to win this match, they will have to have the ball control over Australia.

AUSTRALIA: Despite losing to England, the Matildas delivered a team that the host nation should be proud of. I know being a Canadian, I’m not happy they had our team eliminated, but I’m proud of what they’ve done. Making it to the semi-finals, they became the first host-nation team since the USA in 2003 to do so.

Australia have really proven themselves in the games they played and the opponents they faced. Nevertheless there have been times in this WWC where their weaknesses have been exposed. It was Nigeria in group play that first exposed their flaws and almost paved their way for elimination. The game against England also showed the team’s glitches. Some say England played dirty, but Australia were noticeably off. Even with Sam Kerr’s wonder-goal, England was the better team. Australia knows they will face a tough rivalry from Sweden and they know they need to be dead-on if they want to win.

My Final Verdict: Sometimes you wonder who wins the third-place match? Is it the team that’s the least disheartened? Or the team that feels they have one last thing to prove? Interesting fact: Sweden has won all three of their previous bronze-medal games. For this, I will go with Australia to win 2-1.

THE FINAL

Here it comes. After 31 days and 63 matches, it all boils down to the Final for the Cup. Sydney’s Stadium Australia which was the host venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics will be the arena to decide who wins the Cup. Since the semifinals, it was known the winner of the Women’s World Cup would be a first-time Cup winner. Another interesting fact is that for both finalists, this is their first-ever Women’s World Cup final!

Past Head-To-Head Results: Spain and England have played each other sixteen times before. England have won seven times while Spain have won three times. Their last meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Women’s Euro which England won 2-1 in added extra time.

SPAIN:

La Roja came to this Women’s World Cup with a lot to prove. A team competing in only their third Women’s World Cup and only entering into FIFA’s Top 10 two years ago. Can Spain be that good of a team? Decisive wins over Costa Rica and Zambia already proved them worthy of the knockout round. A 4-0 to Japan had people questioning their chances. Then the knockout round came. In each of their matches, Spain delivered in ball control and attack. The round of 16 was a 5-1 win over Switzerland, the quarterfinal against the Netherlands was a 2-1 victory in added extra time and the semifinal was a surprise 2-1 win over Sweden! Their first-ever win over Sweden couldn’t have come at a better time!

You can thank coach Jorge Vilda for their success. He not only coaches the Spanish women’s national team, but he’s also the sporting director of the RFEF’s women’s national team system and coaches at the National Coaching School. Spain have been brilliant through most of the tournament. They have shown dominance through most of their play. Nevertheless it was Japan that exposed their weaknesses. Despite Spain delivering dominant play in the Knockout games, their luck could run out in the final.

ENGLAND:

This is a case of a long time coming. Hard to believe this is England’s first-ever trip to the Women’s World Cup final, but it is. You can best give credit to their Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman. Wiegman already had made a name for herself in her home country by coaching the Dutch national team to a Women’s Euro win in 2017 and then finalists in France 2019. In September 2021, Wiegman signed on to coach England. The team showed a duplication of success as they won the 2022 Women’s Euro and delivered a 3-1 win over Australia to make it to the final.

Now before you start singing “It’s Coming Home,” we should not rush in and say England are going to take it. The Lionesses have delivered a lot of excellent play during this Women’s World Cup. They have a good record of scoring 13 goals here and only conceding three, but they have played too conservatively at times and possibly underestimated their opponents. Preliminary play saw them have 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. The knockout round saw them open with a scoreless draw against Nigeria which they won on penalty kicks. They can’t afford to underestimate Spain. Not after the dominance they’ve been showing. Even though they really came alive during their 3-1 win over Australia, they’ve been accused of dirty play. It’s perfectly fine to want to win the Cup, but they need to watch it in the Final.

My Final Verdict: This is really hard to tell. Both teams pose a challenge to each other. England has a lot to prove being the reigning Women’s Euro holder, while Spain wants revenge for their early ouster. I predict the game to go to England 2-1.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the third-place match and the Grand Final of the Women’s World Cup. This will make for quite the Saturday and Sunday mornings for most of us. I’m sure the Europeans won’t mind having an early breakfast. I’m curious how many North Americans will wake up earlier than usual to watch it live! It starts at 3am Sunday morning for me! Nevertheless it’s worth it to watch history unfold!

2023 Women’s World Cup: My Semifinal Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Just when you thought the group play was loaded with shockers, the shockers of the 2023 Women’s World Cup didn’t end there. Starting with the Round of 16, one of the first shockers was Spain humiliating Switzerland 5-1. Spain was the favorite but that big of a margin was a shock. Possibly the biggest shocker of all was the US playing a scoreless game to Sweden and losing on penalty kicks with the last kick being conceded by a fraction of an inch! USWNT Tobin Heath put it best when she said “It may seem that we lost this game by a millimeter, but we lost this tournament by a mile.” Then came another favorite England also getting a scoreless draw, to Nigeria, and their top player Lauren James getting an instant red card. England sis win on penalty kicks but James will be out until the final or the 3rd-place match, whatever England qualifies for.

The quarterfinals also delivered their own shockers. The first quarterfinal, Spain vs. Netherlands, was expected to be a tough game and ended 1-1 in regulation. However added extra time provided the surprise as 19 year-old Spaniard Salma Paralluelo delivered the tie-breaking goal! Sweden’s 2-1 win over Japan wasn’t that surprising since the two are top-ranked teams and this would be a tight match. The shocker was just the fact of the game that Japan, the last former Women’s World’s Cup winner standing, was out! The following day, England’s win over Colombia wasn’t a shock but Australia achieving a scoreless draw over France and then winning on penalty kicks was. A delight for the host nation.

SEMIFINALS PREVIEW

Now onto focusing on the semifinals. One thing is certain before the semis begin. It’s clear we will have a first-time Women’s World Cup winner. The last to do so was Japan in 2011. Also these will be the first-ever semifinals of the Women’s World Cup without the U.S.A. present. Another surprising fact! For two of these nations, this is their first-ever semifinals qualification. All four have achieved a big win of some kind during this tournament but Spain is the only team to not need a win on penalty kicks in this Knockout Round. All four have shown off brilliant play but they’ve also shown some weaknesses in their WWC play too. So here’s a look at the four teams and my prediction for each semifinal:

SemiFinal #1: Spain vs. Sweden

Head-To-Head Stats:

Spain and Sweden have played each other eleven times before. Sweden won seven games. Spain has never won. Their most recent meeting has been a friendly in October 2022 which both teams drew 1-1.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

SPAIN: Up until a few years ago, Spain was not considered to be a major contender in women’s football. The men are known to shine, but their women were substandard. Sure, they may have finished in the semifinals of the 1997 Women’s Euro, but they were lackluster for a very long time. The turning point came a little more than ten years ago when the RFEF started taking the women more seriously. Starting with the 2013 Women’s Euro, the team made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, they qualified for their first-ever Women’s World Cup, but it didn’t go well. They were out in the Group Stage and were the only European team that didn’t advance. Even after they were out in the quarterfinals of Women’s Euro 2017, they showed signs of improvement with a Round of 16 finish at the 2019 WWC. In the fall of 2021, La Roja ranked in FIFA’s Top 10 for the first time ever. Here in this Women’s World Cup, they made it to their first-ever semifinal. A big improvement over the last ten years!

La Roja have shown a lot of impressive play in this Women’s World Cup. They opened their group play with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win over Zambia. They did have a setback with a 4-0 loss to Japan. During the Knockout phase, they’ve been showing excellent teamwork and ball control with a 5-1 win over Switzerland and also rivaling Netherlands in the quarterfinal which they won 2-1 in added extra time.

Spain has blown past many people’s expectations and have won the respect of the world. The women can no longer be underestimated. Many people were surprised to see Spain rank in FIFA’s Top 10 but their play in the Cup have them proving they deserve it. It’s not to say Spain can’t be stopped. Don’t forget they lost 4-0 to Japan. Spain did an excellent job against the Netherlands showing they can win against top contenders. Now they’re onto Sweden who have played without a loss this Cup. Spain have to be just as strong as they were against Switzerland and the Netherlands if they want to win.

SWEDEN: If you want to talk about certain small nations and how impressive they are at football, you should talk Sweden. At the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, they finished third. The semifinals would become common to see Sweden qualify for. They’ve done it for the fifth time in this Women’s World Cup! Very impressive since Sweden has a population of less than 10 million and this is only the ninth Women’s World Cup to be held. The Blåguld also has an impressive record of winning the last two Olympic silver medals and making it as far as the semi finals in nine of the twelve Women’s Euros.

Throughout this Cup, the Blåguld have been showing some of the best team play of all teams. They won all three of their Group Stage games with eight goals and only conceding one against South Africa. Then came their Round Of 16 match against the United States; the seventh Women’s World’s Cup meeting of the two. Both teams played to a scoreless draw and then Sweden won the penalty kicks 5-4. The quarterfinals saw them play against Japan who, like Sweden, also won all three of their group play games. It started with a goal from Amanda Ilestedt in the 32nd minute and Sweden didn’t look back winning 1-2.

Sweden have done a very good job in showing itself as one of the top teams here. They’ve shown excellent play and knew how to handle both the Americans and Japanese. It’s easy to believe that they will be the team to win the Cup. I think the one thing that could stand in their way is if they misjudge Spain. Spain have done an excellent job in their play in this Cup of attacking and controlling the ball. Sweden could easily misjudge Spain and it could end up the Spaniards would end up winning the game. That’s something Sweden won’t want. Especially if they want to make it to their second Final ever.

My Prediction: This really gives me time to do a lot of thinking but I will have to predict Sweden to win 1-0 in added extra time.

SemiFinal #2: Australia vs. England

Head-to-Head Stats: The two teams have rivaled each other six times. England have won three, there was one draw, and Australia have won twice. Their most recent meeting is worth noting. It was a friendly in Brentford, England which Australia won 2-0!

Team-By-Team Analysis:

AUSTRALIA: Australia making it to the semifinals has been a slow and steady process. Hard to believe, but they weren’t in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. Australia have been in every Women’s World Cup since. Their breakthrough came in 2007 when they qualified for the knockout round for the first time and they’ve done so in every WWC since. In 2015, the Matildas won their first-ever knockout match. Here at this WWC, they took it one step further by achieving their first-ever semifinals berth! First host nation to do so since the USA did it in 2003. Australia have also excelled in other tournaments such as winning the last three OFC Women’s Nations Cups before Australia switched to the AFC. After the switch, Australia have made it to the finals four out of six times and winning in 2010.

The Matildas have delivered play at this Women’s World Cup with a lot of ups and downs. They started their trip to the Cup well with a 1-0 win over Ireland but soon feel into trouble with a 3-2 loss to Nigeria. They knew they needed to win their last game over Canada, which they did 4-0. In the Round of 16, they faced Denmark and won 2-0. In the quarterfinals, they were up against more favored France. The game went to a scoreless draw but Australia won on penalties 7-6. Of all teams, Australia has done the most to defy expectations. They’ve been playing really well here but their play has been inconsistent. Except for their big win over Canada, most of their play has been pretty close. They may have had a scoreless draw against France but they can’t afford to push their luck here if they want to go to the Final.

ENGLAND: You figure a nation as football mad as England would have their women excel quite far. It wasn’t always the case in the past. Until 1972, England was one of a multitude of nations that forbid women to play the sport. Even as national women’s teams were starting to be formed in the 70′ and 80’s and the first Women’s World Cup was started in 1991, England wasn’t there. 1995 showed promise as the team made it to the quarterfinals, but they wouldn’t return to qualifying for the Women’s World Cup until 2007. Since their return, it’s been all uphill from there. In 2007 and 2011, they made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, the Lionesses made it to their first ever semi-final and have never missed a semifinal since. Their improvements have also shown at the Women’s Euro as they have not missed one since 2001, made the semifinals three out of the six times finalists in 2009 and winners in 2022!

The Lionesses have delivered play here that will make one convinced they’ll be singing “It’s Coming Home” for the first time in Women’s World Cup history. They started their group play with conservative 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. When it came to their last group game against China, they went all out and won 6-1. Their first knockout game was against Nigeria which led to a scoreless draw and England winning on penalty kicks 4-2. Their quarterfinal match was against Colombia which they won 2-1.

Playing conservatively worked well for England at the beginning of the Cup. Now they can’t take any more chances. It was evident after their scoreless game against Nigeria that they have to play like the Lionesses that dazzled everybody during the Women’s Euro of 2022. Besides they’re playing against Australia in the semifinal. They can’t forget their defeat to them because if they don’t play like they’re supposed to, they may lose again, and this is the worst time to lose.

My Prediction: This is too tough to say. Both teams know how to play well, but both teams have made their errors obvious during the Cup. I think this game will be a 1-1 draw with Australia winning on penalty kicks.

And there you go. These are my predictions for the semifinals of this Women’s World Cup. Hard to believe the final is less than a week away! Will the semis provide shockers of their own beforehand?

2023 FIFA WWC: Predictions For The Round-Of-16 And Quarterfinals

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Australia/New Zealand 2023
mascot Tazuni

can you believe all the group stage games of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup have already been played and they’re now into the knockout stage? It went by faster than I thought! Before I give my predictions for the first set of knockout games, I’ll give my overview of the group play.

GROUP PLAY OVERVIEW

The Women’s World Cup has always had surprises but I don’t think there’s ever been a WWC with as many surprises as this! Did the change from a 24-team tournament to a 32-team tournament pave the path for all these surprises? Or would they have happened anyways?

I’ll mention the major surprises and shockers group by group. Starting with Group A, hosts New Zealand beat heavily favored Norway in their opening game. Then they’d lose in their next game to the Philippines! In Group B, Nigeria was more consistent than expected. Their consistency also included them beating hosts Australia 3-2. Australia’s comeback win of 4-0 over Canada meant Canada out! Group C was mostly expected with Japan and Spain qualifying. The unexpected was Zambia’s win over Costa Rica. Group D went mostly shock-proof until the end when England beat China 6-1. That also meant an unexpected early ouster for China!

Group E’s biggest shock was the USA not topping and giving less-than-spectacular play. The scoreless draw between the US and Portugal was the most shocking result. A Group F surprise was Jamaica qualifying. And they only scored a single goal! The bigger shock was Brazil not qualifying! Group G had the surprise of South Africa playing better than expected and their win over Italy helping them qualify. And to think the last group – Group H – had arguably the biggest shocks. Most notable Colombia’s 2-1 win over Germany and Morocco’s 1-0 wins over South Korea and Colombia. In the end it was Morocco and Colombia that advanced leaving favorites Germany and South Korea out!

What can I say? The group play gave us a mix of highlights and lowlights. Starting with lowlights, Vietnam and Haiti lost all three of their games and didn’t score a goal, the five red cards at this Women’s World Cup are already the most ever, Canada failed to advance for the first time since 2011, Brazil for the first time since 1995, and both China and Germany failed to progress for the first time ever! Yes, it’s something how three teams currently ranked in FIFA’s Top 10 are now out. Now onto the highlights. This Women’s World Cup so far has a goal average of 2.63 per game and crowd attendance averaging over 25,476 per game. For those that did qualify, Denmark qualified for the first time since 1995 and three nations, Jamaica, Morocco and South Africa, qualified for the knockout stage for the first time ever. This is also the first World Cup, men’s or women’s, that has three African teams in the knockout round and a Caribbean team for the first time ever at a Women’s World Cup! Even for those that didn’t qualify, there were seven nations that achieved their first-ever win of a Women’s World Cup game. Joining Morocco, Jamaica and South Africa as first-timers are hosts New Zealand, Philippines, Zambia and Portugal. And to think of all the teams at this Women’s World Cup, Zambia, Morocco and South Africa had the lowest FIFA rankings of them all!

ROUND-OF-16 FOCUS

Now onto focusing on the Knockout Round. The complicated thing about this Round of 16 round is that it’s not like your typical Round of 16. Every World Cup the Round of 16 sets up the path of the whole knockout round leading to the final. Whenever a single nation hosts a World Cup, the path is organized so that group play opponents don’t meet again until the Final. Now that two nations are hosting, that will make it hard to do so since the knockout round brackets are organized differently. It’s quite possible that group play opponents could meet as soon as the semi-final. And it’s happened before when Japan and South Korea co-hosted the men’s World Cup of 2002 and group opponents Brazil and Turkey did end up meeting again in the semifinal. Let’s hope we don’t get a similar situation here.

ROUND-OF-16 PREDICTIONS

Now that 48 matches have been played and the qualifiers for the knockout rounds have been decided, the only thing for me to do is now make predictions for which team will win which Round-Of-16 match. So here we go with my predictions! Matches will be in chronological order and my prediction for the winner will be bolded:

Switzerland (Group A winner) vs. Spain (Group C 2nd): Switzerland clinched to top of Group A through lackluster play. They started well with a 2-0 win against the Philippines, but was only able to do scoreless draws against Norway and hosts New Zealand. Spain had already secured their qualification with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win against Zambia. Their last game, against Japan, was there to decide first place in the group, which Japan won 4-0.

Now for the game, Switzerland and Spain have met only three times before. Spain winning twice and Switzerland the other time. I will have to say that Spain’s aggressiveness in their games may give them the advantage. Switzerland has given nothing away in the Cup but they’ve lacked in the scoring. I think that will hurt them in the end and that Spain will win.

Japan (Group C Winner) vs. Norway (Group A 2nd): Admit it. We all like it when a team wins all three of their group play games. Japan is that: 5-0 against Zambia, 2-0 against Costa Rica and 4-0 against Spain. Then again, we also like teams that come from behind and deliver. That was Norway. They started with a shocking 1-0 loss to hosts New Zealand and had a scoreless draw against Group A winners Switzerland. Game three was a case where the former champions from 1995 needed a win and nothing less to qualify. In their game aganst the Philippines, they delivered: 6-0!

This ia unique game. Two teams that have won the Women’s World Cup at least over ten years ago. The only previous time they met at the Women’s World Cup, in 1999, Norway won 4-0. In the nine previous times they met, Japan have won more often: 6 wins to Norway winning three times. Although I’m happy to see Norway come alive again, I pick Japan to win. They’ve been playing more solid.

The Netherlands (Group E Winner) vs. South Africa (Group G 2nd): This is one Round of 16 match consisting of two shockers. The first shocker is the Netherlands topping Groups E. The funny thing is that this match was anticipated to have the U.S. top Group E and was scheduled such so it would be at 10pm Eastern Time on Saturday for US viewing time. There are no guarantees in sport! The Netherlands proved that by beating Portugal 1-0, drawing against the U.S.A. 1-1 and beating Vietnam 7-0! The right stuff to top Group E. The second shocker is South Africa qualifying for the first time ever. They slowly but surely showed off their previously untapped strength starting with a 2-1 loss to Sweden, a 2-2 draw to Argentina and ending with a 3-2 win over Italy!

The Netherlands and South Africa have met eight times before. in all eight cases, the Netherlands won. Even though this is the best I’ve seen of South Africa, I still feel the Netherlands will win. Nevertheless it’s possible South Africa can make it go into added extra time.

Sweden (Group G Winner) vs. U.S.A. (Group E 2nd): Sweden topping Group G was a foregone conclusion. Even winning all three games against Italy, South Africa and Argentina was not unexpected. The U.S.A. finishing second in Group E was unexpected. They started with a decent 3-0 win over Vietnam, had a respectable 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, but the scoreless draw against Portugal was a shock and has fans nervous for the team.

Now don’t think that just because the U.S. finished second in their group, they will be out of the WWC soon. They finished second in their group in 2011 and would go on to play in the final. Now onto this match. Sweden and the U.S. are big-time rivals. They’ve met 43 times. Sweden won eight times. The U.S. won 23. As for the World Cup, the two have clashed at the Women’s World Cup six times before, including every WWC since 2003! Previous results are 4 U.S. wins, one Sweden win and one draw. This is a tough decision but will have to say Sweden. The U.S. can beat Sweden if they’re on. At this WWC, the US have been playing lackluster. If the U.S. are not on the ball in this match, it will be over sooner than they hoped and sooner than we all expected.

England (Group D Winner) vs. Nigeria (Group B 2nd): England continued to show why they’re ones to watch by topping Group D with nothing but wins: 1-0 over Haiti, 1-0 over Denmark and 6-1 over China! Nigeria proved themselves the surprise team of Group B starting with a scoreless draw against Canada, a surprise 3-2 win against Australia and a scoreless draw against Ireland to secure qualification. This makes it the third time Nigeria advance to the knockout stage here.

England and Nigeria have met three times before. The first time was at the 1995 Women’s World Cup which England won. The other two times, Nigeria won. The last time being in 2004. I give this to England. They’ve been playing better and delivering a better attack. I think this is theirs for the winning.

Australia (Group B Winner) vs. Denmark (Group D 2nd): Australia really felt the pressure of being the host nation. They started well with a simple 1-0 win against Ireland, then endured a shocking 2-3 loss to Nigeria. Australia knew they had to defeat Canada to stay alive and they did: 4-0! Denmark secured their qualification starting with a 1-0 win over China, then endured a 1-0 loss to England, but a 2-0 win over Haiti assured itself qualification.

The most interesting thing about this match is we have two teams that both had two wins and a loss in group play. The two teams have played each other a total of six times. Denmark won three times and there were two draws. Australia may have won only once but their win was back in October! I give this to Australia.

Colombia (Group H Winner) vs. Jamaica (Group F 2nd): Here’s a case of two teams that didn’t have high expectations but made it! Colombia started off with an unexpected 2-0 win over South Kore and then came and even more shocking 2-1 win over Germany! Their 1-0 loss to Morocco didn’t interfere with them topping their group. Jamaica is another surprise qualifier. They start with a scoreless draw against France, a 1-0 win over Panama and a scoreless draw against Brazil. That’s all they needed to qualify for the first time ever! They may have scored only one goal but boy does their defense speak volumes!

For my prediction for the win, Colombia and Jamaica have met only twice before. Their first meeting in 2018 was Jamaica winning. Their second meeting, at the 2019 Pan Am Games, was Colombia winning. For this I’ll predict Colombia. They’ve been scoring better better and playing harder. Jamaica appears to have a great defense but Colombia’s better scoring ability will eventually prevail in the end.

France (Group F Winner) vs. Morocco (Group H 2nd): France’s qualification is not a surprise. They did start with a surprising scoreless draw against Jamaica, but wins of 2-1 against Brazil and 6-3 over Panama was just what they needed to top Group F. Morocco is one of the biggest surprises of the whole Cup. They started with a disappointing 6-0 loss to Germany, but 1-0 wins over both South Korea and Colombia was just the right stuff to make them a surprise qualifier! Of the eight nations making their debut at this Women’s World Cup, Morocco is the only one that advances!

In searching for head-to-head stats of France and Morocco, I have been unable to find any information of them meeting before in the past. In the end, I will have to give it to France. They’ve been attacking and scoring better. Morocco has been a delightful surprise, but I think the surprise will end here.

QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS:

Provided the Round of 16 winners end up being exactly who I predicted, here are my predictions for the quarterfinals. I won’t do too much rambling with my quarterfinal predictions. Especially since the teams playing haven’t been decided. I’ll keep it brief:

Spain vs. Netherlands: Provided my predictions go right, I say Spain. Spain and the Netherlands have met ten times before with Spain winning five times and the Netherlands winning two. The Netherlands’ prowess seems to be fading a bit while Spain’s prowess has grown. That’s why I say Spain.

Japan vs. Sweden: This should be interesting. The two have met fourteen times before, including three at the Women’s World Cup. Japan has won five times. Sweden six. This could be tight as both teams have played strong but Japan has conceded nothing so far. I think Japan will win on penalty kicks.

Australia vs. France: Australia have done a better job at playing than expected, but France has shown better consistency. In the past, they’ve met eight times before. Australia winning four times and France winning three. I predict France to take this, but on added extra time.

England vs. Colombia: The only time England have ever played Colombia was in a Canada 2015 group game, which England won 2-1. The Colombian team has changed a lot since they met, but England has too. I think this will be a case of England winning in added extra time.

And there you go! Those are my predictions for the first two sets of knockout matches of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Will the knockout matches be as unpredictable as most of the group play results? We’ll just have to see!

2023 FIFA WWC: Group Stage With One Game To Go

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

This Women’s World Cup has been good, but crazy. The main crazy thing is the big time-zone separation between Australian/New Zealand time zones and the North American times. One good thing is I’m able to see at least five games of Canada or the US playing, or expected to play, during North American prime-time hours. Most of the time, the games will be held while I’m sleeping. In addition, all of the third-games of the group stage will be contested starting at times between midnight Pacific time to 4am Pacific time!

Another crazy thing about the game set-ups is the times and dates of some games. One thing I’m unhappy about is New Zealand vs. Philippines, a Group A game, was contested on July 25th while Australia’s second game, against Nigeria, was contested on the 27th. Isn’t it odd Australia played their second game on the same day all Group E teams played their second game? And Australia’s Group B? In addition all second games of Group D were.played on the 28th! I’d rather it be contested in the group’s order and that the games were on the opposite days. I don’t understand it. In addition, the third-matches of Group A will be contested before the last matches of Group H. What’s up with that? No complaint about Australia and New Zealand are host nations. My complaint is how they organized this.

Nevertheless I have been able to make my assessments on how the eight groups are going and what it needed to qualify for the knockout round. Keep in mind unlike the last two Women’s World Cups there’s no third-place wildcard berths. All groups are a case the top two and only the top two advance.

The way the group play looks after two games played by each team, three teams have enough game points to secure qualification, five teams have enough game results to guarantee elimination and the other twenty-four will need the third and final game to decide it all. So here’s how things look for each group so far. Qualified teams will be bolded and links to my blogs will be in the group titles:

Group A: All I can say right now is Group A is the group of surprises after two games played. First off, New Zealand. On opening day, both host nations won their games 1-0. The Football Ferns should be especially proud since their win against Norway was not only an upset, but made it their first-ever win of a Women’s World Cup match ever! And they’ve been in every WWC since 2007! Second surprise, Philippines winning against New Zealand. A debut team and they score a surprise 1-0 win against the hosts! And the Philippines team is the lowest ranked of the four in FIFA’s rankings! Third surprise, Norway. They had the highest FIFA ranking of all Group A teams and they’re at the bottom thanks to their loss to New Zealand and their draw to Switzerland! Did anyone expect that?

Right now none of the Group A teams have officially qualified. All four have chances to qualify and it’s very lengthy to explain all their chances. Switzerland has the healthiest chances of winning thanks to their 2-0 win over the Philippines and their scoreless draw against Norway. Drawing against hosts New Zealand is all they need to qualify. New Zealand could qualify with a draw, but it would heavily depend on the result of the game of Norway vs. Philippines. If the Philippines wins, Philippines will qualify instead. If Norway wins, New Zealand could still qualify, but it would depend on the draw’s score and the score of Norway’s win. Once again, it would be a number’s game. As I mentioned, Philippines could steal the berth from New Zealand if they win. but would need a big win of at least two goals over Norway to qualify. Norway is in the case of nothing less than a win to qualify and possibly a goal differential in the win of two goals or more should New Zealand draw against Switzerland. I said it wasn’t easy to explain it all!

Group B: Group B is another group of surprises! It all started with Australia playing one of the two openers. They won their March against Ireland 1-0. The next game, Canada vs. Nigeria, was a surprise as it ended in a scoreless draw. For the second games, Canada vs. Ireland did go as anticipated as Canada won 2-1, but Australia vs. Nigeria was the surprise. Nigeria won 2-3!

So with the final games to go, we have three teams that still have a qualifying chance. Nigeria has the best chances of qualifying with a win and a draw and their goal differential. The only way for Nigeria to fail to qualify is if they lose to Ireland and the Australia/Canada game is a draw. As for that game, it’s interesting to see how Australia will play against Canada in response to their loss to Nigeria. One thing is certain from the match is that the winner qualifies. As I mentioned before, both teams can qualify if they draw, but Nigeria will have to lose to Ireland for Australia to qualify. The only way for Canada to fail to qualify is if they lose to Australia and Nigeria beats Ireland. Also Ireland is out. Their elimination actually happened right after they lost to Canada. Even if they beat Nigeria, it won’t do it.

Group C: Two games is all it took to decide the two qualifiers. By winning their first two games Spain and Japan are officially going to the knockout round. Their third game, where they play each other, will be to decide who finishes first and second in the group and which Round of 16 games they play in. Whoever wins will top Group C. If a draw, Spain will top as it has a better goal differential by one goal.

With two losses, both Costa Rica and Zambia are officially out of the tournament. Their game on the 31st will be for pride and to decide third from fourth. And to score goals! Not only did both teams lose their first two games, but neither team had a goal scored for them! Their final game oughta make it happen!

Group D: One good thing about this group is that all four games ended with a win. One bad thing about this group is that all games have ended with scores of 1-0. Right now England is the team with the best qualifying chances after winning both their games. China and Denmark are in a stalemate with a win and a loss both. Haiti is not out of the running, but has the slimmest of chances after losing both their games.

The thing with this group is that none of the teams have guaranteed qualification yet. On that same token, none of the teams, Not even Haiti, have officially been eliminated. All four teams still have a chance and it’s complicated to explain. The easiest is that England wins over China or even draws against them and Denmark wins over Haiti. Your two qualifiers there. There’s also the chance England could lose to China and Denmark wins. Depending on what kind of win China has over England, goal differentials can give rise to the possibility of England not qualifying. There have been cases before in the men’s World Cup of three teams having two wins and a loss and one of those teams not advancing. Just ask the Algerian team of 1982!

The odds and ends don’t stop there. England could lose and Haiti could beat Denmark. That would lead to England and China qualifying. There’s even a possibility of Haiti qualifying, but it’s the slimmest of the slim chances. Haiti would not only need a good well-scoring win over Denmark, but also England would need to beat China! It has happened before at the men’s World Cup there was one team that won all three of their games and the other three teams had a win and two losses each. What can I say? This is the case where only the third game can decided it for all!

Group E: The crazy thing about having a group with two top-ranked teams is you think the qualifiers will be decided almost instantaneously. It seemed to be the case here as we have the two finalists from the last Women’s World Cup. Things did appear to go as planned as the US beat Vietnam 3-0 and the Netherlands beat Portugal on their openers. The US and the Netherlands meet and there ends up being a 1-1 draw to many people’s surprise. On top of it, Portugal made itself a contender for qualifying after their 2-0 win over Vietnam.

The craziest thing about this is that the Round of 16 and quarterfinals have only a single match in both cases aimed for an earlier-than-usual start time in anticipation that the US top Group E. The Round-of-16 match where the team that tops Group E is scheduled to be contested in Sydney at noon on Saturday August 6th and the quarterfinal featuring the winner of that match is to be held in Wellington on Thursday the 11th at 1pm. All for being contested live during American primetime television hours. I doubt the US will finish second or fail to qualify, but imagine if it does!

So with one game to go, we have three teams eligible to qualify. The US and the Netherlands have the best chances to qualify with both a win and a loss. They’re heavily favored to win their next games and a win would guarantee them qualification. One of the few ways any one of the teams could miss qualifying is if they both lose their games and the Netherlands would be out because of a lower goal differential than the US. The only other way is if the US loses their match to Portugal. Then Portugal and the Netherlands would qualify instead. Also to add, Vietnam is out. Even if they win against the Netherlands, it would be too much too late.

Group F: In this group, things started off slowly for France and Jamaica with their scoreless draw. Brazil pained the pole position with their 4-0 win over Panama, which included a hat trick by Aly Borges; the first hat trick of the Women’s World Cup. France knew they couldn’t waste any more chances and won 2-1 against Brazil. Jamaica also seized a moment of their own and won 1-0 over Panama.

As of now three teams still have a chance of qualifying. France has the best chances. Even if they draw against Panama, they will still be in there. The winner of the Brazil/Jamaica match will qualify. If a draw, Brazil will qualify because of its better goal differentials. The only way France can’t qualify is if both Brazil and Jamaica tie and France loses to Panama by a huge margin. It’s possible. As for Panama, it’s over for them. Even if they win over France, the other three teams already have better game points and goal differentials to qualify.

Group G: Winning its first two games is all Sweden needed to do to qualify for the knockout stage! Starting with 2-1 over South Africa and then 5-0 over Italy. As for the other three teams, they’re still all in contention. Italy may have lost 5-0 to Sweden but their 1-0 win over Argentina keeps them in second-place in the current Group C standings. The 2-2 draw between Argentina and South Africa is what keeps their qualification chances alive.

Even though Sweden has qualified, their final match against Argentina may be about their ranking. They could finish second if they lose and Italy win against South Africa, but Italy will need a super-big win over South Africa to make Sweden finish second in the group. As for all the other three teams, Italy has the best qualification chances. Most obviously, a win over South Africa will solidify their qualification. If Italy and South Africa draw, Italy could still qualify, provided Sweden doesn’t lose to Argentina. That 5-0 loss to Sweden really set them back and could cost them should that happen! Argentina and South Africa can still qualify but it must be nothing less than a win for either. South Africa has the advantage with goal differentials. Argentina would need a win of 2-0 or 3-1 to qualify if South Africa wins. What can I say? The slimmest of chances are still a chance!

Group H: If there’s one group that’s to be called the group of shockers, this group is it! The first game of Germany winning over Morocco was not a shocker, but the score of 6-0 was. The game of Colombia vs. South Korea resulted in a surprise win for Colombia 2-0. Game two provided even bigger shockers. In South Korea vs. Morocco, Morocco won thanks to a sixth-minute goal from Ibtissam Jraidi. The shocks didn’t end there as Colombia would beat Germany thanks in part to the winning goal of Manuela Vanegas in the seventh minute of added extra time in the second half!

One thing about this group is that all four teams still have qualifying chances and it will take the third games to decide it all. The team with the best chances is Colombia with their two wins. Even a draw against Morocco will solidify qualification. The only way Colombia could fail to qualify is if Germany wins their game and Morocco beats Colombia with a score of 4-0 or 5-1 or something similar. As for Morocco, the aforementioned scenario is one of only two ways they can qualify. No doubt Morocco needs a win to qualify, but to qualify even with as small of a win of 1-0, Germany will have to draw or lose against South Korea. As for Germany, those are the only ways they can fail to qualify. Despite having a win and a loss, their big 6-0 gives them some of the best chances to qualify.

As for South Korea, they have to be the biggest underachievers of this Cup. Ranked 17th in the world and not only lost both their games, but without a goal scored! Just how I mentioned in Group D how Haiti still has a chance to qualify, despite it being the slimmest of slim, Colombia’s win over Germany kept South Korea’s qualifying chances alive! Nevertheless the chance is very slim. Not only will South Korea need a win and for Colombia to win too, but their win over Germany will need a score similar to 5-0 or 6-1. Simply put, the win has to be by a margin of at least five goals! Talk about the slimmest of slim!

And there you have it. There’s a look at those that have made it and those that are still in contention. It’s not easy to explain, but group play is rarely an easy thing to explain. Sometimes it’s never obvious until the very end.

Women’s World Cup 2023 Preview Links

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

It’s a given. The year after we have the excitement of the men’s World Cup, we get the excitement of the Women’s World Cup the following year. While I had the unusual situation of watching the men’s games in coffee houses at 7am some days and during some unusually cold weather for a December in Vancouver, I will be watching most of the women’s games during hot summer nights! It always makes sense to watch either World Cup during the summer months. It just seems right. The main problem about trying to watch them live is the time-zone situation. There are a few evening games for us North Americans to watch live, but most will take place in the early mornings while we’re sleeping.

So far only two games have been played. None of the groups have completed their first matches, but both host nations played their first games on Day 1. Makes sense. Now the rest of the teams just have to start their games. I know I’ve been delivering previews to each of the Women’s World Cup groups. This is just simply a post with hyperlinks to all my group analyses. I will also post the two countries from each group I think will qualify for the knockout round. Here are the links:

Group A: New Zealand and Norway

Group B: Australia and Canada

Group C: Spain and Japan

Group D: England and China

Group E: United States and the Netherlands

Group F: France and Brazil

Group G: Sweden and Argentina

Group H: Germany and Colombia

Once again, my predictions are in group order instead of rankings. Anyways best of luck to all the teams and let’s all have a great time!

2023 Women’s World Cup – Group H Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments
Official ball: The Adidas OCEAUNZ

Hard to believe this is the last group review! Hard to believe there are eight groups this year. Well, women’s football is growing and I’m confident Australia and New Zealand will do a great combined effort in hosting. Interesting is that the host nation or nations of the 2027 Women’s World Cup have not yet been decided. Placing bids are South Africa, Brazil, a combined US/Mexico bid and a combined Belgium/Germany/Netherlands bid. We’ll see who gets it in the future.

In the meantime 2023’s teams still have to contest. Here is my look at the teams from Group H. The last group of Australia/New Zealand 2023:

-Germany (2): If there’s one team that comes closest to the United States’ record of wins in women’s football, it would have to be Germany. The Frauenteam have competed in all previous Women’s World Cup, making the finals three times and winning in 2003 and 2007, won all but three Women’s Euros, and won Olympic medals four times including gold in 2016! Lately the team has had some hard luck. They didn’t win the last two Euros and they finished in the quarterfinals of France 2019 which kept them out of the Tokyo Olympics.

The team is coached by Martina Voss-Tecklenberg who played for Germany in the first three Women’s World Cups. Most of the players play for teams as part of Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga. Star players include forward Alexandra Popp, midfielder Sara Dabritz defender Kathrin Hendrich and goalkeeper Merle Frohms. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved wins to the Netherlands, France, Turkey and Austria. They had a draw against Sweden. They’ve had a win and a loss to the USA, as well as losses to England (at the Women’s Euro final) Brazil and just twelve days ago, Zambia in a friendly. The stage is set at this Women’s World Cup for Germany to prove that they can be among the best, if not the very best in the world.

-Morocco (72): Morocco is another nation where women’s football took longer than usual to get active. At first, the most they ever did was go as far as the Group Stage in the Women’s African Cup of Nations. In the last fave years, they’ve shown a huge surge of improvement. They finished third in the 2019 African Games and were runners-up in the 2022 Women’s African Cup. Even making it into the semifinals allowed the Atlas Lionesses to become the first-ever team from an Arab nation to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.

The team is coached by Reynald Pedros who was part of the French national team for three years. Most of the women play for teams with the Moroccan league or French league or various leagues in Europe. Their last 12 months of play have had their ups and downs. They had wins to Bosnia and Slovakia and draws to Nigeria, Italy and Switzerland. They’ve also had a draw and a loss to Ireland as well as losses to Canada, South Africa and Jamaica. Australia/New Zealand 2023 is the perfect arena for Morocco’s women to write a new chapter in their football history.

-Colombia (25): Brazil is undoubtedly the best South American team in women’s football. If there’s one woman’s team that can have them looking over their shoulder, it’s Colombia. This is their third Women’s World Cup and they even made it to the Round of 16 back in 2015. They’ve also competed in two Olympics, have been runners-up in the Copa America Femenina three times and won the Pan Am Games in 2019.

Las Cafetarias are coached by Nelson Abadia who has coached to women’s team since 2017. Most of the women play for teams with the women’s division of Atletico Nacional or with Brazil’s league or Spain’s Primera Federacion. In the past twelve months, they’ve had wins mostly against other South American countries, but also wins to Nigeria and Zambia. They had a win and a draw to Panama along with draws to Mexico and Costa Rica. Their only losses came to France, Italy and Brazil. It looks like this Women’s World Cup is a chance for Colombia to surprise the world how far they can go!

-Korea Republic (17): Isn’t it something that team H4 of both the Men’s World Cup of 2022 and this year’s Women’s World Cup are the same team: South Korea? While the South Korean men have one of the best Asian results in football, the women have struggled to break through. This is their fourth Women’s World Cup. Their best finish ever is the Round of 16 in 2015. Things have looked up in the decade in continental play. They finished third in the past three Asian Games and they were runners-up at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

The Taegeuk Ladies, as they are commonly known, are coached by England’s Colin Bell who has coached the team since 2019. Most of the team play for teams that are part of Korea’s WK League. There are a few who play for teams in Europe and the US. All of their most capped players ever are part of the current squad. In the past 12 months, the team has had wins against Zambia, Haiti, Chinese Taipei and Jamaica. They had a win and a draw against New Zealand and a draw against China. They’ve also endured losses to Japan, England and Italy. No doubt the Tigers of Asia will be arriving at this Women’s World Cup with something to prove.

My Prediction: You think predicting the two qualifiers would be easy, but it’s not. This particular group has to get me thinking. For this group, I predict the qualifiers to be Germany and Colombia.

And there you go! There’s my look at Group H of the Women’s World Cup. To think the action all starts tomorrow! The world will be watching! Closely!

2023 Women’s World Cup – Group G Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Normally when I do my blogs on the Women’s World Cup, I mostly focus on the positive as the excitement builds up. Nevertheless I can’t avoid talking about the negative in women’s football that has happened in the last four years.

Women’s football has always been know to be a victim of sexism; always second-fiddle to the men. Nevertheless the last four years has seen a lot more awareness, activism, disputes and even legal battles involving national teams. Those of you who’ve read my previous 2023 WWC blogs have learned about the disputes involving national teams from Canada, the US and Spain. In the past four years other national teams have had disputes and achievements. Additional achievements include the Australian women’s team achieving better revenue distribution and equal accommodations as the men as well as 12-months maternity leave and Ireland achieving equal pay and equal tournament bonuses in August 2021. In addition, the 2027 Women’s World Cup will be the first WWC where player bonuses will be equal to that of the men.

Continuing problems include: England’s FA saying on July 3rd that England’s team will not receive bonuses for their performances within the tournament; the Jamaican women’s team not receiving enough financial support; Nigeria’s team being denied player bonuses for this Women’s World Cup as well as manager Randy Waldrum being denied more than a year’s pay; and South Africa’s team denied tournament bonuses from their Federation. The issues don’t end with equal pay. Most recently, Zambia’s coach Bruce Mwape was accused of sexual misconduct. I’m sure he’s not the only national coach guilty of it.

No question the issues of sexism are a problem with women’s football. The equal pay is a big challenge. Of course we shouldn’t forget that football is one sport with one of the biggest histories of sexism. Look at the men in football. They’ve always been on top of the world. Women, however, have a history of being forbidden to play football even up to the early-70’s. It isn’t until the start of women’s lib in the 70’s that breakthroughs for women happened, including sport. It was the 1980’s that more women’s national teams started forming and it was only until 1991 when women got their first Women’s World Cup. Sexisms like the lack of equal pay and the lack of attendance are examples of the slow drive to include women in the sport. That’s why I see events like the Women’s World Cup as ways to improve the sport of women’s football. Hopefully in the future, women’s football will be as much of a phenomenon as men’s football.

My next group of focus is Group G. This is one group consisting of one team that’s one of the traditional favorites and three other teams that are working to build their strength on the world stage. Two are nations who have two of the most legendary men’s teams and are now just starting to take their women seriously:

-Sweden (3): Sweden is one team that has to be one of the most underrecognized great teams. They’ve competed in every WWC since it started and finished in the Top 3 in four of the previous eight. That’s half the Women’s World Cups! They’ve also qualified for the Olympic tournaments every time since it started in 1996 and have won two silver medals. Even now the Blågult are a team that should not go overlooked.

The team is coached by Peter Gerhardsson who has coached the team since the 2017 Women’s Euro. The team is full of top-notch players like forward Sofia Jakobsson, midfielders Caroline Seger and Kosovare Asilani, and defender Linda Sembrant. Notable wins they’ve had in the last 12 months have been to China, France, Portugal and Switzerland. They’ve had draws to Germany, Spain and Norway, and they’ve has losses to Denmark and England. Chances are Sweden can prove itself to be a top contender at the Women’s World Cup and could just achieve its first-ever win. Only time will tell.

-South Africa (54): South Africa is a team that’s just starting to make waves in women’s football. France 2019 was the very first WWC for Banyana Banyana. The women have previously completed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. At the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, South Africa finished runner-up in 2018 and won in 2022! They come to Australia/New Zealand ready to prove their abilities.

The team is coached by Desiree Ellis who has coached the team since 2016. The team consists of players who play for teams in leagues in Europe, the US, Mexico and South Africa’s own SAFA Women’s League. Notable wins in the last 12 months include Morocco and Costa Rica. They had a win and a loss to Zambia. Other losses include to Brazil, Australia and Serbia. The stage is set at this Women’s World Cup as a chance for South Africa’s women to be better than most people expect.

-Italy (16): It’s kind of funny that lately in the year after the Men’s World Cup in which Italy fails to qualify, Le Azzurre end up qualifying for the Women’s World Cup! Italy started as a top European team in women’s football when the Women’s World Cup and the Women’s Euro were just starting out. As the boom in women’s football happened in the 21st century, Italy was slow to catch on, missing tournaments or having low results. They’ve shown recent improvements lately. In France 2019, they got as far as the quarterfinals, but failed to make it past the group stage in Euro 2022.

Italy is coached by Milena Bertolini who has coached the team since the 2017 Women’s Euro. Most of the team plays for teams that are part of Italy’s Serie A Femminile. In the past 12 months, they’ve had key wins against New Zealand, South Korea and Romania. Their one draw has been to Morocco and they’ve endured losses to England, Brazil and Belgium. Australia/ New Zealand 2023 could be the place for Italy to prove to be a better team than most anticipate.

-Argentina (28): Argentina’s men are now on top of the world. This is something the women can only dream of right now. This is only the fourth Women’s World Cup La Albiceleste have ever qualified for. Argentina had a weak start in women’s football on the international stage. They were in the 2003 and 2007 Women’s World Cups and at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In all three cases, they lost all their group play games. Recently as South America has been making bigger improvements in women’s football, Argentina has improved too. They’ve finished third at the last two Copa America Femenina’s, finished runner-up at the 2019 Pan Am Games and they competed in France 2019 where they had two draws and a loss.

The team has been coached by German Portanova since 2021. The team play for teams in a mix of leagues in Spain, the US, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina’s own Campeonato Femenino. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Peru, New Zealand and Chile. They had a win and a draw against Venezuela and a draw against Poland. They’ve also endured losses to Spain, Canada and Colombia. The Women’s World Cup is another opportunity for Argentina to improve as a team and possibly go further than expected.

My Prediction: It’s no sweat to predict Sweden as one of the qualifiers. The other three are a bit of a challenge. I’ll take a risk and say Argentina.

And there you go. That’s my look at Group G of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Crazy how the games will be contested at times when most of us will be sleeping. I’m sure there are some night owls willing to stay up and watch!