As we’re getting closer to the start of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA already has it as its main feature on its website. There’s a lot of talk of new talent, but there’s also talk that this will be the last WWC for Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair and Marta. That’s normally how it is in sport. Greats eventually retire and new legends are made. Nevertheless it’s exciting to see them play one last time.

Up next is Group F. This is a rarity as there are two CONCACAF teams in this group. This became the case as one CONCACAF team, Jamaica, was drawn while the inter-confederation berth was drawn months before the matches were to be played. This seems to be a new thing with World Cups. Drawing before certain berths are decided. The inter-confederation playoff was played in New Zealand in February and it was between four teams from four confederations. In the end, Panama won! Without further ado, here’s my look at Group F:

-France (5): France is one team that has struggled to show how great of a team they are. They made their first WWC in 2003 and achieved a fourth-place finish in 2011. Since then, they’ve been out in the quarterfinals at the last two Women’s World Cups and their best Olympic finish was fourth in 2012. Even hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2019 didn’t give them they breakthrough they sought. Last year, however, they achieved their first-ever Top 3 finish at the Women’s Euro.

The team is currently managed by Herve Renard who assumed his position in March after coaching the Saudi Arabia team during the men’s World Cup and taking the job after their original manager was dropped. Most of the team plays for teams part of France’s Division 1 Feminine. Top players include forward Eugenie Le Sommer and defender and captain Wendie Renard. The team has not had a loss yet in 2023. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. They’ve also had a draw to Norway as well as Iceland. Losses in the last 12 months have been to Germany and Sweden. Nevertheless Australia/New Zealand 2023 could write a new chapter for Les Bleues.

-Jamaica (43): Jamaica is one women’s team that was late to start its progress. Lately they’ve shown great improvements as they made it to the last Women’s World Cup in 2019 and they’ve finished third at the last two CONCACAF Women’s Championships. As of now, the last 12 months have seen the Reggae Girlz with their best-ever FIFA World Rankings.

The team is coached by Jamaican Lorne Donaldson who coached the team two months before they officially qualified. The team play for teams for various leagues in the US and in Europe. Interestingly, Jamaica’s ten most capped players are part of the current national team as well as seven of their eight best scorers! Leading the team is Khadija “Bunny” Shaw with 38 caps and 56 goals. These last 12 months have been difficult. The only national teams they had wins against are Paraguay and Costa Rica. They recently achieved a draw against Costa Rica. Their losses have come from Canada, South Korea, Australia and Mexico, This Women’s World Cup is a great chance for Jamaica to prove to the world they’re better than most people think.

-Brazil (9): The Brazilian men have the reputation as one of the most legendary football teams in history. The Brazilian women, or As Canarinhas, hope to achieve the same excellence the men have achieved. Like the men, they’ve competed in every Women’s World Cup. Unlike the men, they’ve never had a major win on the world stage. They’ve only made it to the WWC final once, back in 2007, and won Olympic silver twice. They’ve finished in the Round of 16 in the last to WWC’s and only made it to the quarterfinals in the last Olympics.

Since the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the head coach is Sweden’s Pia Sundhage who has coached the US women’s team to two Olympic golds. The current team consists of legends like forwards Marta, Debinha, and Bia Zaneratto along with defenders and defenders Rafaelle and Tamires. The team also has some young rising talents like forward Geyse, midfielders Kerolin and Ary Borges and young defender Lauren. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved notable wins against Germany, Italy, Norway and Japan. At the UEFA-CONMEBOL Finalissma, they drew against England 1-1falling on penalty kicks. They played Canada three times, Brazil winning once and Canada winning the other two times. Their only other loss came to the US. The 2023 Women’s World Cup is a chance for Brazil’s women to get back their reputation as one of the best in the World and hopefully go to new heights.

-Panama (52): Panama is one women’s team that was slow to start. Their first-ever international game was in 2002. They were a team slow to start but their first sign of promise was at the fourth-place finish at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. They followed it up with a quarterfinal finish at the 2019 Pan Am Games. It received its breakthrough at the 2022 CONCACAF championships after a win against Trinidad and Tobago granted them their berth to the inter-confederation playoffs which they won and gave the Canal Girls their first-ever Women’s World Cup trip! Right now their 52nd World ranking is its best ever.

The team has been coached by Mexico’s Ignacio Quintana who has not only coached to team since 2021 but successfully lobbied to have the women receive equal pay with the men’s team. The team’s players play mostly in teams belonging to women’s leagues throughout the Americas. Despite having a team with players having less than 20 caps, the team has played well in the last twelve months. They have achieved wins against Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic. They’ve had a win and a draw against Ecuador. They’ve also had a loss and a draw against Colombia, a win and a loss to Chile and a loss to Spain. This Women’s World Cup is an opportunity for Panama’s team to achieve bigger feats and take the team to greater heights.

My Prediction: Once again, a case of two clear favorites, which I normally hate going with. Nevertheless I predict the qualifiers from Group F to be France and Brazil.

And there you go. Those are my predictions for Group F of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. We shouldn’t forget that this Cup’s slogan “Beyond Greatness” isn’t just about winning. I’ll focus more on it in my next blog.