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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 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!

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group C Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

It’s something how after eight years, the Women’s World Cup goes from a tournament of 24 teams to a tournament of 32 teams! So how exactly do they split the 32 berths among the continents? Here’s a breakdown:

  • AFC (Asia and Australia): 5 + host Australia
  • CAF (Africa): 4
  • CONCACAF (North America): 4
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 3
  • OFC (Oceania): 0+ host New Zealand
  • UEFA (Europe): 11
  • Inter-confederation playoff berths: 3

Now the inter-confederation play-offs are interesting. Most men’s inter-confederation playoffs consist of a single game between two teams. For the women, the three berths were to be decided between groups of three or four! it was a mix of teams from all six confederations. Teams were usually those who missed the direct qualifying berths but were given chances by their placing in tournaments or through a repechage tournament or in the OFC’s case, the tournament winners. Teams were divided into three groups and all played matches in February for the last team standing in each group. Here are the groups with qualifiers bolded:

  • Cameroon, Thailand, Portugal
  • Senegal, Haiti, Chile
  • Chinese Taipei, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Panama

What can I say? Deciding the other 30 qualifiers wasn’t easy. And now it’s leading up to World Cup play which is already known to be crazy enough. My next Group of focus is Group C. Four nations from four continents:

-Spain (6): The men of Spain have often been referred to as “Football’s Greatest Underachievers.” Spain’s women have shown their prowess in recent years, even been in the World Top 10 for the first time ever in 2021, but they are looking for their first tournament performance to show the world what they’re capable of. This Women’s World Cup will actually only be the third-ever for La Roja. First in Canada 2015 and the second in France 2019 where they made the Round of 16. They’ve competed in the last three Women’s Euros but have only made it as far as the quarterfinals all three times. 2022 was a case where two of their best players were injured and out. They did finish second in this year’s Cup Of Nations.

In recent years, as Spain has improved, there have been troubles with the team. The most notable has been a labor dispute within the past twelve months. The last while has seen a lot of labor disputes involving Women’s football team which I will focus on in a later blog. In terms of Spain, the team wanted improvements after their disappointment at Euro 2022. The women brought up they wanted a higher level of training, less authoritarian manner from the head coach and took their concerns to the head of the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). In September 2022, fifteen players who would come to be known as “Las 15” sent and email to the RFEF speaking their concerns and their withdrawal from the national team. The RFEF leaked the letters hoping the women would cave in and return, but all hell broke loose, including Coach Vilda playing innocent and English player Lucy Bronze showing support for Las 15 in a social media picture. The months continued with disputes but there would be talks with the team member by April 2023. As of now, not all of Las 15 have returned to the national team. It’s unclear how many exactly have returned.

Since 2022 Spain have won all but four of their games, drawing once and losing three times. Notable wins include China, Denmark, United States and Japan. Their one draw was 1-1 against Sweden and their losses came to England, Germany and Australia. This Women’s World Cup is a new chance for Spain to prove itself and the team’s ability to play well.

-Costa Rica (36): This is only the second time Las Ticas will perform at the Women’s World Cup. Nevertheless their previous appearance at Canada 2015 showed them delivering a brave performance of drawing against Spain and South Korea before losing to Brazil. The women’s team have delivered impressive results in the past such as twice bronze medalists at the Pan American Games, five-time semifinalists at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship and even runners-up in 2014, and twice medalists at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The team is coached by Costa Rican Amelia Valverde. Most of the players play for teams in the Costa Rica Women’s Premier Division and three who play for the US’s NWSL. Since 2022, the team has more losses than wins and draws combined. They’ve won against the Philippines, Trinidad and Panama, drawn against Colombia and Mexico, and their losses have included USA, Canada, Netherland, Portugal and Nigeria. The Women’s World Cup is another chance for the team to prove how good they are. They could just surprise again.

-Zambia (77): Zambia comes as the low expectations team. Of all the 32 teams here in Australia/New Zealand 2023, they have the lowest FIFA ranking of all with 77th. This is the Copper Queens’ first-ever Women’s World Cup, but their talent has been starting to catch notice in the football world in the last four years with playing in the 2020 Summer Olympics and finishing third in last year’s Africa Cup. Their finish in the Cup is what made them qualify.

Most of the players play for teams in the division of the Zambia Premier League and most are under 25 years of age. Since 2022, Zambia has had notable losses to Colombia, South Korea and Ireland and draws to Senegal and Switzerland. Most of their wins have been to African teams, but they’ve also achieved wins against Uzbekistan and North Macedonia. Most recently, they achieved a surprise 3-2 victory over Germany, who are ranked second in the World! Pele always said football is a box of surprises. The 270 minutes of group play can be a chance for Zambia to deliver more big surprises. Especially for the world!

-Japan (11): Japan have been part of the Women’s World Cup since it all started in 1991. The Nadeshiko peaked in 2011 when they won the Cup against the US in a penalty shootout. They had continued success shortly after winning the 2012 Olympic silver medal and WWC finalists again in 2015. Since then, the team has had a bit of a struggle. They didn’t qualify for the 2016 Olympics, finished in the Round of 16 in France 2019 and only got as far as the quarterfinals during the 2020 Olympics. They even lost out in the 2022 semifinals of the Women’s Asian Cup after winning it the two previous times. They have shown improvement as they finished second in this year’s SheBelieves Cup.

The team is coached by Futoshi Ikeda who has coached two Japanese age-group national teams and named senior team coach in 2021. Most of the team plays for teams with Japan’s WE League. Since 2022, they’ve had wins against Serbia, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada and Portugal. They also had a draw against China and losses to the US, Brazil, England and Spain. The 2023 Women’s World Cup is an opportunity for Japan to make a comeback among the best in the World.

My Prediction: Here it comes again. Just when you think you know the two will qualify, there’s always the chance for surprises. I predict the two qualifiers to be Spain and Japan.

And there you go. That takes care of my review of Group C for Australia/New Zealand 2023. At first I didn’t think I’d find the time to do these blogs, but I’m getting more confident now!

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group B Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

It’s interesting that this year’s Women’s World Cup is timed well. Normally it would be held in June but summer up in the Northern Hemisphere is winter for the Southern Hemisphere. July and August will be like January and February down under. Nevertheless the weather should still be great for playing.

It’s crazy how because of COVID, there were a lot of setbacks in the sports world and football tournaments had to inch their way back to its normal holding. Euro 2020 was held starting in June 2021. The Women’s Euro that was to be held in the summer of 2021 was held in the summer of 2022 instead. The men’s World Cup in 2022 was held in November and December instead of July and August. Seeing how the Women’s World Cup is held only a month and a half later than usual shows things are slowly getting back to normal.

Now the focus is on Group B. There are teams with high expectations and underdogs. All can pull a surprise:

-Australia (10): Many can argue that the Matildas are the sleeping giants of Women’s Football. The highest they ever finished in a Women’s World Cup is in the quarterfinals. The highest they ever finished at the Olympics was fourth in 2021. They’ve won an Asian Cup and three Oceania Cups. Being host, they could surprise everyone and possibly make their first-ever semifinal.

Australia is coached by Sweden’s Tony Gustavsson. The team consists of nine members who have achieved more than 100 caps including captain Sam Kerr and defender Clare Polkinghome. Most of the players play for England’s Women’s Super League teams. Since 2022, they’ve scored wins against England, Spain, Czechia, Sweden and Denmark. They’ve also lost to Scotland and twice to Canada. I’m sure the Matildas are eager to show the world what they’re made of on home soil.

-Republic of Ireland (22): One thing about having 32 teams at this year’s Women’s World Cup, we will be having a lot of teams that have been underestimated in the past coming alive. One of which is the team from the Republic of Ireland, commonly known as “The Girls In Green.” Interesting they’ve never qualified for a Euro, but their qualifying stats for the World Cup resulted in them achieving a berth.

The team is coached by Dutch woman Vera Pauw who played for the Netherlands in the 90’s. Most of the players play in teams for England’s Women’s Super League. Since 2022, Ireland have won against Zambia, Morocco, Scotland and Finland. They’ve drawn against China and lost both their games against the US this year. Here in the Group Stage, anything can happen. It’s very possible Ireland can prove here to be a stronger team than what most of the world thought.

-Nigeria (40): Nigeria is one of only seven teams that have competed at every Women’s World Cup. The Super Falcons have often been seen as the best women’s team from Africa. They’ve made the knockout round of the Women’s World Cup twice, including the last WWC in 2019. They’ve won the African Women Cup of Nations eleven out of fourteen times and have won African Women’s National Team Of The Year four times. Nevertheless there’s no doubt they want to take things further.

The team is coached by American Randy Waldrum who has over 30 years of experience coaching women’s teams in both the NCAA and women’s national teams. Most of the women play for leagues around Europe but team captain Onone Ebi plays for the Nigerian league. Since 2022, they’ve achieved wins against Costa Rica, Haiti and New Zealand, a draw against Morocco and losses to United States, Japan and Colombia. 2023 is another test to see how far they’ll go.

-Canada (7): Canada is a team that’s hard to describe. At the Women’s World Cup, their highest finish ever is 4th. At the Olympics, the team has amassed two bronze medals and won gold in 2021! Canadians have produced many big names like Christine Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi and Kadeisha Buchanan. No kidding Canada wants to come here to challenge.

Despite not having a hard time qualifying for the WWC, the Canadian team is one of many women’s national teams that has had labor or pay disputes in the four years since 2019. The first came in February of this year when the team said they’d go on strike because of intended budget cuts, including to its youth team. They also received support from the men’s team as they claimed Soccer Canada obstructed justice in not making clear why the cuts were necessary. Teams from England, the US, Ireland and Japan wore purple armbands in support of gender equality for the Canadian women’s team. Things got uglier later in February as Soccer Canada forced the women to return to the team, claiming they never got legal permission to strike. Later that month, Soccer Canada president Nick Bontis resigned under pressure. Since March 9th, there has been no major news whether a pay equity resolution has been reached.

The team is coached by England’s Bev Priestman who was an assistant coach to England from 2018 and 2020. Most of the women play for American professional or intercollegiate teams. The current team has a lot of legends like Christine Sinclair, Sophie Schmidt, Kadeisha Buchanan and Kailen Sheridan, but also has some rising stars like Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso and Jayde Riviere. Since 2022, Canada has had wins against Australia, Argentina and Morocco, has drawn against South Korea, has had two wins and a loss against Brazil and has had losses to the US, Japan and France. Anything can happen at the Women’s World Cup and Canada could just reach new heights.

My Prediction: Predicting for this group should be easy, but it’s not that easy since football is an unpredictable sport. I would predict hosts Australia to top Group B with Canada coming in second.

And there you go. There’s my look at the teams of Group B for the Women’s World Cup. Be sure to check the FIFA website to see which networks will broadcast the games.

2023 Women’s World Cup Intro And Group A Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Yes, the Women’s World Cup is back for its ninth edition. This is actually the very first Women’s World Cup that the hosting will be between two countries: Australia and New Zealand. This will be quite something as their time zones greatly differ and most of the games will be contested during times most people aren’t used to: early morning in Europe and sleeping hours in North America.

This year’s tournament promises excitement with this being the very first WWC to have thirty-two teams competing! How about that? Right after Qatar 2022 becomes the last men’s World Cup with 32 competing teams, Australia/New Zealand 2023 will be the first Women’s World Cup to contest 32 teams. I will be focusing more on various aspects of this year’s Women’s World Cup over future blogs. In the meantime, this is the first of my eight group focuses. Here’s my look at Group A. In addition, FIFA ranking as of June 2023 is in brackets:

-New Zealand (26): Usually for the World Cup, the draw is to make sure the host nation or nations don’t have such a tough time trying to qualify to the knockout round. It backfired for Qatar 2022 as the host nation achieved three ignominious World Cup records: first host nation to lose its opening game; first host nation to lose all three of their Group Stage games; and first-ever host nation to get a last-place finish at the World Cup.

New Zealand is one of the two host nations. It has always finished in the Group Stage in all five of their previous Women’s World Cup appearance without ever winning a game. Nevertheless the Football Ferns are a team that can deliver. They once made the quarterfinals of an Olympics (in 2012) and have won two Olympic matches. The current team plays for teams mostly in Australia and the United States. The team is coached by Czech coach Jitka Klimkova. You can be sure New Zealand won’t deliver the same Qatar-like disappointment here.

New Zealand has not had it good this year. They played seven friendlies this year, five at home, and they lost all but one. Their last win was back in September against the Philippines. Whatever the situation, New Zealand knows they will need to deliver a team that will make their nation proud. Sometimes home-field advantage can work and I’m confident the Ferns will deliver. Even achieve New Zealand’s first WWC win ever.

-Norway (12): If there’s one thing about Norway, they want people to stop seeing them as a blast from the past. Their WWC and Olympic wins may have come in 1995 and 2000 respectively and their last Top 4 finish may have been in 2007 but they still have a lot to prove. In fact 2019 saw them return to the WWC quarterfinals and win the Algarve Cup that year The team is even coached by Hege Riise who was part of both the 1995 World Cup winning team and the 2000 Olympic champions.

Most of the team plays for the Norwegian league and other leagues around Europe. The Grasshoppers, as they are commonly known, finished third at this year’s Tournoi de France. Since the start of 2022, their play has been off and on. They’ve won against New Zealand and the Netherlands, had draws against England and Sweden, had a win and a loss against Denmark, a draw and a loss to France and losses to England, Brazil and Spain. The World Cup is where the team has to come together if they want to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with now.

-Philippines (46): It seems as though ever since the Philippines have qualified for this World Cup, they’re doing the best they’ve ever done. Mind you football is a new sport in the Philippines. The team has had a stellar set of last few years winning the AFF Championship (for Southeast Asian teams and Australia) and becoming semifinalists at last year’s Asian Cup. The Filipinas even won their first medal at the Asian Games since 1985.

This will be the team’s World Cup debut. The team is coached by Australian Alen Stajcic. The team members play mostly for leagues in Europe and Australia. In its play since 2022, the team have amassed a lot of wins but they were all against Asian teams. Outside of Asian teams, they’ve had a draw and a loss to both Costa Rica and Chile. They’ve also had losses to New Zealand, Scotland and Iceland. Whatever the situation, this World Cup is the perfect opportunity for the Philippines team to grow and learn and maybe surprise us sooner than we expected.

-Switzerland (20): Switzerland is a team working to make a name for themselves. La Nati have competed at Euro 2017 and 2022 but never made it past the group stage. In their first and only previous World Cup back in 2015, they did qualify for the knockout stage but lost to hosts Canada in the Round of 16.

The current team is coached by German Inka Grings who was part of Germany’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2000 Olympics. The team mostly plays for leagues in Switzerland, Germany, England and Spain. Since the start of 2022, Switzerland have had wins against Croatia and Wales, draws against Portugal, Poland and China and losses to Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark. Australia and New Zealand provide Switzerland with another chance to make a name for themselves and a chance to go further than most will predict.

My Prediction: For first timers at my blog, I usually predict as I go with the World Cup. That means whenever I do group reviews, I predict who from that group will qualify into the knockout round. Group A is not too easy to predict which two will advance to the knockout round. All four teams have noticeable strengths and noticeable weaknesses. My prediction will be Norway will top but New Zealand will also qualify.

And there you have it. That’s my review for Women’s World Cup Group A. There’s more to come over time. Hard to believe it’s just two weeks away!

2019 FIFA WWC: My Prediction for the FINAL, And Third-Place Playoff Too

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

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I have to say this Women’s World Cup has been excellent. It won’t break the attendance record set by Canada back in 2015 but it has already surpassed the 1 million mark. The support for the teams has been outstanding with the various football federations shouting their support and some of the biggest male football stars supporting their teammates. Play has also been excellent as there’s American Alex Morgan and England’s Ellen White chasing the golden boot with six goals each. Also there’s only been four expulsions: only one of which was an instant red. So this is a Women’s World Cup France should be very proud of.

THIRD-PLACE Playoff:

Few people are willing to make a prediction for the Third-Place playoff, or the match I call the ‘bronze medal match.’ However I’m one who is willing. Here’s how I look at it:

Head-To-Head Stats:

England and Sweden have faced off against each other 24 times before in the past. Sweden has won thirteen times, England won three times and they drew eight times. Their last match against each other was on November 11, 2018 which Sweden won 2-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

England fixedEngland: Women’s football has really grown a lot since England finished third at the last Women’s World Cup. The team they fielded looked like one that could pose the best challenge to the United States. Unfortunately it was not to be as the US beat them 2-1. To add insult to the injury, the US’s Alex Morgan appeared to do a tea-sipping gesture after scoring the winning goal. Many have taken this to be an insult to the English.

It’s difficult to say if England will win. They will have a lot of their top stars like Ellen white and Lucy Bronze ready to play for the game, but Millie Bright won’t be after her double-yellow red card. Phil Neville knows that he will have to get his team ready for the match on Saturday. England have already gotten this far. Perhaps they can give their team one last feat.

Sweden FixedSweden: Before the semifinal, I’m sure most of you predicted Sweden to beat the Netherlands. I mean Sweden had the clout. They’ve been to every Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991. They’ve finished in the Top 3 three times before. They’ve even beat the Netherlands way more often than they lost to them. However things did not go according to plan. Before the match, Fridolina Rolfö received a second yellow card during the match against Germany which meant she will miss the next match. The Netherlands turned out to be a more formidable opponent than they expected. Regulation play resulted in no score. Then there was the goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th minute. Then there was the shocking injury to Kosovare Asllani where she was carried off on a stretcher.

Sweden came to the tournament with a lot of energy. They won big and were able to rebound after a loss to the United States. Their trip to the WWC semifinal was not easy as they overcame teams like Canada and Germany that had bigger expectations. However they were brought to a halt by the Netherlands in the semifinals. They could win the third-place match or they could lose it. It depends if their players are all in top condition and they attack more than they did on Wednesday.

My Prediction: England have the star strikers, while Sweden has a strong team unit. Sweden will have a one-woman advantage in this game after Bright’s expulsion. Asllani may not be recovered from her injury, but Rolfö can be brought back in play. I will predict Sweden to win 2-0.

THE FINAL

FIFA WWC

This is it. The final for the Women’s World Cup. One team has been their four of the previous seven times and won three times including the last contest in Canada. The other team is only competing in its second Women’s World Cup and won its first-ever knockout match right here in France. So this is quite the quantum leap for the team. So here’s the low-down:

Head-To-Head Stats:

The USA and the Netherlands have met only seven times before. The only time the Netherlands won before was their first meeting all the way back in 1991. The last time the two squared off against each other was in 2016.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

United_States_SoccerUnited States: The United States is the team that is most expected to win this Women’s World Cup. They’re the defending champs from 2015. They’re ranked #1 in the World. They have some of the biggest stars in women’s football who are seen as trailblazers. However they have also earned naysayers too. It all started when they won 13-0 against Thailand and celebrated after each goal. Many thought it was disrespectful. Then Megan Rapinoe made headlines for taking a knee during the play of the Star-Spangled Banner. She followed that by saying she won’t be going to the White House to a reporter. Most recently, Alex Morgan made England fans mad when she celebrated her game-winning goal by doing a tea-sipping gesture. Despite the negative press, they’ve delivered each time. They’ve won all their games, scoring 24 goals and only conceding three.

The only barrier I can see the US would have en route to winning the Cup is them being overconfident. They’ve played very well: better than any other nation. However they showed in their Round Of 16 game against Spain they could give it all away. They won 2-1, but on two penalty kicks from Rapinoe. They did come back in the QuarterFinals against France winning 2-1. However they should not go to the Final thinking they’ll roll over the Netherlands. The Netherlands has surprised all their major opponents here in France. For the US to win, they have to be on the ball and take the Netherlands seriously.

Netherlands FootballNetherlands: Before Women’s Euro 2017, people did not expect much of the Netherlands. Why should they after they finished in the Round of 16 in Canada 2015 and failed to qualify for the Olympics? However they surprised everybody by winning all their games and would win the final by beating Denmark 4-2. This made it the first Women’s Euro since 1993 that Germany didn’t win! Here at this Women’s World Cup, expectations were good but not that big. Canada was expected to top Group E, but the Netherlands did it by winning all their games, including beating Canada 2-1. Then in the Round of 16, they were pitted against Japan whom they lost to in Canada 2015. This time the Netherlands won. They were pitted against Italy in the quarterfinals and won 2-0. Then came Sweden who was more expected to win the game. It started with nil-nil after regulation, but a goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th changed it all. Now it’s the Netherlands in the final.

What can I say? The Netherlands have silenced their critics. Especially those who dismissed their win at the Women’s Euro as host-country luck. These past six matches show that the Netherlands have earned their place in the WWC Final. However the United States team has more seasoned players and have consistently shown to be a stronger team unit with more know-how of the game than the Dutch players. Now don’t get me wrong. I think the Netherlands can win against the USA, but they will have to play like they’ve never played before, both as individuals and as a team unit, and take advantage of any American weak-spots once they find them.

My Prediction:

I hate to side with the majority so instantaneously, but I think the United States will win this 4-1. I hate to peeve off Oranje fans, I could be wrong, but the Netherlands simply making it to the final already shows how much women’s football has improved there.

And there you go. That’s my prediction for the Final of the Women’s World Cup, as well as my prediction for the third-place match. To think it will all be decided by Sunday. What a month it’s been!

 

 

2019 FIFA WWC: My Predictions For The SemiFinals

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Womens Cup

It does seem odd that I post my predictions for the semifinals on Canada Day, especially since Canada is out of the tournament. In fact the two teams that Canada lost to in France, Netherlands and Sweden, are squaring off in the second semi-final! Sometimes I think that sends a message of how good Canada was as a team; that the teams they lost to got this far. We shouldn’t forget that both teams beat other top teams in the knockout rounds too; Netherlands beat 2015 finalist Japan in the Round of 16 and Sweden beat 2016 Olympic champs Germany in the quarterfinal. Other top teams like Australia, Brazil, China and France are out too. Pele always says: “Football is a box of surprises.”

WWC SemisAnyways enough of who are out of the tournament and let’s focus on the four that are still standing. The US is the only one of the four that have won the Women’s World Cup in the past, two have been to the semis at least once before, and one team is there for the first time ever. Three have won all of their games in this WWC while one had a loss in group play to a team that’s also in the semifinals. Both semifinal matches will take place at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon: the same venue that will hold the final for the Cup. So here’s a look at the four teams in both semifinals and my predictions:

SEMIFINAL #1: England vs. U.S.A.

Head-To-Head Stats:

The only time the US and England met head-to-head at the WWC was back in 2007 which the US won 3-0. No doubt after that, England decided to get better. In the past five years, the two meet five times before: four of those times at the new She Believes Tournament. Of the five times, England won once while the US won three times. Their last meeting was at this year’s She Believes Tournament. England won the tournament, but drew against the US 2-2. The US was the only team England didn’t defeat.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

EnglandEngland: This makes it only the second time England has reached the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup. The only other time was back in 2015. England’s appearance in the semis allows Great Britain to qualify a women’s team to the Tokyo Olympics. England won all their games in the Group Stage with Scotland being the only team to score a goal against them. England especially wanted to get revenge on Japan whom they lost to back in 2015. England continued looking like a tough team to beat with 3-0 wins against Cameroon in the Round of 16 and Norway in the quarterfinals. England have been earning their strong share of supporters like Wayne Rooney, Prince William, various BBC personalities and even the public with chants of “It’s coming home!” Many English who never cared about women’s football in the past are now paying attention!

England have been looking like a strong opponent all tournament. However they do have their imperfections. They’ve lost to major opponents early in tournaments. Also they’ve had losses to top-ranked teams in the past 12 months. England will have to be on-target if they’re to win here in France.

United_States_Soccer

United States: In all eight Women’s World Cups, the United States has been present. In all eight Women’s World Cups have they made it as far as the semifinals. In the Group Stage, they appeared invincible in their 13-0 win against Thailand and continued looking impressive with a 3-0 win against Chile and a 2-0 win against Sweden. Then in the knockout rounds, the US appeared to lost its edge after a 2-1 win over Spain in the Round of 16: both goals being penalty kicks delivered by Megan Rapinoe. Also it was Rapinoe who made the most controversy when she took a knee during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner and even said in an interview about a White House-dinner if the team wins “I’m not going to the ******* White House.” It was an intense three days between the whole fiasco and their game against France. The team had since stood with Rapinoe and what she said. What happened against France was the team responded with a 2-1 win: both goals scored by Rapinoe.

The US came as the team with the most expectations to win and has been one team that has best delivered so far. However this World Cup is all about endurance and who is the strongest at the end. The US went all out in the Round of 16 but appeared to give way when they played against Spain. They can’t afford to do that in their semifinal against England on Tuesday. Not after how well England has been playing. Don’t forget they went easy at the 2016 Rio Olympics and found themselves out without a medal.

My Prediction: Last time England played the US, it was this year in February and the result was a 2-2 draw. I anticipate the game will be a 1-1 draw with the United States winning on penalties.

SEMIFINALS #2: Netherlands vs. Sweden

Head-To-Head Stats:

This is the first time the Netherlands and Sweden will meet on the Women’s World Cup stage. They met once before at the Women’s Euro in 2017 where host-nation Netherlands beat Sweden 2-0 in the quarterfinals en route to winning the championship. In total, Sweden has beat the Netherlands more often in the 21 previous times that they met: ten times in total. Six times the Netherlands won while five games ended as draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

Netherlands Football

Netherlands: Isn’t that something how a team that has only competed in their second Women’s World Cup is now in their first-ever semi finals? Actually the Netherlands’ woen’s team was not taken too seriously until they qualified for their first Women’s Euro in 2009. There they finished third and showed that the women’s team has a lot of promise ahead. Back when they made their WWC debut in Canada 2015, they finished in the Round of 16 losing 1-2 to eventual finalists Japan. However the Leeuwinnen have really taken off in success. Back in 2017 when they hosted the Women’s Euro, they won! They would also continue their winning way by topping the 2018 Algarve Cup (based on stats). The Netherlands would be the team that toughed it out in the FIFA playoff rounds for qualifying for this Women’s World Cup.

The Netherlands have overcome a lot to be in this semi. They were successful in winning all their games in the Group Stage, got revenge on Japan 2-1 in the Round of 15 and beat Italy 2-0. They have overcome a lot to prove their Euro win was no fluke. However they have had a history of losing out to key opponents. They’ve lost to teams like Spain, Norway and Poland in the last eighteen months. The Netherlands have done very well together, but they will have to be on if they are going to beat Sweden in the semifinal.

SwedenSweden: While Netherlands are rookies at being in the WWC semifinals, Sweden have been there before. Three times to be exact with the last time being a third-place finish in 2011. Like the US, they’ve also competed in every Women’s World Cup. Here in France, they’ve been showing a lot of great team play and a lot of great play together. That has helped them in every game and even surpass major favorites like Canada and Germany. The one thing about Sweden is that needs to continue its team strength or else it will fall apart. And it has fallen apart in major tournaments in the past, like WWC 2015 and Euro 2017. This game could be Sweden’s triumph or Sweden’s choke.

Sweden are a team that know how to rebound when you least expect it. At the 2016 Olympics, they received their biggest defeat in the team’s history by losing to Brazil 5-1 in group play only to draw against them in the semifinals and defeat them in penalty kicks. Sweden would go on to the gold-medal match, but lose to Germany. The funny thing is it’s at this very Women’s World Cup where they got their revenge on Germany: in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win. Here’s another thing to chew on: Sweden lost in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Women’s Euro to the Netherlands. Will they get revenge here? And if the US win their semi, will Sweden get revenge for group play by beating them in the final?

My Prediction: Sweden may have won against the Netherlands more often, but Oranje have won their last two meetings. Netherlands may ave won all their games, but Sweden have performed better as a team. I predict Sweden to win 2-1 in added extra time.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the 2019 Women’s World Cup semifinals. Hard to believe the final is just six days away! May the best team win!