Happiness and relief were the feelings the United States women’s team had walking off the field after a 2-0 World Cup victory over Netherlands in the 2019 World cup. With that title, the US did something that not very many soccer nations can say they’ve done; they won back-to-back World Cups. On July 21, they will start their journey towards a three-peat, something that no women’s team has ever done.
The 2023 World Cup kicked off in the early hours of July 20 with the first host country, New Zealand, beating up-and-coming Norway at 1-0 at 1 a.m. The next game saw the other host country, Australia, beat Ireland 1-0 at 4 a.m.
For the first time in both men’s and women’s World Cup history, the cup is being hosted by two countries. The World Cup is made up of 32 teams broken in eight groups.
Group A consists of New Zealand, Norway, Philippines and Switzerland.
Group B has Australia, Canada Nigeria and Ireland. Group C is Costa Rica, Japan, Spain and Zambia.
Group D consists of China, Denmark England and Haiti. Group E has Netherlands Portugal the United States and Vietnam.
Group F has Brazil, France Jamaica and Panama. Group G has Argentina, Italy, South Africa and Sweden.
Finally, Group H is Colombia, Germany, South Korea and Morocco. This tournament has teams full of superstars, but when it comes down to it, the best team will likely win come August 20.
The two-time defending World Cup champions are led by captains Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan. America will take on Vietnam on July 21 and 7 p.m. Then, on Wednesday July 26, they take on ninth ranked Netherlands.
The United States will finish on August 1 against feisty Portugal, who gave the US a run for their money in friendlies earlier this year. The United States are not the only nation with high expectations coming off a Euro 2022 victory as the England national team looks to put an end to the United States three peat. Led by Midfielder Ella Toone and forward Alessia Russo, England goes into the World Cup with plenty of confidence.
The Spanish national team is home to two-time Balloon d’or winner Alexia Putellas, and is dubbed one of the strongest teams in the World Cup. Aside from the big names in the World Cup, legends, such as Brazil forward Marta, have the chance to make their final goodbye. Marta is playing in her fifth and final World cup.
Marta has played on the Brazilian national team since 2007, racking up 115 goals in 74 appearances. Marta will officially retire from the national team after the World Cup.
The World Cup is filled with excitement, drama, big goals and big mistakes, but the main thing driving the World Cup is the passion for the game. Passion from the players and the fans as for a month, the world stops. All eyes will look to New Zealand and Australia to support their favorite players, their countries and just to watch soccer for a month straight.
The United States will be looking for history, and the rest of the world is looking to stop them. On August 20 in Sydney Olympic Stadium, the host of the World Cup final, the world will see which timeline plays out. Will the United States walk off the same feeling they did in 2019, or will another country feel the joy and satisfaction of a World cup trophy?
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10