Australia and New Zealand They will be the capitals of the growing women’s soccer from July 20, when the biggest World Cup opens in both countries of Oceania
women’s tournament in history, with the United States as the favorite to retain the title.
A total of 32 teams will meet until August 20 at 10 venues in the two countries in search of the world title, to which the teams from England, Germany and Spain also aspire.
It will also be the first time that the top women’s soccer tournament is held in two countries, and will distribute prizes of $30,000 to all participating players. The premium rises to 270,000 for the members of the winning combination.
The increase in prizes awarded by FIFA points to an effort to equalize the conditions of men’s and women’s soccer, one of the great struggles of women in sport. The tournament will kick off on July 20 with two matches for the host teams: New Zealand against Norway in Auckland and Australia against Ireland in Sydney.
Over the course of a month, the world will be able to watch in action established veterans who reach what could be their last World Cup, such as the Brazilian Marta, 37, and the American Megan Rapinoe, who will be 38 years old for the tournament and who recently announced his retirement at the end of this season.
Together with them, promises of women’s soccer will debut, such as the skilled Colombian Linda Caicedo, 18 years old and signed by Real Madrid. The Ibero-American world will be represented by six national teams, among which Spain stands out as a contender for the title. However, the Spanish team was involved in a crisis when 15 of its members resigned from the national team due to strong conflicts with coach Jorge Vilda.
In the end, three of these 15 players returned to the national team, in addition to Alexia Putellas, the talented midfielder widely noted as the best player in the world today who returns after being seriously injured before the 2022 European Championship.
Brazil and Colombia arrive with renewed teams who aspire to fight in their respective groups in search of advancing to the following phases. Argentina, Costa Rica and Panama appear with lower expectations. The Panamanians are one of the eight rookie teams in a major World Cup for women, along with Haiti, Ireland, the Philippines, Morocco, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia.
the favorites
In the ninth edition of the tournament, the United States team arrives with a record four titles to its credit, in the 1991, 1995, 2015 and 2019 cups, a surprising mark considering that the women’s tournaments began in 1991.
The North Americans arrive in Australia and New Zealand with the expectation of stretching that mark with their fifth crown. USA features a team that combines veterans like attacking captain Alex Morgan and the legendary Megan Rapinoe, with quick and skilled youngsters like Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson.
“We obviously want to go down in history, that would be great,” Alex Morgan recently said of an eventual third consecutive world title for the United States. Three European teams emerge with options to dispute the American hegemony.
England, with their unexpected triumph at Euro 2022, became a contender to reach the final under the guidance of their stellar midfielder Keira Walsh of Barcelona. Germany, winner of the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, arrives with the base of the team that reached the second place in Euro 2022, although it will not have its stars Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann. The third European favorite is Spain, which managed to reincorporate three of the 15 “rebels” who had resigned from the team, in addition to Putellas, although they will still arrive decimated at the World Cup.
AFP
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