Need to get up to speed with all the key storylines and players to watch ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup? Here, you’ll find all of our experts’ group previews in one place.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is nearly here, with the action getting started on 20 July when co-hosts New Zealand go up against Norway at Eden Park in Auckland.
For the first time ever at a Women’s World Cup, 32 national teams will compete for the trophy after the format was expanded from 24, providing even greater global exposure to women’s football. All will be dreaming of experiencing glory at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on August 20, the location and date of the final.
It will also be the first Women’s World Cup co-hosted by two nations; Australia get their campaign started on 20 July as well against the Republic of Ireland, one of eight countries debuting at this year’s tournament.
The United States will be the favourites, though. Not only are the USWNT defending champions, they are top of the FIFA World Rankings heading into the tournament and find themselves in a group most will expect them to cruise through to the knockout stages. The Netherlands, runners-up in 2019, hope to push them all the way in the first round but are without star striker Viviane Miedema, the Arsenal forward missing out due to injury.
England reached the semi-finals four years ago, losing out to the USA. Since then they’ve gone to another level having won the UEFA European Women’s Football Championship, which was secured with a 2-1 win over Germany after extra time last year. But head coach Sarina Wiegman cannot call upon several key players.
For full, in-depth breakdowns on the storylines and players to watch during the tournament, you can find our first four group previews below. That’s not all – we’ll be providing unique data-led content throughout the tournament at Opta Analyst, right from the start of the group stage, across the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and all the way to the final.
But first, the groups…
New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
England, Haiti, Denmark, China
Group E:
USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Group F:
France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
Group G:
Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Group H:
Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea