The 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar came to a close in the most dramatic way imaginable. Argentina lifted their first trophy since 1986 after beating France on penalties, with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe going toe-to-toe in what will almost certainly go down as the best World Cup final in history. But while we take some time to reflect on both the good and the bad events of 2022, we can also turn our attention to the next big thing: the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Everything is lining up for the tournament, which kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on July 20, 2023, to be the most exciting to date, with European champions England‘s in line to threaten the United States women’s national team in their defence of the world crown they claimed in France in 2019.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup kicks off with co-hosts New Zealand facing Norway at Eden Park in Auckland, before co-hosts Australia get underway against the Republic of Ireland in Sydney on the same day. What are the key things to look out for in the buildup? And what will the tournament have in store?
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February playoffs
We can’t talk about the tournament without acknowledging that there are still three open spots, which will each be determined via an international playoff in February.
The playoff tournament will be held in New Zealand as a test event for the World Cup, and will feature 10 teams split into three groups: two groups of three teams, and one group of four, drawn based on their seeding from qualification. Each group is played out as its own mini-tournament, with the winner of each group qualifying for the big show in July.
Group A features a semifinal between Cameroon and Thailand, with the winner playing Portugal in the final. Group B plays host to Senegal and Haiti, who will go head-to-head to determine who faces Chile in their final. Finally, Group C will see two semifinals take place — Chinese Taipei vs. Paraguay, Papua New Guinea vs. Panama — with the winners of each playing off in the final to punch their ticket to the World Cup.
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THURSDAY, DEC. 29
• QPR vs. Luton Town (1 p.m. ET)
• Real Betis vs. Athletic Club (1 p.m. ET)
• Millwall vs. Bristol City (2:40 p.m. ET)
• Blackpool vs. Sheffield United (3 p.m. ET)
• Atletico Madrid vs. Elche (3:20 p.m. ET)
FRIDAY, DEC. 30
• Getafe vs. Mallorca (11 a.m. ET)
• Celta Vigo vs. Sevilla (1 p.m. ET)
• Valladolid vs. Real Madrid (3:20 p.m. ET)
SATURDAY, DEC. 31
• Barcelona vs. Espanyol (8 a.m. ET)
• Villarreal vs. Valencia (10 a.m. ET)
Speaking on their unbeaten run, Wiegman told reporters last week: “You can’t beat that — you can only get equal on that. We want to win every game, but we talk about how we can improve the next game … Of course, we want to break all the records, but breaking a record doesn’t say what you have to do,” Wiegman added.
In an interview with ESPN in November, England and Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze said that women’s football has grown beyond “just one team” when asked about the significance of the USWNT form, adding that the US still have the “wealth and experience” to “know how to win.”
“[The USWNT] are going through a bit of a change at the minute and they also had a lot of players injured who did not play against England or Spain,” she said. “But the thing with the US is you can never rule them out. They have that mentality they have developed over a number of years that the likes of England and Germany probably have not had for as long.
Bronze also noted that while the Lionesses and the USWNT are heavily talked about, there are other nations that will challenge for the trophy in 2023. “Canada [winning] the Olympics, Australia with the home support like England and Netherlands in the last two Euros. So, there are plenty of teams in the running, but [England] will just be focused on what we are going to do, what we can achieve.
“We won the Euros, we have many things we can still improve on. If we can do that, we have a good chance at the World Cup.”
LGBTQ+ rights likely to be highlighted
The 2022 men’s World Cup highlighted significant issues in Qatar ranging from human rights abuses and deaths of migrant workers to suppression of LGBTQ+ rights. The controversies intensified when, ahead of England’s opening match against Iran, FIFA banned countries from wearing the OneLove armband — which eight European nations had agreed on wearing to protest against all forms of discrimination.
It is no secret that women’s football is a more open and inclusive environment, with a number of openly gay players and a culture of activism within the sport. Captains at the 2022 Euros wore rainbow armbands during the tournament in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Australia and New Zealand promise to be more welcoming environment, though it remains to be seen what measures FIFA will put in place for the Women’s World Cup.
