The 2023 Women’s World Cup begins Thursday and teams are getting ready to kick off the action.
These daily files will give you the latest reporting from around the 2023 World Cup as well as betting lines, what to watch for information and best reads. Check in with ESPN throughout the tournament as we bring you the latest from Australia and New Zealand.
Today’s edition: the World Cup is here! Both host nations began their tournaments and there are already talking points galore — for example, the news that Sam Kerr will be out for Australia’s first two games. Here’s what you might have missed overnight and what to watch for on day two of the competition.
THE LEAD: New Zealand off to a historic winning start
Canada happy to fly under the radar
MELBOURNE/NAARM, Australia — Though arriving in Australia as reigning Olympic champions and ranked seventh in the world, Canada has somewhat surrendered the spotlight to group opponents and host-nation Australia during the build-up to the WWC. Their opener against Nigeria might not be getting the same prime-time kickoff or grandiose stage at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, but it’s a low-key opening that suits Bev Priestman, Christine Sinclair and the rest of the Canadian squad just fine.
“The teams in our group, I think they will see us where they need to see us,” Priestman said Thursday. “But you read things from around the world and I do think that absolutely this team, the world-class players that we’ve got, some of the greats, aren’t talked about enough.”
Heading into an astounding sixth World Cup — experience she admits still doesn’t do much to temper any nerves — and having finally broken through at a major international tournament with gold in Tokyo, Sinclair hopes that those winning vibes are set to become a habit, even if it might take the rest of the world a bit of time to catch on.
“Around the world, we’re still overlooked, which is fine by us,” she said. “We were overlooked heading into Tokyo and we showed the world what we were capable of.” — Joey Lynch
MATCH PREVIEWS
How do you stop Alex Morgan?
The U.S. forward is seemingly unstoppable on the big stage. We talk to some players who’ve had to defend her in the past about what it’s like going toe-to-toe with the goalscoring legend.
USWNT camp report: Rookies leaning on veterans
A whopping 14 U.S. players in the squad have never played a World Cup game before. Lucky for them, there’s a wealth of experience in the squad to help keep them grounded.
Why are so many Women’s World Cup stars missing due to torn ACLs?
The list of absentees is depressingly long. Why is this long-term injury so much more prevalent in the women’s game?
AND FINALLY…
Even before their World Cup opener, host nation Australia had apparently made waves off the pitch for their merchandise. Nike confirmed Wednesday that the Australian women’s team have sold more official jerseys ahead of the 2023 tournament than the men’s team managed around the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar last November/December.
Ashley Reade, the boss of Nike Pacific, believes much of that buzz is down to their star striker, Chelsea forward Sam Kerr.
“I think she is one of the biggest athletes in the world already,” Reade said in The Australian Financial Review. “She would be right up there, without question, as one of the most marketable athletes in the world.”
