The full list of teams that have qualified for the 2023 World Cup includes: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Vietnam and Zambia.
4. Tournament play begins in groups before the competition dies down.
The 32 teams ready to compete will undergo a grueling four-week playing process to fight for a place in the final. Here’s what you need to know: Each team is assigned one of eight groups: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or H. (Team USA is in Group E, which also includes Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam.)
The teams play a match against the other teams in their group. The focus is on accumulating enough points, which are determined by the number of wins (3 points), draws (1 point), and losses (0 points) for each team. The top two teams with the most points from each group advance to the first knockout stage. This is called the Round of 16, so called for the number of teams remaining.
In this stage, the first place team from each group plays against the second place team from another group. The winners of this – the remaining eight teams – advance to the next knockout stage, or quarter-finals. The four winners advance to the semi-finals, then two teams remain standing for the final. Third place is determined in a match between the semi-final losers.
5. USA is looking to be the first team to triple.
Since the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, the United States has dominated the event, winning four titles out of the eight tournaments. They will remain the leaders after the 2023 World Cup regardless of who wins, as second-placed Germany have only two titles.
Still, Team USA are looking to add to their lead, and they’re in a good position to do so: after back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019, they enter the 2023 edition as two-time defending champions and returning favorites. .
However, they will face stiff competition. Canada are back after winning Olympic gold in Tokyo, and England won the European Championship in 2022. The United States is also coming off a disappointing performance at the 2020 Olympics, where they won the bronze.
6. The American captain may be out, but other players are ready to step in.
Just a month before the start of the match, USA captain Becky Sauerbrunn confirmed that a foot injury she suffered in April would prevent her from playing in the World Cup. « I have no doubt that the 23 players on the final list have everything they need – in their feet, their heads and their hearts – to bring home our fifth trophy, » she wrote on Twitter.
Even with Sauerbrunn out, there are still plenty of players to watch in Team USA, including several accomplished stalwarts and some up-and-coming talent:
