Meet the countries competing for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 | ABC Australia

The largest continent in the

world

Asia has a diverse set of teams that will compete in the Women's World Cup. There will be six AFC

countries

, including Australia, which joined the Confederation in 2006. The Matildas are No. 10 in the

world

and hopes are high. For the co-hosts, although their competition has been described as a nightmare group playing against Ireland, one of Africa's best, in Nigeria and Canada, which won Olympic gold just two years ago, the Tillys won the first major international trophy in the Australian football as part of the AFC in 2010. Asian Cup and now expectations for a home World Cup are high thanks to the influence of one of the country's greatest players and most beloved athlete, Captain Sam Kerr, in the Australian history.

Japan is ranked 11. A powerhouse in

women

's football and highly respected in Asia in 2011, they made history as the first Asian team to win a World Cup final. The win meant her team was taken seriously and participation in

women

's football in Japan grew, not far behind them is China, ranked 13th. Their midfielder Tang Jelly. He has played for both Tottenham and Real Madrid, he will play a central role in the team, especially in the game against England, who are a formidable team. Another big name in women's football is South Korea's Ji, so former FA Player of the Year Yoon is played alongside Sam Kerr at Chelsea and her attacking ability will be needed when South Korea take on Germany.

The Southeast Asian

countries

, Philippines and Vietnam, are the underdogs of the AFC in their debut. The Filipino's historic ranking is due in part to former Matilda coach Alan Stadek. who was fired from that job just before the 2019 World Cup, while women's football in Asia is growing, it has come with its challenges. Women in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to attend football matches until 2018 and women in Iran faced similar bans in 2020. Saudi Arabia finally launched its own women's league, the AFC, although it is trying to build more momentum in Asia organizing tournaments and events across the region to reach girls from Brunei to Indonesia and with this World Cup hosted by Australia, a country that is part of the Confederation, millions more people. are ready to be inspired by seeing everything possible South Africa Morocco Zambia and Nigeria will fly their flags at this year's Women's World Cup for South Africa this could be a historic tournament banyana banyana made its World Cup debut in France in 2019 and did not make it past group stage, but don't let that fool you: they won all six matches en route to being crowned champions of the women's Africa Cup of Nations last year, so their powerhouses on the continent at the moment will be based in New Zealand and is in a group with Sweden, Italy and Argentina, after Morocco, they became the most successful African team in the history of the men's or women's World Cup in Qatar last year with an incredible performance that saw them finish fourth.

Can women get close to the trophy? Well, they are off to a good start and are in second place in the African Zone. They created history as the first Arab team to qualify for the Women's World Cup. Morocco's first match is against Germany in Melbourne. They will also face South Korea and Colombia. Zambia too. a team to watch: they are the first landlocked African country to become World Cup captain and striker Barbara Banda became the first female footballer to score consecutive hat-tricks at an Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Copper Queens also feature Rachel Kundananji, who plays professionally. for Madrid FC Zambia is in a group with Japan, Spain and Costa Rica, 11-time African Cup of Nations champions, Nigeria is the African favorite, the super Falcons are also no strangers to the World Cup, having attended every tournament since it began in 1991, but have only reached the quarter-finals once in the USA in 1999.

They are in the group with Canada, Ireland and the host nation, Australia. Could this be the year an African team goes all the way? We will soon discover that there are 41 countries in Concacaf and six Concacaf countries. The Confederation will count on Australia and New Zealand for the Women's World Cup. United States, Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama and Haiti. The United States is the most successful team in international women's soccer and will once again be one of the favorites for the trophy this year. They won the tournament four times, including the first edition in 1991 and four years ago in France, and have four Olympic gold medals.

They also have some of the most recognizable faces in the sport, including Megan Rapino. I can't believe we're back in the World Cup again it's a bit crazy, this is the best moment of our entire career. Canada is another top contender as the reigning Olympic champion, but they have had a difficult preparation thanks to an industrial dispute with the national federation. Christine Sinclair is playing in her sixth World Cup. She is the all-time top scorer in international football. Women's football is growing in Costa Rica, driven by the host country of last year's U-20 Women's World Cup.

The latest tickers have qualified for their second. World Cup after debuting in Canada 2015. Jamaica, known as the girls of reggae, beat Costa Rica in the match for third place in last year's Concacaf W championship stands out and again a good first touch, the right foot shot just entering to the game converts in the 102nd minute, but they recently wrote an open letter expressing their greatest disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation due to poor preparations for the tournament Haiti secured one of the last three qualifying spots on offer in the tournament playoffs in New Zealand earlier this year;

It is the first time their men's or women's team has qualified and they have one of the best young players in the world Melchi De Mornay, 19, who plays professionally in France for one of the biggest clubs in the world. León Panama became the 32nd and last team to enter the World Cup and also made it through the playoff tournament. The United States and Canada will be the ones who will be watching from this confederation, but who knows what other surprises they will have in store for us. It has 10 member associations, the fewest of the six FIFA confederations.

Brazil, Colombia and Argentina will be the three countries

competing

in this year's Women's World Cup. the clear highlight in South American women's soccer since the Kanarenas have competed in eight World Cups, losing the final in 2007. They also have two Olympic silver medals and have won eight of the nine foreign women's Copper America championships and have one of the best players. of football History of the game Marta, top scorer in the World Cups with 17. The 37-year-old player will play in her sixth World Cup after last year's victory in the men's World Cup in Qatar. Soccer fans in Argentina are at the top and women are hoping to make it to the top two from 2015 to 2017 the team did not play any matches and was not classified by FIFA but things have improved and now they are on the rise with estefania benini of Atlético de Madrid as the highest profile player.

Colombia finally finished runner-up. Women's Copper of the Year America and 18-year-old Linda Kaiseru won the Ballon d'Or and are one of the game's rising stars. Khan Mobile may be small, but the three

competing

countries are ready to prove that they are powerful joint hosts, Altero in New Zealand belongs. The Oceania Football Confederation, or the smallest of the world's six confederations, and tasked with overseeing and developing the game across the South Pacific as co-host, the Football Ferns will compete against Norway in the opening match of the tournament at the Eden Auckland Park before taking In the Philippines and Switzerland in Group A, the fans have never won a match in the World Cup, so the home crowd Advantage is expected to help them advance to the round of 16.

Half of the 32 participating teams will be based in Aotearoa with 29 of In the 64 matches scheduled to be played in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin, when New Zealand automatically qualified for the tournament as co-hosts, there were hopes that the island country Pacific Games to make their World Cup debut, as five-time Pacific Games gold medalists Papua New Guinea were among the immediate favorites despite not playing a match for almost three years, the Lakatoi reached the tournament in World Cup playoffs after winning the OFC Women's Nations Cup hosted by Fiji, but Panama proved too strong for PNG and took one of the three qualifiers.

The World Cup places on offer are still expected to be a big boost for football in the region, especially as interest in the round-ball game grows last month Fiji Solomon Islands Samoa Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia competed in the first Women's Champions League in Port Moresby with the New Caledonia Women's Academy hosting the inaugural tournament, the World Cup has also inspired the OFC to develop the Pacific Legacy

2023

program with the vision of using the tournament as a catalyst for impact both on and off the court and activate a legacy of equality. opportunity for girls and women in the Pacific a legacy that has already been created 12 uefo countries will be represented in Australia and New Zealand for the Women's World Cup, including six of the world's top 10 teams only two European countries have previously won the Norway tournament in 1995 and Germany in 2003 and 2007.

Well, the United States has dominated women's soccer. Europe has become the new power thanks to the rise of domestic leagues across the continent, especially the Women's Super League in England, where most of the matildas play. FIFA President Johnny Infantino. threatened a World Cup television blackout in Europe due to low rights bids which have now been resolved. Football returned home for England women after winning last year's European women's championship. Euro 2022 broke records for attendance and broadcast viewing and a surge in girls and women playing the sport there. The Lionesses are considered the pre-tournament favorites by many, although injuries to some star players have dented their hopes.

Women's Euro runners-up and two-time World Cup champion Germany are another real threat, while Sweden consistently performs consistently after losing one. World Cup final and two Olympic finals It has been a tumultuous preparation for the world numbers five and six, France and Spain, after several French players withdrew from the team due to a fight with their coach, the national federation decided firing the coach just a few months later. At the World Cup, they are now coached by Eva Rana, who guided Saudi Arabia in last year's men's tournament. There was a similar revolt in Spain last year. 15 plays refused to play.

Under coach Jorge Builder, but he remained in charge and some of those players now returning, Netherlands were runners-up in France in 2019, while Norway and Denmark had mixed results in the run-up to the event, but boast class talents world, including Panillah hardware and former Ballon d'Or winner Arda Hegerberg. Italy's best finish in a World Cup reached the quarter-finals four years ago, while Switzerland is making its second appearance in the tournament and Portugal and the Republic of Ireland have qualified for the first time with so many UEFA contenders. that there is a good chance of a European nation lifting the trophy.

August 20