This morning in Australia and New Zealand ended the 1st round of the World Cup between women’s teams. The Colombian team beat South Korea 2-0, and then the match between the New Zealanders and the Filipinos opened the second round of the group stage.
The first round featured some great stories.
New Zealand surprise win
The New Zealand team caused a sensation in the first home World Cup game. The goal from one of the country’s leading athletes, Hannah Wilkinson, gave the New Zealanders their first victory in world championships history. And this is his sixth tournament: in 15 games there were 12 losses and three draws. The Norwegian team looked bad, just like at Euro 2022 (remember the Norwegians had to endure their biggest defeat with eight goals conceded). The Philippines lost to Switzerland in the first match.
Eli Riley (New Zealand national team)
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Unlike other groups, these four teams have already played the second games. Now New Zealand lost, and the Swiss and Norwegians did not score goals. And unrealistically confused the situation in the group!
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Group A table
The second host country of the tournament, Australia, also celebrated victory with a minimum score. His first rivals were the Irish footballers who were debuting in the World Cups. The absence of the most famous Australian footballer, Sam Kerr, surprised the field. He should soon recover from an ankle injury sustained in training. Thanks to a penalty converted by Stephanie Catley, Australia took all three points. Canada and Nigeria did not score in the side game.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Table of group B
Penalties and other statistics
In the first matches of the 2023 World Cup, there were a lot of 11-meter shots: 9 were awarded, 5 implemented. Decisions on all penalties awarded were announced by referees with the help of VAR on the microphone of the entire stadium, the FIFA innovation was already tested in the opening match.
This is how it was:
Historical event in soccer! The referee announced his decision to the entire stadium
In 16 games, the teams scored 35 goals and provided 19 assists. And there were 3 withdrawals: in Nigeria, Zambia and Jamaica. The Colombian team, which was accused of playing too hard before the start of the World Cup, still has no red cards.
Mixed start for favorites
In the first round of the last World Cup in 2019, the US team did something crazy: 13:0 in the match against the Thai team. In Australia, the Americans started the tournament more modestly: 3:0 against Vietnam, which made its World Cup debut. The main highlights of the match were 22-year-old Sophia Smith’s brace and Alex Morgan’s missed penalty.
The finalists of the last World Cup, the Netherlands team, also took 3 points in the first round of this World Cup. Stephanie van der Gracht became the protagonist of the match against Portugal, her only goal was the winner.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Group E Table
Before the start of the World Cup, the Spanish team was not a clear favorite: the team is plagued with conflicts and memories of protests against the coach, as well as sad statistics in major tournaments: the Spaniards have never reached the quarterfinals. Before the match with Costa Rica, the national team had only one victory in the world championship, in New Zealand they managed to achieve the second – 3:0. At the same time, the Spanish team delivered 46 (!) shots on goal during the match. One of the main moments of the match was the substitution of Alexia Putellas, who played for the national team in an official match for the first time in a year.
Alexia Putellas
Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
European champions England also faced World Cup debutants Haiti. The victory of the British can hardly be called certain – 1: 0, Georgia Stanway scored a goal from the penalty spot. Melchy Dumornay, a 19-year-old Lyon midfielder, shone in Haiti.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Group C Table
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Table of group D
The French, led by Herve Renard, for whom this World Cup is the second in the last year, could not face the Jamaican team: 0:0. The coach urges not to pay attention to the results of the first matches: “I have already won competitions after drawing the first two matches. I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves. There were a lot of teams that started with a lot of fanfare and didn’t make it to the final.” The Jamaicans celebrated this tie as a victory, which is not surprising considering how the team was going to the World Cup. For the expenses in Australia, the players had to find money even through crowdfunding.
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The Canadian Olympic champion team also failed to score in the first round – 0:0 against Nigeria. The legendary Christine Sinclair had a chance to become the first player in history to score in six consecutive World Cups, but she missed a penalty. Waiting for round 2.
The Swedish team has an expected victory, which was not easy. African Cup winners South Africa managed to win thanks to a 90th-minute goal. Another Scandinavian team followed a similar scenario: Amalie Vangsgaard’s late goal gave Denmark victory over China.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Group G Table
debacles
The Japanese team scored five goals against Zambia. The Zambians’ debut turned out to be one of the saddest of this World Cup, and the red card at the end left the team without the main goalkeeper. Hinata Miyazawa scored twice and became man of the match.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Group H Table
The Moroccan team was going to debut in the world championship in a match against the German team. The two-time world champions, the German footballers, did not feel sorry for their rivals – a 6-0 defeat (including two own goals). The first two goals are a brace from the legendary Alexandra Popp, who continues to score in major tournaments: 6 goals at Euro 2022, a goal in the Champions League final for Wolfsburg. It looks like a title challenge!
How Popp entered the history of the European Championships:
She set a record at her first Euro Cup. It’s time for you to start fanaticizing this soccer player!
The Brazilian team destroyed Panama 4:0. Ari Borges, 23, scored a hat-trick on his World Cup debut. Marta played for about 20 minutes, eventually replacing Borges. For her, this World Cup will be the last and could be a record. If she scores, she’ll be the first (or one of the world’s first, if Sinclair scores first) with goals in six consecutive World Cups.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Table of group F
The youngest and oldest players in the tournament.
Italy added 3 points in the match with Argentina, thanks to a goal by Christiana Girelli in the last minutes. One of the most prominent players on the pitch was Giulia Dragoni, a 16-year-old midfielder for Barcelona B who was nicknamed “Little Messi”. In the same match, 39-year-old Vanina Correa played against Argentina. And the difference between Dragoni and the oldest World Cup players, 40-year-old Onome Ebi and Christine Sinclair, is 24 years.
Colombian Linda Caicedo stands out among the youngsters at the 2023 World Cup. The 18-year-old Real Madrid player scored a goal against South Korea and became the MVP of her first match at the adult World Cup.
Giulia Dragoni in the match Italy – Argentina
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
What games are we watching in the second round?
The second round of the 2023 World Cup will take place from July 25 to 30. The United States and the Netherlands will repeat the final of the 2019 World Cup, while France and Brazil are a poster that you don’t expect to see until the quarterfinal stage.
July 26 Japan v Costa Rica, 08:00 Spain v Zambia, 10:30 Canada v Ireland, 15:00
July 27th United States v Netherlands, 04:00 Portugal-Vietnam, 10:30 Australia-Nigeria, 1:00 p.m.
28 of July Argentina – South Africa, 03:00 England v Denmark, 11:30 China – Haiti, 14:00
July 29 Sweden v Italy, 10:30 France v Brazil, 1:00 p.m. Panama – Jamaica, 15:30
July 30 South Korea v Morocco, 07:30 Germany v Colombia, 12:30
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