Veronica Kuropatkina
WFC Zenit Defender
I will not open America if I say that in terms of level, organization, participation, bonuses, number of participants, etc., this is the most important world championship among women’s teams. And the teams show it every time they take the field. Yes, of course, there are five or six teams that have not scored a single point. But! Even Haiti (World Cup debutants) with 10 million people fought in matches with England and China. At least we could score, at most, take points. He only conceded two goals, both from penalties.
Thus begins a new era of women’s football, which is already evident to all. And it will no longer be possible to deny it or not to recognize women’s football (in our country).
The best matches are when the one who did not bet wins or leaves the group. Here’s an example: Colombia beat Germany – 2:1. It’s a shock, it’s an emotion! My dad (a big soccer fan, especially female soccer) said that Colombia’s game is the best he has seen in this World Cup so far.
And Jamaican! Argentina – Jamaica – no longer 5-0, as in the song. Now the realities are different: Argentina goes home and Jamaica, with the first victory in the World Cup, one scored and zero goals conceded, goes to the playoffs. Sending home the legend of legends, the forever young Brazilian Martha Red Lips. I saw her live once, but I didn’t dare to take a photo after the game. And in vain, more than such an opportunity, probably, will not present itself.
It’s a shame that legends like this stop playing in tournaments like this, but that’s life. In general, a whole dynasty of top-level footballers from different countries is leaving now. And young stars appear. But this is something completely different, inexplicable. It can be compared to the situation in men’s football, with Ronaldo and Messi. Conventional younger prospect players such as Holland and Mbappe also score a lot, also win trophies, make unimaginable feints at high speed, and play in top teams. But still, the sensations are somehow not the same… There is no sensation of magic. Probably, we all need time to get used to new faces, or stars of this level have not yet been born to replace the current ones.
Martha
Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
And, of course, the Japan-Spain match. I prefer Spain, but the way the Japanese play should be in the textbooks. And show how football is played as second figure with 23% possession and four incredible goals on counterattacks. I feel very sorry for one of the host teams of the tournament, New Zealand. It would be great if they made the playoffs, there wasn’t enough goal difference.
I really liked the teams from Ireland and Argentina. And the Panamanian team was able to score three goals against France! Yes, they lost 3:6, but think about it, the team from Panama (PANAMA!) scores three goals against France.
In principle, you can tell a lot of interesting things about each team, but then you get a book. There are already many surprises in this World Cup, and there may be more in the playoffs.
Japan women’s team
Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Everyone learned not only to defend themselves, but also to play football, that is, to play. He plays from the gate, opens the opponent’s defense, makes great combinations in one or two touches. Women’s soccer has really become more interesting to watch. I have been a big fan since childhood, but to be honest, I only started watching women’s football two or three years ago.
To be honest, I’m rewriting the paragraph about the playoffs for the third time, because first, it means, Brazil gets knocked out, and then Germany. Well, what are the miracles in this tournament? I think those feelings are the main indicator of the progress of women’s football around the world. From South Korea to Jamaica and Morocco.
The round of 16 matches will be as intriguing as possible, because everyone who came out is very strong. It’s hard to make predictions, but for some reason it looks like there won’t be any big scores. The Swiss team with a low defensive block will play with Spain which, as we have seen, is not very good at opening up the rival’s saturated defense. But suddenly tiki-taka will help them in this match.
In the Japan-Norway match, a standard and the growth of the Scandinavians can decide everything and, perhaps, the nimble Japanese footballers will once again make three counterattacks and score three goals. I will support them in this World Cup, they really hooked me with their game (3 games – 3 wins, goal difference – 11:0).
Sweden and the United States: no need to comment here, the poster speaks for itself. You cannot miss a single game, there are few left. Unfortunately.
USA team
Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
He said little about China, which we, the Russian women’s team, met recently. Even in the training camp, there was a feeling that China was under pressure or that you could really play with them. The World Cup showed that they were not under pressure yet. Now they are rebuilding the team, a lot of young players, I would like to point out number 19: Zhang Lingyan.
When I think that the Russian team could be there too, I get goosebumps… It’s hard to say how we would have performed there, but there is a feeling that we would have left the group behind. Considering that we beat Portugal and eliminated them in the play-offs for a ticket to the European Championship, and she forgave the United States in the last minutes (apparently for all her previous merits), hitting the post, then we would definitely have pretty big possibilities.
Veronika Kuropatkina
Photo: RFU
In women’s football the main thing is psychology. The pendulum can always swing one way or the other. You can go out as the favorite and get screwed, or you can be the one that nobody bets on and cause a sensation. Read how the Danish men’s team won the 1992 European Championship. I will intrigue you with the fact that they were not supposed to go there, and they were all taken away from vacation, and there were only 10 days to prepare.
Let’s see which one of me is Paul the Octopus, but it seems to me that the top three teams in the World Cup will be from different continents. And what does it mean? And what is unknown is which is better: to be tall and powerful, like almost everyone in Europe, or as disciplined and tenacious as possible, like the representatives of Asia. Or maybe you just need to be born with crazy genes and wreck everyone in your path due to natural qualities. There is no answer to this question and there never will be: that is why football is interesting.
So let’s all gather on the screens and watch the WOMEN’S World Championship! The playoff round begins on August 5.
Match schedule for the 1/8 finals:
August 5Switzerland v Spain, 08:00 Japan v Norway, 11:00
6th AugustNetherlands v South Africa, 05:00 Sweden v USA, 12:00
August 7thEngland v Nigeria, 10:30 a.m. Australia v Denmark, 1:30 p.m.
August 8Colombia v Jamaica, 11:00 France v Morocco, 14:00
How Jamaican did it:
This hasn’t happened in 28 years! Sensational departure of Brazil from the World Cup in Jamaica
