Ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we here at For The Win are previewing some key teams to watch in this tournament. Up first is the U.S. women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews here.
The U.S. women’s national team heads to Australia and New Zealand as the undisputed top team in the world. But the road to a third straight World Cup title won’t necessarily be easy.
The USWNT will be welcoming a mix of new faces and familiar veterans to the squad, but it will also be without several key players due to injury. Can they three-peat at the sport’s biggest stage? Only time will tell.
Here’s what you’ll need to know about the USWNT ahead of the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
For just the second time in World Cup history — and the first time for the women’s tournament — the World Cup will take place in two countries with Australia and New Zealand sharing the hosting duties. The multi-host trend will continue in 2026 when the United States, Canada and Mexico host the expanded World Cup.
In all, 10 stadiums were selected to hold matches for this summer’s tournament with six of which being in Australia and four in New Zealand.
Half of the teams at the World Cup have at least one NWSL player
The NWSL may be taking a break during the 2023 World Cup, but a huge number of its players will be taking part in FIFA’s big show.
No fewer than 61 NWSL players made World Cup rosters, spread across 16 different national teams.
“On behalf of the National Women’s Soccer League, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the sixty remarkable athletes who have been selected to represent their respective national teams on the world stage this summer,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in a press release. “This is a proud moment for the NWSL as we witness the impact our players are making at the international level, and I wish every one of them luck as they embark on their journeys.”
The U.S. women’s national team will unsurprisingly pull 22 of its 23 players from the NWSL. That leaves 38 other NWSL players heading to Australia and New Zealand to represent their nations. OL Reign, thanks to Brazil’s late addition of Angelina, lead the league with eight players heading off to the World Cup, while every team has seen at least two players called up for the tournament.
Aside from the USWNT contingent, Brazil and Canada will both be represented by eight NWSL players, while Denmark, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland will have three apiece. There is at least one NWSL player on half of the 32 teams at this World Cup.
Team-by-team, here are the NWSL players going to the 2023 World Cup.
Spain and Zambia are two teams to keep a close eye on in Group C.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is about to kick off, and Group C features Spain as its betting favorite.
Spain’s national women’s team enters this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup with recent controversy affecting its roster. However, the team still has a clear path to advance to the knockout stage after doing the same in 2019.
They’ll be joined by Japan, Costa Rica and first-time contenders Zambia, who will all have a chance to join probable favorites Spain in advancing to the next round.
It remains to be seen how much Spain will be affected by the recent rift between select players and coach Jorge Vilda. However, they’ll enter this year’s World Cup with great odds to advance for further competition.
The Women’s World Cup is one of the most prestigious soccer tournaments in the world.
Since its inception in 1991, only four countries have won the Women’s World Cup after competing in a tournament of a dozen-plus of the best nations in the sport. It’s not an easy trophy to win, but finally climbing the mountain after the weeks-long tournament has to be one of the best feelings in the world.
For the first time in women’s World Cup history, the 2023 field will consist of 32 teams, which is eight more than the previous high of 24 teams from the 2015 and 2019 tournaments.
For those familiar with those previous World Cups, this year’s format isn’t much different. But the new number of teams does change the group stage a little.
So here’s a quick refresher on how a champion will be crowned.
Group Stage (July 20 – August 3)
The 32 teams are broken up into eight groups of four teams (groups A through H). Each team will play the other teams in their group once for a total of three group stage matches per team. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage and the bottom two teams are eliminated.
The knockout stage consists of four rounds, beginning with the Round of 16 on August 5, which leads to the quarterfinals on August 11, the semifinals on August 15 and the final on August 20.
It’s called the knockout stage because winners advance and losers go home. No second chances.
In the Round of 16, each first-place team from the group stage plays a second-place team from a different group, as pre-determined by the below bracket. From there, the winners continue to advance until a champion is crowned.
See what the competition looks like for the USWNT in the group stage.
The 2023 World Cup is just around the corner, less than a month away. Games will kick off on July 20 as the co-host nations – New Zealand and Australia – open the tournament on the first matchday. New Zealand will face Norway in Auckland, and then Australia will take on Ireland in Sydney.
The World Cup bracket features eight groups made up of four teams each, making it a complete 32-team tournament. In each group, the two teams with the best records advance to the survive-and-advance knockout stage.
Before the World Cup gets underway, here’s a closer look at each group.
Captains can’t wear the original, but FIFA has made some knockoffs
FIFA has once again dismissed the possibility of wearing “OneLove” armbands, but at least provided some alternatives for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Soccer’s governing body turned down a request from several European national teams to allow the “OneLove” design on captain’s armbands during the 2022 men’s World Cup. That decision extends to this summer’s women’s tournament, but FIFA has come up with eight options for teams “after consultation with 32 participating teams, players and United Nations agencies.”
The eight captain’s armbands available are all connected to a United Nations (UN) branch, save for one linked to the World Health Organization (WHO):
Unite for Inclusion (UN Human Rights)
Unite for Indigenous Peoples (UN Human Rights)
Unite for Gender Equality (UN Women)
Unite for Peace (UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency)
Unite for Education for All (UNESCO)
Unite for Zero Hunger (UN World Food Program)
Unite for Ending Violence Against Women (UN Women)
Football is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion (WHO)
“It’s not just about what happens on the pitch,” said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura in a press release announcing the armband themes. “We are committed to using football’s power as a force for good and leveraging our partnerships with United Nations agencies to achieve our goals. We want to say thank you. Thank you to the players and the teams for sharing your support, for these causes. United, we can make a difference.”
It is also worth noting that FIFA’s “Unite for Inclusion” armband bears more than a passing resemblance to the actual OneLove armband, which several UEFA countries used in Euro 2020 on the men’s side of the coin.
(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
England captain Leah Williamson had stated at a February press conference that she would like to wear the OneLove armband whenever possible.
“The statement that was made at the Euros with every team participating was incredible, every picture we have with a trophy lift there’s a rainbow armband in there,” said Williamson. “We’re a squad that promotes inclusivity and equality, we obviously have a number of people that feel very strongly about it. It’s not even a question for us.”
This being FIFA, captains and teams can’t simply choose the armband they feel would be best on a given day. Instead, they have to choose between three options: wearing a “Football Unites the World” armband for the entire tournament; picking one of the eight themed armbands and wearing that in every game; or wearing the armband that corresponds with a specific matchday’s theme.
Captains who don’t follow that edict will be subject to being booked, as FIFA considers wearing an armband without approval a uniform violation.
Megan Rapinoe and the squad gets top level intros from musicians, actors, athletes and more.
The Women’s World Cup is set to get underway next month in Australia and New Zealand, and now we know exactly which 23 players will make up the roster for the United States. There is a solid balance of experienced players like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, mixed with some new faces like Emily Fox and Trinity Rodman among those making their first World Cup appearances.
But we got so much more than just a boring roster reveal. A who’s who of celebrities and athletes took part in a video announcing the 2023 team, ranging from superstar musician Taylor Swift to former World Cup champion Mia Hamm.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden kicked the video off before giving way to Issa Rae (Barbie, Insecure), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Shaquille O’Neal, John Cena, Jalen Hurts, Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and many more.
Each star introduced one player, with some — Like Tina Fey announcing fellow University of Virginia grad Emily Sonnett — having personal connections to the player.
The whole video is worth a watch:
𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄!
We asked a few friends to help with this year’s World Cup roster announcement 🤩
