Tag: World Cup

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Japan

Meet Japan’s women’s national team.

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. Next up is the Japan women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

Japan’s women’s national team is now a decade removed from winning the FIFA World Cup.

But it isn’t unreasonable to think it could potentially return to glory with a triumphant run during the upcoming tournament. While this is a younger team, it still has players with experience winning at the biggest stages on the roster.

Japan is currently considered a sneaky choice to potentially win the whole tournament. It has the 11th-highest ranking among all teams to qualify, and the second-best odds (behind Spain) to win Group C.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Japan in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

Where each team in the 2023 World Cup ranks, from top (USWNT!) to bottom

USWNT is on top again. But what about the other 31 teams?

The 2023 World Cup is finally here, folks. Yes, somehow, it’s been four years since the U.S. Women’s National Team took home the cup. It’s time to see if they’ll be able to run it back.

The United States is at the head of the competition with FIFA’s No. 1 overall ranking. But the competition is stout this year with teams like Germany, Sweden and England not far behind. Australia might have the best player in the world in Sam Kerr, and it only ranks 10th overall globally.

As far as where everyone stands heading into this year’s World Cup, here’s a look at where every participating team currently ranks.

RELATED: The complete USWNT schedule, from group stage to another possible final

World Cup 2023: What are the time zone differences in Australia and New Zealand?

A look at the time differences in Australia and New Zealand.

If you’re in the United States and planning to watch the 2023 World Cup over the next few weeks — which, of course you are — one major thing you’ll want to be aware of is the time differences of the host nations.

From the first game on July 20 to the final on August 20, World Cup matches will take place in 10 different stadiums across Australia and New Zealand. And aside from the obvious time difference compared with the U.S., there are also smaller time differences between some of the different venues.

Here’s a quick rundown of those differences, using Eastern Time and Pacific Time as reference points for the four different time zones in which games will occur.

Australian Western Standard Time: Perth Rectangular Stadium (Perth, Australia)

  • 12 hours ahead of ET
  • 15 hours ahead of PT

Australian Central Standard Time: Hindmarsh Stadium (Adelaide, Australia)

  • 13.5 hours ahead of ET
  • 16.5 hours ahead of PT

Australian Eastern Standard Time: Brisbane Stadium (Brisbane, Australia), Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (Melbourne, Australia), Stadium Australia (Sydney, Australia), Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney, Australia)

  • 14 hours ahead of ET
  • 17 hours ahead of PT

New Zealand Standard Time: Dunedin Stadium (Dunedin, New Zealand), Eden Park (Auckland, New Zealand), Waikato Stadium (Hamilton, New Zealand), Wellington Regional Stadium (Wellington, New Zealand)

  • 16 hours ahead of ET
  • 19 hours ahead of PT

MORE WORLD CUP:

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Nigeria

Meet Nigeria’s women’s national team.

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. Next up is the Nigeria women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

One of the sleeper teams at the 2023 World Cup is Nigeria.

Although this isn’t a powerhouse, the Super Falcons have some star power that could make them a competitive team and surprise some fans in the World Cup.

Nigeria, however, doesn’t enter this tournament with tremendous momentum right now. It has the eighth-lowest ranking among all teams to qualify, and it’s the biggest underdog in its group.

But there are still reasons to believe that the Super Falcons could pull off some upsets.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Nigeria in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team England

The Lionesses are missing some key players in the World Cup, but Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and co. might be enough.

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. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

Ranked fourth in the latest FIFA World Rankings, England is projected to win its group at the 2023 World Cup and go deep into the tournament.

But will the Lionesses be able to endure the losses of Euro 2022 Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner Beth Mead and captain Leah Williamson? Both crucial players will miss the World Cup due to injuries.

The good news is that England is still armed with Rachel Daly, Alessia Russo, Keira Walsh, Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone and Lauren James, each of whom have proven to be reliable creators of scoring opportunities at the club level.

Fresh off winning the 2022 Euros, England has momentum. Will it be enough to carry it to its best World Cup finish ever?

Let’s take a closer look at the Lionesses.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

Ranking all the uniforms at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, starting with Jamaica’s Wales Bonner collab

Adidas and Nike both did a tremendous job with some of these looks for the 2023 World Cup.

The 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will feature some of the most talented players in the world representing their nations.

While the play on the field is exciting, so too are the jerseys that each player will wear for their country. Sometimes an extension of the flag and national identity, it’s fascinating to see how each design manifests for each team.

The criteria was mostly vibes-based but it has to include a holistic grade for both the home uniform and the road uniform. So if one is good and one is not so good, the arbitrary score we have for each design was dropped.

We felt that it was important to share the mission statement behind each design, so we’ve also included some of the details shared by each apparel brand to help provide more context for each jersey.

Hyperlinks are provided as available to learn more about each.

Note: We have seen a home jersey for Switzerland and a home jersey for Morocco (both Puma brands) but no away uniforms unveiled yet. We will add both nations to these rankings once we have seen their road uniforms.

Otherwise, these are our full rankings of the best jerseys at the 2023 World Cup.

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Canada

Christine Sinclair is primed to shine in what could be her final World Cup.

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. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

The Canadian women’s national team heads to Australia and New Zealand as FIFA’s seventh-ranked team in the world. But the defending Olympic gold medalists have their sights set even higher in what could be legendary forward Christine Sinclair’s final World Cup. Sinclair could cap a truly epic career with a win on the biggest stage there is — but there’s more to this team than just the all-timer leading it.

Here’s what you’ll need to know about the Canadian national squad ahead of the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Australia

Sam Kerr is must-watch, but can the co-hosts of this World Cup survive the Group of Death?

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. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

The spotlight is on the Matildas in this World Cup.

Australia is co-hosting the tournament for the first time ever – along with New Zealand– and expectations for the squad have never been higher. The team is powered by one of the best scorers in the game today, Chelsea star Sam Kerr, and the group is coming off an impressive fourth-place finish at the Olympics in 2021. That was the Matildas’ first major tournament under head coach Tony Gustavsson, who was hired in 2020. Gustavsson was an assistant coach for the U.S. when the Americans won World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

The Matildas have advanced out of the group stage in their previous four World Cup appearances. They’ll be expected to at least do that again while playing on home soil, but it won’t be easy.

Let’s take a closer look at the Australian national team.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Brazil

It’s likely the final World Cup for Marta. Can Brazil finally break through under the tutelage of Pia Sundhage?

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. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

Is this the year Brazil finally breaks through?

For the past decade or so, Brazil – led by the legendary Marta – has often dazzled in the group stages of the World Cup, only to fizzle out before reaching the semifinals. Since finishing as runners-up to Germany in 2007, the Brazilians reached the quarterfinals in 2011 – where it lost to the USWNT in penalties – and the Round of 16 in 2015 and 2019.

Brazil returns to soccer’s biggest stage this summer in Australia and New Zealand. The team is coached by Pia Sundhage, who played in a pair of World Cups, coached the American women to two Olympic Gold Medals and a runner-up finish in 2011, and Sweden to an Olympic silver and a Round of 16 appearance in the 2015 World Cup. Sundhage is the first European to coach the team. Last year, the team won the Copa America and didn’t concede a single goal in the tournament.

Sundhage now guides Brazil in what will be the sixth – and likely final – World Cup for 37-year-old Marta. The hope is that the team sends her off with some hardware.

Let’s get to know the team a bit better.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Argentina

Meet Argentina’s women’s national team.

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. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

It’s World Cup time, and that means the top players in the world are getting ready for their sport’s biggest stage. The 2023 World Cup officially begins Thursday, July 20, including games featuring Australia and New Zealand, the two host countries.

Argentina, however, won’t play its first game in the group stage until Monday, July 24 against Italy. The team, nicknamed La Albiceleste, is looking to advance out of the group stage for the first time after losing a heartbreaker to England in 2019.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Argentina in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)