One of our resident content producers, Charlie, was lucky enough to be in attendance for the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia. So now the dust has settled on what proved to be a very eventful and historic few weeks for women’s football, we asked her to sum up her thoughts on the tournament. Take it away Charlie:
With the Women’s Super League (WSL) now kicked off, let’s talk about the record-breaking World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and how it’s set up domestic leagues across the world to thrive and grow.
It’s no secret to anyone that knows me, that I’m a tad fond of women’s football and regularly go to a mix of WSL, Women’s Championship and international matches. So, it’s no coincidence that I booked my trip to Australia to see friends to coincide with the final week of the 2023 World Cup. After a couple of nights of being up at 3am trying to get tickets for the semi-final and final in Sydney with work the next morning (if you’re my manager, you didn’t see this), a visa problem that almost meant I couldn’t get on my plane at Heathrow and missed the Australia v France penalties (thanks America), 38 hours of travelling in total, and g’day later… I landed in Sydney two days before England were set to face off against the hosts Australia in the semi-finals.
I’m getting a bit ahead of myself though because so much happened in the tournament in the weeks leading up to me actually experiencing World Cup matches in person for the first time. And I, like millions of others, was watching closely from back home, and enjoying just how much the game has grown. And in the most dramatic and exciting way, from the first game to the final game, this was the most unpredictable tournament I’ve watched.
From the very first group game, it was clear that things probably weren’t going to go how most people thought it would. And I don’t necessarily mean Spain’s eventual win as they were always top contenders and likely to go far in the knockout stages. But rather, I’m referring to the historic first time World Cup win for hosts, New Zealand, the early exit from the tournament by two-time world champions Germany, as well as other early exits from strong nations like Canada and Brazil.
Rising Above Expectations ⬆️
It always feels good to root for the underdogs, but when nobody even recognises you as such until you’re on the world stage, it feels like a surprise to everyone until they see you out there, performing like one of the best teams. I briefly mentioned those early exits from strong sides at the tournament. And even though some groups were packed with top national teams with strong and healthy squads, it didn’t mean anything until the day of each match, when you needed to be at your best.
Without doubt, many teams in the tournament underestimated others or went immensely underestimated. Jamaica, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa each shattered expectations by making it out of the group stage and into the Round of 16, with Columbia going as far as the quarter-finals against England. There were a few “batterings”, but some European teams with lots of international experience lost by large scorelines, not dissimilar to those who were appearing in the World Cup for the first time!
The gaps are closing and it’s good for many established sides to now acknowledge that they need to build more experience playing those they have limited experience with. If England gets the chance to host the Arnold Clark Cup again, bring in opposition like Jamaica, like Nigeria, because only by playing them will we truly start to learn to adapt to different playing styles and respect that there is world-class technical ability everywhere. WSL clubs! You need to scout and watch these teams too because there’s so much talent out there we could bring to our league! You just got to pay attention.
Young Talent ⭐
It’s not unusual to see very young players fielded in big tournaments like the World Cup in the women’s game. Sam Kerr (Australia & Chelsea) and Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands & Arsenal) were 17 and 19 respectively when they took on their first World Cup tournaments. And there’s always some of those young players that leave fans with the biggest impressions and excitement for how their careers may play out. Safe to say for Miedema and Kerr, it hasn’t gone too bad, but what about this year’s young talent?
Here’s 3 young players from the World Cup that I am personally looking forward to seeing grow and develop.
Linda Caicedo – Colombia
Colombia’s standout player from the tournament was the 18 year old Real Madrid player who gave us one of the best goals in their group game against Germany. An inspiring individual who fought ovarian cancer at the age of 15 to reach what she’s achieving now. I don’t think she’s going to slow down at an international or domestic level any time soon.
Giulia Dragoni – Italy
Sixteen . . . and her World Cup debut for Italy made her the second-youngest player of the entire tournament. Despite Italy’s group stage exit, the young midfielder was a stand out performer when brought on to the pitch against experienced opposition. After signing for Barcelona’s B-team earlier this year, Dragoni has been promoted to Barcelona’s treble-winning first team, whilst remaining on the B-team roster. Most recently, Italy’s form has drastically improved with a new head coach installed. Beginning with a 2-1 win against Switzerland and a narrow 1-0 loss to Sweden in the Nation’s League
Esmee Brugts – Netherlands
Brugts, 20, has found herself as a regular member of the Starting XI for Netherlands as of late, after limited playing time during the Euros in 2022. It was amazing to see Brugts play strongly in all matches at the World Cup, bagging a couple of goals in the process. I’m not the only one who has noticed the talent this young Dutch player has, as she has since signed for Barcelona. Brugts, along with her Dutch teammates Victoria Pelova (Arsenal) and Wieke Kaptein (On loan at FC Twente from Chelsea) are key players for the future of Netherlands.
GK Union 🧤
OUTSTANDING!
Honestly, I think that perfectly sums up how, not just myself, but many viewers this summer, felt about the standard of goalkeeping during the tournament. From start to finish it was goalkeepers that were often the difference between 3 points or none at all, and nine different goalkeepers bagged POTM awards for their performances between the group stages and quarterfinals.
By now it’s no secret that England’s own Mary Earps (Manchester United) won the Golden Glove award after she held strong throughout the whole tournament. England tied with Sweden for least goals conceded of the four teams who played 7 matches total.
Here are three goalkeepers (other than Mary Earps, cause I’m biased anyway) that personally impressed me at the world cup and I am excited to see more of:
Chiamaka Nnadozie – Nigeria
Whilst not unknown to me, I hadn’t really seen Nnadozie in action for Nigeria outside of a couple of pre-tournament friendlies. Even though Nigeria were knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties, that doesn’t diminish the workrate Nnadozie has between the posts. Whether it be for Nigeria or her club, Paris FC, I am so looking forward to seeing this 22 year old grow in her field. Oh, I did forget to mention that she’s only 22, and whilst she’s generally acknowledged as the best keeper in Africa, I have no hesitation to state that she’s one of the best on the world stage. Her recent performance in Champions League qualifiers against Arsenal only prove that.
Daphne van Domselaar – Netherlands
Another young goalkeeper who has already taken on the role as first choice goalkeeper for her national team despite only being 23. van Domselaar first became known to me when I attended the Sweden v Netherlands group stage fixture at Bramall Lane for the Euros in 2022. Starting goalkeeper and Netherlands’ No.1 at the time, Sari van Veenendaal, was forced off due to injury early in the match with van Domselaar replacing her for the rest of the tournament. Whilst I remember her fondly from that tournament, because I’m not as aware of many players in the Dutch league, it’s this year’s World Cup where she impressed so many and making it clear why Aston Villa signed her to fill in the gap left by Hannah Hampton. They’ve definitely caught a keeper……
Zećira Mušović – Sweden
The Swedish goalkeeper had only 7 starts across all club competitions for Chelsea in 22/23 but was the main keeper for Sweden in the World Cup. Just go watch the highlights for Sweden v USA and that should tell you everything you need to know. Mušović remained solid till the third place match against Australia and there’s not much reason to not consider her more for Chelsea’s starting no.1 position after this tournament if she remains consistent.
Special Mention: Mackenzie Arnold – Australia
I had to give a shout out to Macca. Longest. Ever. PENALTIES. I unfortunately was too busy dealing with a visa crisis followed by getting through airport security as fast as possible when these penalties were occurring. But I was receiving the most dramatic updates from a France-supporting friend reporting every save, miss and scored penalty from the France v Australia quarter-final. A wonderful GK in the WSL (already saving a penalty from Chloe Kelly in the WSL’s opening weekend), and yet sometimes I wonder if she’d get more world recognition at club level if she wasn’t at West Ham. It’s lovely to see Macca’s dedication to her club as the newly named Captain.
Best Matches 🤩
This section will be quick and not too in depth as I feel these choices speak for themselves so, here are my personal Top 3 matches from the World Cup.
- Australia 1 – 2 England (Semi-Final) – I’ve been to many home games in England where we’ve won, including the semi-final against Sweden in the Euros but NEVER have I felt a stadium shake and roar like when Sam Kerr scored the equaliser for Australia. Maybe because I was there to experience it, but it was the goal of the tournament for me. It was the end of the pitch near me where Ella Toone also scored in the first half, and I reckon I’ll never forget this game. I’ll also never forget the nerves I had the entire time, or the joy of England making it to a World Cup Final for the first time (and definitely not the train drama that happened afterwards, that left so many fans stranded)!
- USA 1-1 Netherlands (Group Stage) – From the competitiveness of the two previous World Cup finalists, to the on-pitch battles between players like Lindsey Horan (USA) and Danielle Van Der Donk (Netherlands) who both play for Lyon. This entire game, whilst having its issues on both sides, was just so entertaining for me. Having more goals would have definitely made it better, but it was always a struggle to see a clear winner between these two giants of women’s international football.
- Colombia 2-1 Germany (Group Stage) – I’ll admit I never expected it. Even though Colombia had been going strong in the group, I thought Germany would pull out their best players who had spent other games on the bench. And ultimately, Germany, together with Columbia, would go through to the Round of 16. But that wasn’t to be the case, after Caicedo’s amazing goal in the 52nd minute, to an equalising penalty for Germany in the 89th minute, and the swing back to Colombia’s favour in stoppage time! What a game of football. Made even worse for the German side when they found out about Morocco’s 1-0 win against South Korea, meaning they didn’t have enough points to progress. I think it was after these group games when for the first time I truly thought, I have no idea who is actually going to win this tournament anymore.
Future Competition and Growth 📈
At the end of the day, this tournament broke everything from expectations to records and was an amazing lens into truly how far the game has come in the last few years. I think the Euros last year gave us a glimpse of what could be, and I only hope we continue on this upward trajectory of recognition and growth. With teams now thrown into their own qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics followed by more qualifiers (such as for Euro 2025), I do believe it’ll be crucial for teams to compete outside of their regions more. It’ll be just as important to prepare against the likes of Jamaica, Nigeria and Columbia as it is the USA, Germany, Spain or Japan. Sadly, with another European based competition, this will be difficult to find time to do for European teams with the Nation’s League taking up international breaks till February, and then onto Olympics and European qualifiers. But I hope coaches do their best to change this and choose their oppositions smartly for future friendlies.
I think mostly, I’m so happy for the host nations. Two nations who are primarily known for rugby and not football have now massively embraced a whole new set of amazing role models in sport for young girls. Ultimately that’s what I’m most proud to see. With signups to local football clubs increasing in Australia and many Matilda fans stating their intention to follow the WSL and different leagues, where many Australian players are based. This is how the game grows. The tournament as a whole was a success for me as a fan despite England’s defeat and I’m very gracious to the hosts for their welcome and celebration of women’s football this summer.
There’s so much more to go into, particularly the knock-on effect of the World Cup on interest in club football and how competitive this season will be, but I’ll sign off for now and rant about that after a few weeks of the league and see where we are. The first games famously mean very little. Chelsea lost their first game of the league last year and then went on to win both the league and the FA Cup, so let’s see how we get on, cause the only way on from here for women’s football has to be up!