The FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in New Zealand, is rapidly approaching; the first matches will begin on July 20.
More than a million tickets have already been sold, and it is expected to be one of the biggest international sporting events ever as well as the most attended single women’s sporting event in history.
Everything you need to know about the Women’s World Cup is provided below, including information on purchasing tickets, the favourite teams, prize money, who will be broadcasting the games, and the venues.
When and where is the World Cup?
From July 20 through August 20, Australia and New Zealand will host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
There will be ten stadiums used for the games spread among nine host cities, including Sydney Football Stadium, Melbourne’s AAMI Park, and Sydney.
The opening games will take place at Eden Park in Auckland between New Zealand and Norway, and at Stadium Australia between Australia and the Republic of Ireland.
The final will be held on August 20 at Stadium Australia, with each of the host nations hosting a semi-final.
Who are the favourites?
This Women’s World Cup has 32 teams, eight more than in 2019.
The United States and England are regarded as the top competitors, followed by Spain, Germany, France, and finally Australia.
The USA won the following two championships after losing in a penalty shootout in 2011, giving them four of the eight championship trophies awarded since the women’s competition began in 1991. They now hold the top spot in the FIFA rankings, and if they win the World Cup once more this year, they will become the first nation to do it in either the men’s or women’s competition.
The absence of Beth Mead, Leah Williamson, and Fran Kirby, three key players for the defending European champions England, who are all out with ACL injuries, will be a big blow to their prospects.
While Norway and Japan each had one World Cup victory, Germany has won two.
Since losing the 2018 Asian Cup final (they had previously won the Asian Cup in 2010), Australia has never advanced past the quarterfinals of a World Cup or the semifinals of a major competition. One of their best displays was at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where they came in fourth place after losing the bronze-medal match to the United States.
Along with the Football Ferns, the Matildas will benefit from playing at home, although only the USA have ever won the competition at home.
How will the tournament unfold?
The event consists of five phases: the group stage, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the championship match.
After the group stage, the top two teams from each group move on to the round of 16, where the matches are knockouts.
Australia is in Group B and is competing against Canada, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland. If they win the group, they will compete against either China or Denmark, who finished second in group D.
At Stadium Australia, the World Cup championship game will take place on August 20.
What is the prize money?
The prize pool for this year’s competition will be the highest of any Women’s World Cup, totaling $226 million, of which $163 million will go to player compensation. This is five times the amount offered in 2019 but just a third of what the men received in Qatar in 2022.
The winning team will receive $6,386,000, and each of its players will receive $402,000. Each club will receive at least $2,322,000 for qualifying, and every player will receive at least $44,000
