There are less than 24 hours until the opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup as co-host New Zealand will face off against Norway. It's a tournament of firsts as it'll be the first time the women's cup is hosted in two countries — with a newly expanded field of 32 teams.
Here's what to know as the world's best in the sport of football/soccer pursue the biggest title in the world.
1) Get ready for early days and colder temperatures
This is technically an off-pitch thing yet still important. Catching the first and subsequent matches will require many naps taken, caffeine ingested, and alarms set.
Take the opening match for example: New Zealand vs. Norway is at noon in Auckland — 3 a.m. ET. Next up is Australia vs. Ireland at 8 p.m. in Sydney — which is 6 a.m. ET. Despite the time differences, organizers want a record two billion viewers for the 2023 edition. That would be double the audience who watched the 2019 World Cup in France.
The 2023 edition of the Women's World Cup marks the first time too that this tournament is held in the Southern Hemisphere. For a brief geography lesson, it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere right now so this is the first winter Women's World Cup.
Players will likely be more bundled up than normal and it will not be out of the question to see snow.
2) 'Three-peat' within sight for the USWNT but not a guarantee
The major storyline coursing through the World Cup is if the U.S. women's national team can win three World Cup titles in a row- a feat not done in either the men's or women's tournament.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski is given the difficult task of inheriting a back-to-back World Cup team with a target on their backs. And the U.S. has won four of the eight Women's World Cups so far and hasn't finished worse than third place.
But they've had a strange journey: winning the World Cup, but losing at the Olympics. They won the 2019 World Cup in France, then took home the bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Vlatko and Co. also only have nine returning players from their victory four years ago. They're arguably younger than previous iterations and that might be a fatal flaw for them.
In addition, the gap that normally exists between the USWNT and the rest of the world is also closing. England, Spain, Germany, France, and Australia (throw in Japan too) are chomping at the bit to be the shock upset.
3) Big nations with big injury bug problems
Leading into this World Cup, the injury bug has hit many of the top contenders.
For the USWNT, much-needed veterans were left off the roster due to injuries, including Becky Sauerbrunn, Samantha Mewis, and Christen Press. In her final World Cup, Megan Rapinoe recovers from a calf injury, and midfielder Rose Lavelle is recovering from a knee injury.
There's a much longer list of those missing out on the World Cup. England is missing midfielder Fran Kirby as she undergoes surgery and striker Beth Mead is out after rupturing her ACL. The Dutch will be without the best striker in Europe as Vivianne Miedema is out with an ACL injury. And the French squad has been decimated in recent months. Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Amandine Henry, and Delphine Cascarino all out with ACL injuries and a calf injury respectively.
The World Cup is missing some of the sport’s biggest stars because of a knee injury epidemic. No one can say for sure why it’s happening, or how to fix it. But fingers crossed it doesn't happen to more during the tournament.
4) Expanded field and expanding interest
In another first, the Women's World Cup has 32 teams- matching the number that play in the men's. Arguably the bigger impact the expansion will have on this World Cup is the amount of travel that teams are going to have to endure.
This World Cup has joint hosts and oddly enough, it's not as far apart as most think. Perth, on Australia’s west coast, is a little under 3,300 miles from Wellington, the furthest east of the host cities in New Zealand. That distance is just under 200 miles shy of London to New York.
Teams also will not have to go between the two countries, at least not during the group stage. Moving into the knockout stage, that might be a tougher feat.
In terms of interest, it's safe to say that the Women's World Cup is only going to grow more due to the rising enthusiasm for women's soccer/football. Attendance records, TV viewership, and club transfer fees have all been shattered. The women's game is hitting a fever pitch with fans across the globe. In case anyone also didn't notice, Australia and New Zealand are sports-crazy countries.
Count us in for excitement and upsets.
5) There's no shortage of TV-worthy drama
As with any big sporting event, there's always going to be drama, whether it's on or off the pitch.
For Brazil, it's going to be all about Marta, Marta, Marta. She's one of the world's best-known soccer players in the world. So much so that Marta has been named world player of the year six times. Yet she's never won a World Cup title. At 37-years-old she's recovering from a knee injury and this very well may be her last shot.
Canada will also be in the spotlight. Canada Soccer is facing massive financial difficulties, including bankruptcy. Back in February the women's national team also threatened a boycott at February's SheBelieves Cup over pay equity and resource issues. They played after legal action was threatened.
There's also the great armband debate. The rainbow ‘One Love’ armband ban was a hot topic during the 2022 men’s World Cup. In June 2022, FIFA announced they were going to give players a selection of approved armband options to highlight a variety of different issues. They range from gender equality to indigenous people, peace, and ending hunger, while another celebrates the sport of football itself. Nothing explicitly for LGBTQ+ support.
It's going to be a Women's World Cup for the ages. It's time to get your coffee, wash your kits, and don your country's colors.
It's showtime folks.
Don’t miss out on our other Women’s World Cup previews:
Group Previews: Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H
USWNT World Cup Previews: Quest for a Three-peat | Megan Rapinoe's Swan Song
Be sure to return to Philly Sports Network for more on Women’s World Cup content
Follow our Women’s World Cup team on Twitter:
Tim Lovenguth | Regina Ham | Paul Frenzel | Jimmy King | Liam Jenkins
Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, AP Photo/Kin Cheung, AP Photo/Josie Lepe, AP Photo/Rui Vieira, AP Photo/Martrin Mejia, & AP Photo/Francisco Seco
