FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: Answering the most asked questions – A complete guide
Where is the next FIFA Women’s World Cup take place? How many teams have qualified? As part of a complete guide for the tournament taking place in Australia and New Zealand, Olympics.com answers your most asked questions.
Football
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is just around the corner and the excitement for the football tournament epic is ramping up.
A record 32 teams will battle it out from 20 July to 20 August in venues across Australia and New Zealand to be crowned world champions and lift the World Cup trophy.
With already over one million tickets reportedly sold, the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup is set to be one of the biggest women’s sporting events in history.
Ahead of the first kick-off, here’s everything you need to know about the tournament.
When is the 2023 Women’s World Cup taking place?
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 tournament will run from Thursday 20 July to Sunday 20 August.
The opening match of the tournament will take place on 20 July and will see co-hosts New Zealand take on former World Cup champions Norway at Auckland’s Eden Park stadium. The final is penned for 20 August and will be hosted at Sydney Olympic Stadium in Australia.
You can find a full schedule of the tournament including all the fixtures, start the group stages to the final here.
Where will the 2023 Women’s World Cup be held?
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be held jointly in venues across Australia and New Zealand.
The two countries received hosting rights for the tournament back in 2020. It will be the first time the Women’s World Cup has ever been played in the southern hemisphere and the first time that two countries are sharing the competition.
A grand total of 64 matches will be played across 10 venues in nine cities split between the two countries.
Games in Australia will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. While Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington will host the games in New Zealand.
Who has qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023?
A record 32 teams will contest the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, eight more than 24 that participated in the tournament four years ago.
Eight teams will make their World Cup debut hen the tournament kicks off - Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia.
The first phase of the tournament will consist of a group stage. The 32 teams have been divided up into eight groups of four.
Women’s World Cup 2023 groups:
Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, People’s Republic of China
Group E: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Group H: Germany, Morocco, Columbia, Republic of Korea
What is the mascot for the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
The mascot for the 2023 Women’s World Cup is Tazuni, a 15-year-old, fun-loving penguin.
According to FIFA, the name ‘Tazuni’ is: “a fusion of her home – the Tasman sea – and ‘unity’, a key value of the event’.
Tazuni will be the official mascot for FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.
Who is most likely to win the Women’s World Cup 2023?
The favourites to win the Women’s World Cup 2023 are defending champions, United States who will arrive on the shores of Australia and New Zealand looking to become the first team – men's or women’s - to win three consecutive World Cups.
The job before them, however, won’t be easy with plenty of challengers lying in wait.
2022 European champions England is among the short-list of countries to do well along with former winners Germany, co-hosts Australia led by Sam Kerr and Brazil championed by the legendary Marta.
Which stars will play at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
There will be no shortage of stars at the 2023 Women's World Cup with countries around the world enlisting their best and brightest in order to guarantee a successful tournament campaign.
Here is just a short list of some of the top talent set to take to the pitch in Australia and New Zealand:
- Sam Kerr (AUS)
- Marta (BRA)
- Megan Rapinoe (USA)
- Khadija Shaw (JAM)
- Alexia Putellas (ESP)
- Lucy Bronze (ENG)
- Barbra Banda (ZAM)
- Hasegawa Yui (JPN)
- Lena Oberdorf (GER)
- Rosella Ayane (MOR)