2023 Women’s World Cup: What to Expect from the Historic Tournament
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be the ninth edition of the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by women’s national teams and organized by FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and is scheduled to take place from July 20 to August 20, 2023. It will be the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to have more than one host nation, and also the first senior World Cup to be held across multiple confederations, as Australia is in the Asian Confederation, while New Zealand is in the Oceanian Confederation. In addition, this tournament will be the first to feature the expanded format of 32 teams from the previous 24, replicating the same format used for the men’s World Cup from 1998 to 2022.
The opening match and opening ceremony for the first-ever co-hosted women’s tournament will take place on July 20, 2023 at New Zealand’s Eden Park in Auckland. The final will take place on August 20, 2023 at Sydney Olympic Stadium in Australia. The tournament will be played in nine host cities at ten stadiums across Australia and New Zealand. The host countries will split the remaining group-stage fixtures, with New Zealand hosting five further matches in Auckland, seven in Wellington, six in Dunedin and five in Hamilton. Australia will host six group-stage fixtures at the Sydney Football Stadium, with Perth and Brisbane both hosting five and a further four each taking place in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The round-of-16 matches will take place from August 5-8, with Stadium Australia hosting its first match of the tournament. A further five will take place in Australia and the remaining two matches will be played in New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington). The quarter-finals are split between the two hosts, with matches in Auckland, Brisbane, Wellington and Stadium Australia. Both Australia and New Zealand will also host one semi-final each at Stadium Australia and Eden Park respectively, while the match for third place will take place at Brisbane Stadium, Australia.
The United States are the defending champions, having won the previous two tournaments in 2015 and 2019. They are also the most successful team in the history of the competition, with four titles and eight appearances in the final. They will face tough competition from other top-ranked teams such as Germany, France, England, Netherlands, Sweden and Brazil. The hosts Australia and New Zealand will also hope to make an impact on home soil, as well as newcomers such as Costa Rica, Panama and Zambia.
Speaking about the announcement of the match schedule FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said:
> “The ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 32 teams competing in 64 matches hosted by Australia and New Zealand, will be extremely special. The announcement of the eagerly awaited match schedule today adds to the excitement around the tournament and we are looking forward to seeing the nine Host Cities and ten stadiums that will set the stage for women’s football to go Beyond Greatness.”
Australia’s Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said momentum was building as the countdown to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 continues.
> “The tournament will embody the nation’s passion for women’s football and provide Australians with the opportunity to watch, and be inspired by, the best footballers in the world,” said Colbeck.
New Zealand’s Minister for Sport Grant Robertson said hosting a FIFA Women’s World Cup was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
> “This is a chance for us to showcase our country on a global stage – not just our sporting talent but our culture, our people and our values,” said Robertson.