July 18, 2023
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This Thursday (July 20), the world’s top women’s football players will gather in Australia and New Zealand to compete in the 9th FIFA Women’s World Cup (FIFA Women’s World Cup).
This will be the largest Women’s World Cup ever, and we take a look at some interesting facts about the tournament on and off the pitch.
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two first time
For the first time in history, the Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted by two countries, with neighboring Australia and New Zealand hosting it. The final will be held in Sydney, Australia, while the opening ceremony will be held in Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition, this is the first time in the history of the Women’s World Cup that 32 teams will participate, which is the largest in history.
This is due to the unanimous approval of the FIFA Council to increase the number of teams participating in the Women’s World Cup from the previous 24 to 32 under the proposal of FIFA President Gianni Infantino in 2019. .
At that time, some people questioned that the “army expansion” may affect the level and excitement of the Women’s World Cup, but Infantino said when announcing the decision, it was a “solid step” to “promote the development of women’s football”.
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Under the new competition system, 8 national teams were able to enter the Women’s World Cup finals for the first time. They are Asian teams Philippines and Vietnam, CONCACAF Haiti and Panama, European teams Portugal and Ireland, and African teams Morocco and Zambia – the latter also the first time the country has entered the men’s or women’s World Cup.
At the same time, the total prize money of this Women’s World Cup is also the highest in history, reaching 150 million U.S. dollars, which is three times higher than that of the Women’s World Cup held in France in 2019-but it is different from the Men’s World Cup held in Qatar last year. There is still a lot of difference in the prize money of the US$440 million Cup.
A history of “evolution”
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In 1991, the first Women’s Football World Cup was held in China. The picture shows the opening ceremony of Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium.
This is the ninth Women’s World Cup in history. The first tournament was hosted by China in 1991. It was called the “FIFA Women’s World Football Championship” at the time, and it has been held every four years since then.
There were 12 teams participating in the first tournament, and the US team defeated Norway 2-1 in the final to win the first championship. The U.S. team is currently the team that has won the most Women’s World Cup titles, four times in total.
In the first tournament, each women’s football game lasted 80 minutes, which was 5 minutes shorter than the men’s football half. The same thing is that each team is allowed two timeouts in each game, each for two minutes-but the runner-up German team in that session rejected this “experiment” and did not use a timeout in the entire tournament.
Brazilian Claudia Vasconcelos became the first female referee of a FIFA match in 1991.
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Three female referees in the 1991 Women’s World Cup finals (from left): Linda Black (New Zealand), Vasconcelos (Brazil), Zuo Xiudi (China)
Four years later, in 1995, Swedish referee Ingrid Jonsson became the first woman to referee a FIFA final. By 1999, FIFA began to use all female referees to enforce the law in the Women’s World Cup.
In terms of participating teams, the Women’s World Cup has experienced three “army expansions”: in the 1999 World Cup held in the United States, the participating teams increased from 12 to 16 teams, and in the 2015 Canadian Women’s World Cup, the number of teams increased to 24. This year it increased to 32 teams.
Who is the favourite?
The four-time champions USA are undoubtedly the favorites to win this World Cup – they are not only the current No. 1 team in the world, but also the winners of the past two Women’s World Cups.
In Australia and New Zealand, they will challenge for an unprecedented three-peat World Cup.
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Team USA will be fighting for an unprecedented three-peat World Cup.
The team has such powerful and experienced top stars as Alex Morgan (Alex Morgan) and Megan Rapinoe (Megan Rapinoe). There was an overlord’s aura.
However, since successfully defending the title four years ago, the US team is going through a period of transition: Carly Lloyd (Carly Lloyd), the main force of the previous two championships, has retired; there are only 9 players in the previous championship team They are still in the team, and 6 of them are over 30 years old; in addition, several key players have left the team due to injuries-Alex Morgan said in an interview with the BBC that this defending journey will be “extremely important” for the US team. The most physically challenging thing.”
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England won the Women’s European Cup last year.
England is also one of the favourites. They not only came to this competition with the honor of last year’s European Cup champion, but also defeated the US team at home in October last year, ending the unbeaten record against the US team in recent years.
The German team, which only lost to England in overtime in the European Cup final last year, is regarded by many media as the favorite after the United States and Britain. Alexandra Popp (Puppy), who was in form in last year’s finals but was absent due to injury, will hope to lead the team to a comeback.
In addition, Spain, with two-time world player Alexia Putellas (Pedillas), has home advantage and player of the year Sam Kerr (Carr). Australia, as well as Canada, which won the women’s football gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, are also considered teams capable of producing surprises.
Players to Watch
The Women’s World Cup, which has the most teams participating in the history, is full of stars, and they may become key figures in the journey of their respective teams in this tournament.
Sam Kerr (Carl), Australia, 29
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The captain is the most high-profile player in the host team. Not only was she the country’s all-time leading scorer, she even represented Australia as flag bearer at King Charles’ coronation. Playing for the Premier League Chelsea (Chelsea, Chelsea) women’s football team, she is currently the highest-paid women’s football player in the world and is expected to become one of the protagonists of this competition.
Alexia Putellas (Pedillas), Spain, 29 years old
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The midfielder, who has won two consecutive Ballon d’Ors for the best player in the world and has won seven league titles and the Champions League with FC Barcelona, is widely regarded as the best women’s player in the world. In addition, she had disputes with the Spanish Football Federation over the treatment of female players.
Ada Hegerberg, Norway, 28 years old
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Hegerberg (right) scored 43 goals in 76 appearances for Norway despite being away from the national team for five years.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner and one of the best players in recent years has won eight French league titles and two Women’s Champions Leagues. He refused to represent the national team for five years because he protested the unfair treatment of the women’s team by the Norwegian Football Association. He will start playing for the country again in the 2022 European Cup.
Alex Morgan, United States, 34 years old
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The striker, who scored 121 goals in 207 international matches, angered British fans with her “drinking tea” celebration after scoring a goal in the semi-finals four years ago. Now she still has the strength to lead the US team to the championship again. Her voice has been instrumental in the fight for equal pay for the U.S. women’s soccer team and in forcing FIFA to drop plans to sponsor the World Cup with Saudi Arabia.
Keira Walsh (Keira Walsh), England, 26 years old
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Walsh (right) is a key figure in England’s Euro 2022 triumph.
England’s midfield metronome, player of the year in last year’s Women’s European Cup final. Her leadership role in the England squad is also all the more important in the absence of captain and best friend Leah Williamson due to injury.
Alexandra Popp, German, 32 years old
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The German captain played 128 games for Germany and scored 62 goals.
If she hadn’t been absent due to injury, the result of the women’s European Cup final last year might have been very different. She has scored in every appearance in the European Cup in 2022. Her header ability and physical strength make her the most lethal striker.
Marta, Brazil, 37 years old
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The veteran, who has been plagued by injuries over the past 12 months, will be participating in his sixth World Cup. As the top scorer in the history of the Brazilian national team, she is regarded as the women’s football version of Ronaldinho (Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho) or even Pele (Pele, Billy). Her experience will be invaluable in the Brazil squad.
Asisat Oshoala (Osuana), Nigeria, 28 years old
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The striker, who has 83 goals in 89 league appearances for Barcelona, will be key for Nigeria. She has won two consecutive championships in the Chinese Women’s Super League, and also won the Women’s FA Cup for Arsenal (Arsenal); in 2015, she became the best female footballer of the year selected by the BBC while playing for Liverpool.
Wendie Renard (Wendie Renard), France, 32 years old
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The defender and captain, a 15-time winner of France’s top flight and eight Champions League honors, said at the start of the year that he would miss the World Cup to protect his mental health, but his return after the manager’s sacking gave France a big boost morale.
Pernille Harder (Harda), Denmark, 30 years old
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The attacking midfielder made the world’s most expensive move in women’s football in 2020 and has already been named European Player of the Year twice. In this year’s England Women’s FA Cup final, she helped Chelsea turn defeat into victory.
Saki Kumagai, Japan, 32 years old
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In terms of Asian players, the captain of the Japanese team has played for many top European clubs and is also the first Asian player to score in the UEFA Champions League final. She is the only current member of Japan’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad.
This offensive player was once called the “Chinese female Messi” by the outside world and currently plays for the Louisville Athletic Women’s Football Team in the United States. She scored 5 goals in the Asian Cup last year and helped the Chinese team win the championship. With two World Cup experience, she will be one of the key players in the Chinese team.
Do you know the nicknames of each team?
The women’s football teams of many countries have their own nicknames in media reports and fans’ cheering fields.
In the 1999 World Cup, the Chinese women’s football team was dubbed “Clanging Rose” because of Sun Wen, Liu Ailing and other generations of stars who shined and won the runner-up. It comes from the name of a popular song sung by Lin Yilian back then, and it is still used today.
The Japanese team, which has won the World Cup, is nicknamed “Nadeshiko Japan” (Nadeshiko Japan). The flower, which symbolizes purity and toughness in Japan, stood out in 2004 when the country publicly called for team names for the women’s soccer team.
Australia, one of the hosts of this year, has more nicknames for its men’s and women’s national teams than its official name. The Australian men’s football team is called “Socceroos” because it is a variation of the English words “football” and “kangaroo”, while the women’s football team is nicknamed “Matildas”, which comes from the English name Matilda, because it was Australia’s 1982 host England. The name of the kangaroo mascot at the Commonwealth Games.
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The Chinese team has been called “Clanging Roses” since 1999.
The women’s football team of another host country, New Zealand, is called “Football Ferns (football ferns)”, which is also inspired by the country’s logo.
The nickname of the England women’s football team is similar to the “Three Lions” of the men’s football team, but it has been changed to “The Lionesses”. It was set by a former marketing manager of the English Football Association 20 years ago.
The Brazilian women’s football team is nicknamed “The Canaries”, while the Norwegian women’s football team is known as the “Grasshoppers”.
In contrast, the U.S. team and the German team, which have won more championships, have relatively common nicknames, which are the abbreviations “USWNT” and “Die Nationalelf (National Eleven)” respectively.
Off topic
Four years ago, 28 U.S. women’s soccer players jointly filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Association on gender discrimination and unequal pay for equal work. Finally, a settlement was reached last year, and the U.S. Soccer Association won $24 million in compensation.
That World Cup was called the most political Women’s World Cup in history, and the U.S. team that won the championship in this context was also described by the media as the champion with the most political and social issues in the history of the Women’s World Cup. team.
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Morgan sparked controversy after scoring against England in the semi-final.
However, the problem of unequal pay for equal work between men and women is far from being fully resolved.
The host Australian women’s football team released a video ahead of the World Cup publicly criticizing the unfair distribution of FIFA bonuses, a move supported by the Australian Professional Players Association.
Although the prize money for the Women’s World Cup has tripled this year, it is still far below the Men’s World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino mentioned earlier this year that he hopes to achieve parity in the men’s and women’s World Cup prize money around 2026-2027, but there are currently no concrete measures to force FIFA to achieve this goal.
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Fifa has allowed only limited expression of social issues during the Women’s World Cup.
Another controversy is about the rainbow armband.
FIFA banned national captains from wearing “One Love” rainbow armbands at last year’s Men’s World Cup in Qatar, intended to support equal rights for sexual minorities.
Before the current Women’s World Cup, countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands participated in FIFA’s consultation on related issues. In the end, this move was still not allowed in this tournament.
FA chief executive James Johnson said the outcome of the consultation “fell short of our expectations”.
In this competition, the captains of each team can choose to wear armbands related to social issues, but they must choose from eight social issues approved by FIFA.
They are: inclusion, indigenous people, gender equality, peace, education for all, zero hunger, ending violence against women violence against women), and football is joy, peace, love, hope and enthusiasm.
2023-07-18 10:44:41
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