On July 20, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand, running through to the August 20 final at the Sydney Olympic Stadium.
This edition of the Women’s World Cup – the ninth of its kind – will see an expansion of participating teams from 24 to 32, ushering in a wave of debutant nations and boosting the chances of an upset for the top-ranking nations.
Still quite some way out from the opening game’s kick-off, it’s clear that those in soccer betting circles are gravitating to the USWNT at +225 in the outright markets.
Before the most prestigious tournament in women’s soccer gets underway, here’s your guide to the 2023 World Cup.
What are the Key Dates of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
These are the key dates for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that Canadian soccer fans should circle on their calendars:
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July 20: New Zealand vs Norway (Opening Game)
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July 21: Nigeria vs Canada
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July 26: Canada vs Republic of Ireland
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July 31: Canada vs Australia
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August 5: Round of 16 Begins
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August 11: Quarter-Finals Begins
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August 15: Semi-Finals Begins
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August 20: 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final
Which Nations are Going to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Listed per the groups that they’ve been drawn into, these are the 32 nations set to battle for the World Cup in July:
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Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
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Group B: Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Republic of Ireland
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Group C: Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, Zambia
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Group D: China, Denmark, England, Haiti
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Group E: Netherlands, Portugal, United States, Vietnam
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Group F: Brazil, France, Jamaica, Panama
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Group G: Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Sweden
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Group H: Colombia, Germany, Korea Republic, Morocco
The #FIFAWWC 2023 Groups are set! 🙌
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) February 23, 2023
Which one is the most exciting? 😁 #BeyondGreatness
Which Stadiums Will Host Games for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Hosting duties have been dealt to ten stadiums in nine different cities, with Sydney pulling the double stadium deal in Australia. As you can see in the list below, there are six host stadiums in Australia (the top six), and four in New Zealand.
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Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide (13,327 capacity)
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Land Park, Brisbane (56,851 capacity)
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Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne (28,870 capacity)
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Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth (13,932 capacity)
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Stadium Australia, Sydney (69,314 capacity)
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Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (38,841 capacity)
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Eden Park, Auckland (40,536 capacity)
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Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (24,243 capacity)
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Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (16,271 capacity)
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Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (31,089 capacity)
Who are the Reigning Women’s World Cup Champions?
The reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champions are the United States. In 2019, the USWNT powered to the final to beat the Netherlands 2-0, making them back-to-back winners.
In the entire history of the tournament, which began in 1991, the US has never failed to return with anything less than a bronze medal, winning the trophy in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019 but falling short of Japan in 2011.
Canada has broken into the final brackets once. In 2003, Canada made it to the Third-Place Playoff game but lost 3-1 to the US in Carson, California.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) July 7, 2019
Congrats, @USWNT! #LaGrandeFinale | #USANED🇺🇸🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/YgrovxrBAa
Who are the Favourites to Win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
The United States is the favourite to win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at +225, coming in as the reigning back-to-back champions while sitting clear atop the FIFA World Rankings.
In those rankings, Germany, Sweden, and England quite closely compete for the second spot. Yet, England at +300 are second-favourites in the betting, with Spain at +600 and then it’s +700 Germany just behind.
Who are the Dark Horse Contenders for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
At +600 – good for third in the odds – Spain is the leading dark horse to take the crown. That said, there’s a lot of support bubbling for Sweden (+1800), Brazil (+2800), and Japan (+2800).
Alexia Putellas – arguably the best in the world – and Aitana Bonmatí – perhaps the top performer in Europe this season – underpin the stacked Spanish squad, and the fact that the former has successfully recovered from her ACL injury only bodes well for La Roja.
Sweden remains one of the most well-drilled teams in Europe, and Japan has a knack for upsetting the odds with their tactical, relentless style of play.
Canada certainly shouldn’t be underestimated despite the national team’s +4000 odds of taking the title from their southern neighbours.
Ashley Lawrence, Jessie Fleming, and Kadeisha Buchanan are all playing at an absurdly high standard in Europe, while Christine Sinclair continues to refuse to age, and Kailen Sheridan is a CONCACAF Golden Glove winner.
A couple of 2022 @ConcacafW Awards for @CANWNT 🇨🇦
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) July 19, 2022
Kailen Sheridan is named Best Goalkeeper while Julia Grosso is named Top Goal Scorer!#WeCAN pic.twitter.com/LUBTWz3kyV
How Can I Watch the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup from Canada?
In Canada, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS. If you can’t catch the game live, you’ll be able to get waves of extended coverage from Canada Soccer on their official social media platforms.
What’s the Time Difference between Canada to Australia and New Zealand?
The time difference from Canada to a World Cup game will vary because the host nations are so vast. In terms of time zones, games will be taking place from the UTC+8 time zone all of the way over to UTC+12.
As an example, a game in Sydney (AEST) at 8 pm local time will be taking place at 6 am in Toronto (EDT).
While the USWNT remains the hot favourite, with England just behind, in the expanded tournament, Canada will be feeling at least a little optimistic about their prospects at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
