Women’s World Cup 2023: All Set For Crunchy For Semi-Finals

The two knockout matches will be played on August 15 and August 16.

Spain, Sweden, Australia and England have never won the Women’s World Cup before. We make the case for each team going all the way to lift the trophy.

It is now certain that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ will have a first-time winner. All the teams that have previously won the tournament have already been eliminated in the current edition: Germany fell in the group stage, USA and Norway said farewell after the round of 16 and Japan left the competition in the quarter-finals. In other words, a new country will be at the top of the women’s game at the conclusion of Australia & New Zealand 2023.

Spain

• FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking: 6
• Women’s World Cup appearances: 3 (2015, 2019 and 2023)
• Best Women’s World Cup performance: 2023 (Semi-finals)

Spain v Netherlands | Quarter-finals | FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023| Highlights

Watch the highlights from the match between Spain and Netherlands played at Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington / Te Whanganui-a-tara on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 1:00 PM (local time).

Road to 2023 semi-finals:

• Spain 3-0 Costa Rica (Group C)
• Spain 5-0 Zambia (Group C)
• Japan 4-0 Spain (Group C)
• Switzerland 1-5 Spain (Round of 16)
• Spain 2-1 Netherlands AET (Quarter-finals)

Spain has been an emerging power in women’s football in recent years. Although they have never qualified for the Olympics, the senior team are in their third Women’s World Cup (their first was in 2015) and have already celebrated winning the U-20 world title in 2022.

At senior level, the trophy is still missing – this is the first time Spain have reached the semi-finals. However, despite never being champions, anyone who thinks that this Spanish team is not star-studded is sorely mistaken.

La Roja can point to having the winner of the 2021 and 2022 The Best FIFA Women’s Player in Alexia Putellas, the UEFA Women’s Champions League player of the season for 2022/23 in Aitana Bonmati and centre-back Irene Paredes – also voted into the team of the season for the latter competition. The list of renowned performers does not stop there, however, with the aforementioned Hermoso, currently playing her club football in Mexico, sparkling at Australia & New Zealand 2023™.

Sweden

• FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Cup Ranking: 3
• Women’s World Cup appearances: 9 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023)
• Best Women’s World Cup performance: 2003 (Runners-up)

Japan v Sweden | Quarter-finals | FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights from the match between Japan and Sweden played at Eden Park, Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 7:30 PM (local time).

Road to 2023 semi-finals:

• Sweden 2-1 South Africa (Group G)
• Sweden 5-0 Italy (Group G)
• Argentina 0-2 Sweden (Group G)
• Sweden 0 (5) -0 USA (4) (Round of 16)
• Japan 1-2 Sweden (Quarter-finals)

Of the six teams left in the competition, Sweden are undoubtedly the most traditional. The European side have reached the podium three times; they were runners-up in 2003, when they were beaten by Germany in the final, and have finished third twice, in 1991 and 2011.

Sweden’s history with the Women’s World Cup goes back a long way, having hosted the tournament for the second time in 1995. Curiously they crashed out in the quarter-finals after losing on penalties to China PR – further proof of the curse that often frustrates tournament hosts.

The Swedes’ path to the 2023 semi-finals has been a bright one. They qualified top of Group G and have already knocked out defending champions USA and Japan, who had been flawless up until the point, in the knockout stages. An eventual title would crown a campaign worthy of toppling giants.

Australia

• FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking: 10
• Women’s World Cup appearances: 8 (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023)
• Best Women’s World Cup performance: 2023 (Semi-finals)

Australia v France | Quarter-finals | FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights from the match between Australia and France played at Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane / Meaanjin on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 5:00 PM (local time).

Road to 2023 semi-finals:

• Australia 1-0 Republic of Ireland (Group B)
• Australia 2-3 Nigeria (Group B)
• Canada 0-4 Australia (Group B)
• Australia 2-0 Denmark (Round of 16)
• Australia 0 (7)-0 France(6) (Quarter-finals)

With the exception of the first one in 1991, Australia have participated in every other edition of the Women’s World Cup. The Matildas now have some of the world’s top stars and the support of a key 12th player during matches: the fans.

Sam Kerr is the big star of the current squad and is capable of drawing large crowds of young players who dream of being like her. This is not a team suffering from Kerr-dependency, however, as she only recently returned from injury and has seen her team-mates find ways to win largely without her.

By beating France in the quarter-finals, Australia have already achieved their best result in Women’s World Cup history. Until then, the team had collected four quarter-final appearances (2007, 2011, 2015 and 2023).

England

• FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking: 4
• Women’s World Cup appearances: 6 (1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023)
• Best Women’s World Cup performance: 2015 (Third place)

England v Colombia | Quarter-finals | FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights from the match between England and Colombia played at Stadium Australia, Sydney / Wangal on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 8:30 PM (local time).

Road to 2023 semi-finals:

• England 1-0 Haiti (Group D)
• England 1-0 Denmark (Group D)
• China PR 1-6 England (Group D)
• England 0 (4) – (2) 0 Nigeria (Round of 16)
• England 2-1 Colombia (Quarter-finals)

England are the European champions and have a wall in goal in Mary Earps, one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

A common belief is that one learns the most after a defeat, and England have learned enough from their semi-final exit in 2015. Now, after a hard-fought win over Colombia in the quarter-finals, they are looking to finally win the tournament and put a gold medal alongside the bronze they won that year. The clash with hosts Australia promises plenty of excitement in Sydney.

One obstacle will be doing so without Lauren James, one of England’s key players who will miss the semi-final due to red-card suspension. Sarina Wiegman’s side have proved that they can adapt to setbacks, however, and are tactically flexible, which should serve them well in the face of a partisan crowd.