Zac Electrifly

This was the Philippines, Vietnam, Morocco, Zambia, Haiti, Panama, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup.

In the group stage, Switzerland won Group A. The cohosts Australia won Group B. Japan won Group C. England won Group D. The Netherlands won Group E. France won Group F. Sweden won Group G.Colombia won Group H. Norway, Nigeria, Spain, Denmark, the defending back to back champions United States, Jamaica, South Africa, and Morocco all advanced to the elimination stage. The cohosts New Zealand, the Philippines, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Zambia, Costa Rica, China, Haiti, Portugal, Vietnam, Brazil, Panama, Italy, Argentina, Germany, and the Korea Republic were all eliminated in the group stage.

New Zealand being eliminated was a big deal as they were the cohosts with Australia. Canada being eliminated was a big upset. Nigeria making it past the group stage was surprising. I did not think China would be eliminated in the group stage. The defending back to back champions United States not winning their group was a little bit of an upset. Brazil not making it out of the group stage was another upset. Italy didn’t make it out of the group stage either which was another upset. The biggest news and or upset is that Germany did not make it out of the group stage.

Switzerland, Australia, Nigeria, Japan, England, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Jamaica, and Sweden finished the group stage undefeated. Japan, England, and Sweden were the only teams to win all three of their group stage games. Japan scored the most goals during the group stage. Haiti and Vietnam were the only teams to not score in the group stage and therefore the entire tournament. Vietnam allowed the most goals with 12. Switzerland, Japan, and Jamaica were the only teams to not allow goals in the group stage. Japan had the highest goal differential with 11. Vietnam had the lowest goal differential with -12. Seventeen teams had positive goal differentials. Only two teams had a zero goal differential. Thirteen teams had negative goal differentials. Portugal, Brazil, and Germany were the only three teams eliminated in the group stage with a positive goal differential. South Africa advanced with a zero goal differential. New Zealand was eliminated with a zero goal differential. The only team to advance with a negative goal differential was Morocco.

The biggest shutout win in the group stage was on August 1st when the Netherlands beat Vietnam 7-0. The most goals in a single match during the group stage was nine when France beat Panama 6-3 on August 2nd. There was ten straight games where at least one team did not score. There was only one game in the first twenty games of the tournament where both teams scored. Thirty six of the forty eight group stage matches saw at least one team not score. Seven of those matches saw neither team score.

The United States started the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam. They looked liked they needed improvement but got the result they wanted. They followed that up with a draw against the Netherlands. A lot of the same issues that were present in the Vietnam match were still there in the Netherlands match but it was not the end of the world. The United States finished up the group stage with a draw against Portugal. The United States were not improving. All of their issues were the same ones we had seen since game one. They did not look good going into the elimination stage.

Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the United States, England, Nigeria, Colombia, Jamaica, Australia, Denmark, France, and Morocco were in the elimination stage. Spain and England made it to the final. Spain won the final 1-0 over England. Switzerland had an early exit. South Africa didn’t put up much of a fight. Norway was another first round exit. The United States were upset. Nigeria gave England a run for their money. Jamaica were just barely eliminated. Denmark found themselves on tthe losing end of a shutout. Morocco didn’t put up a fight either. The Netherlands fell in a close game during the Quarterfinals. Jaoan also fell in a close Quarterfinals game. Colombia were eliminated in another close game. In the closest game of the Quarterfinals France were eliminated in a game that went to a penalty kick shootout. Sweden lost a close game in the Semifinals. Australia wasn’t able to make it past the Semifinals either. Sweden beat Australia 2-0 in the match for third place.

Like majority of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 the Final was very close. Spain upset everyone. They were the only team that did not win their group to advance past the Round of 16. It is ver fitting that England did not score as for most of the tournament at least one team did not score. The biggest winin the elimination stage was Spain winning 5-1 over Switzerland iin the Round of 16 on August 4th. Nine of the sixteen elimination stage games saw at least one team not score. Only three games went to penalty kick shootouts. The lowest scoring game of the elimination stage was on August 7th during the Round of 16 when England and Nigeria went to pwnalty kicks. England won that game 0(4)-0(2).

The United states were eliminated in the Round of 16. They were eliminated after a defeat from Sweden in a game that went to penalty kicks. It was the closest game I had seen in a long time. Replay said the ball went in on the final Sweden shot. It was only a blade of grass in. The naked eye could not have seen that it went in. Ultimately it didn’t matter. The United States had not scored a goal in regulation time since their second group stage game. The reality is that they just could not overcome their on field issues. They were not improving and did not have what it took to win. It is very disapointing and the worst result the United States Women’s National Team have had. It is not the kind of result that a back to back champion should have. This is also the first time the United States has finished below third place. It is an embarrassment. On the positive side of things though the coach has stepped down. several players have also now retired. I expect a big shake up with the coaching staff and roster as they prepare for the 2024 Olympics.

Overall I am disappointed at the result from the United States. That is largely what the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be remembered for. It is cool that Spain won. I am glad England did not win. Spain had an amazing journey to winning it all. I do think that FIFA seems to have rushed expanding the tournament from 24 to 32 teams. I understand why they did it. More teams is further opportunities for finical growth and the growth of women’s soccer. However I do not think the sport is ready for this kind of growth. Teams like Vietnam were being obliterated. With so many games ending with teams not scoring and the tournament turning into first team to score wins it did not feel like a fair tournament. Not to say that to needs to be completely fair but their are currently large gaps in talent amongst women’s soccer that was on full display during this tournament. I am not sure that is what should be on display to help grow the game. I think it can be discouraging and could make some future players or fans turn away from the game. It also does not help when most of the stadiums are half full. As an event for someone like me it is challenging to watch. Not only are the game times so late I had to risk losing sleep to watch games but when almost every game was first team to score wins most of the games were over in the first half making it not worth staying up or getting up early. Seeing half empty stadiums also made me feel lik I was the only one who cared about some of the games. I know thats not true but it is a thought that did pop into my head a few times during the tournament. Was it still fun to watch? Absolutely. Would I watch and do all of the blog posts again? Absolutely. Will I be doing this again in the future? Absolutely.