Predictions for the Women’s FIFA World Cup
The 2023 rendition of the Women’s FIFA World Cup is one of the summer’s most highly anticipated sporting events as it features the very best that the beautiful game has to offer in world football today, all competing for a chance to lift the most prestigious trophy that any female athlete can strive to achieve.
With the event garnering a widespread amount of intrigue and attention, fans remain undecided as to which teams they believe will win the coveted event this year, as well as which individual players will step up for their nation and carve their own names into World Cup folklore.
With the event now well underway, here are our bold predictions for the 2023 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted across Australia and New Zealand
The US win their fifth World Cup
According to the latest World Cup and football betting odds, the US are ranked at 5/2 favorites to win their third competition in consecutive events, with the World Cup only happening every four years.
The States enter the tournament as heavy favorites to once again claim another World Cup trophy as they still bolster an elite group of veteran talents who have cemented their names amongst the greatest female players in the game’s entire history.
After cruising to a 5-2 win over Japan in the 2015 final and defeating the Netherlands 2-0 back in 2019, the US be hoping history continues to repeat itself as they are raring for the opportunity to get their hands on the trophy once again and become a record five time winners of the event since its inception back in 1991, when they won the inaugural tournament following a 2-1 final win over Norway.
Sam Kerr wins the Golden Boot award
Ever since moving to the Women’s Super League back in 2020, Sam Kerr has sent the sporting world ablaze with her free scoring form and is likely entering the World Cup as the most in-form player out of any other athlete.
Kerr netted 12 times in 21 appearances in the WSL whilst helping Chelsea win their sixth league title in just eight years and taking home the club’s Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.
Representing one of the hosting nations at the World Cup, Kerr is expected to feed off the Aussie energy from her home country’s crowd and should be more than capable of pushing the formally tenth ranked Australia towards a great run in this year’s competition, despite sharing a challenging group with the likes of Canada and the Republic of Ireland.
England knocked out in the semi-final
The reigning Euro champions were finally able to bring home that fabled international honor that has eluded both the Three Lions’ men and women teams since the 1966 FIFA World Cup as the Lionesses were able to win last year’s Euro’s final with a now famous 2-1 over Germany in extra time.
However, England have continued to suffer a number of setbacks and heartbreaks throughout numerous World Cup competitions and that could be very likely to happen again at this year’s event.
While the Lionesses do bolster a great team that is capable of making a charge towards World Cup glory this year, there remains an unprecedented amount of pressure on England to win the tournament this year which could ultimately flame out with another short coming, potentially in the semi-finals with a defeat to an overall more talented squad.
Brazil will be the surprise package
There are many teams featured in this year’s tournament that could certainly cause a major surprise by their on-field performances and final placement following the event’s conclusion, with one team drawing a considerable amount of attention from fans for being the potential dark horses of the competition.
Brazil are entering the World Cup with a strong defensive setup and a plethora of young talent such as Geyse and Kerolin within their ranks as well as veteran names such as Debinha and Marta who both carry plenty of legendary status within the women’s game.
While there may be more versatile or better well-rounded teams competing in the World Cup this year, do not count out the Brazilian’s to make a lot of noise throughout the course of the event and potentially cause a few major upsets along the way.
Lena Oberdorf to be breakthrough talent
If the Germans want to have any success throughout this tournament then they will need to rely on the amazing talent that occupies their holding midfield which comes in the form of Wolfsburg stud and 2022’s UEFA Euros Young Player of the tournament award winner Lena Oberdorf.
While many may argue that Oberdorf is already one of the top stars to watch out for throughout the course of the competition, she may take her game to another level with a compelling performance in Germany’s three group stage games and a few potential knockout encounters.
The youngster offers Germany plenty of creativity in the heart of the midfield as well as being a capable ball-winner and a threat both with or without possession, which can make her playstyle one of the best assets for any nation to have during the tournament.
