2023 women's world cup Archives

Women’s World Cup: USWNT Crashes Out

August 6, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The US Women’s National Team has suffered their worst-ever finish at a World Cup, crashing out of the 2023 tournament in a penalty shootout loss to Sweden. It had been a disappointing tournament overall for the two-time defending champions, who failed to score in three of the four matches they played. All three of the team’s tournament goals came in their opening match against Vietnam. Over the last eight World Cups, the US has averaged 17.3 goals a tournament.

That’s not to say there weren’t chances to beat Sweden. The US had 22 shots against the European side. In fact, the US had more shots on target (11) than the Swedes had total shots (9). However, it wasn’t enough as the Swedes played their signature style of ultra-defensive football that has frustrated the Americans in the past. Regulation and extra time both came and went with no goals, meaning it was going to penalties. A string of late misses from the Americans, including sky-high efforts from Megan Rapinoe and Sophia Smith, gave the Swedes the chance to win. Lina Hurtig’s effort initially looked like it had been saved but it bounced back across the line to give Sweden the win. Swedish goalkeeper Zećira Mušović was named Woman of the Match for her record-breaking 11-save performance.

What’s Next For the USWNT?

Soon enough, the blame game will begin. A lot of fault can be put on the shoulders of head coach Vlatko Andonovski. Andonovski made a lot of bizarre choices during the tournament and seemed completely unable to figure out a way past the Swedish defense. However, it was also an incredibly inexperienced squad that never really appeared to fully click. More changes will come, with Megan Rapinoe already announcing her retirement and Julie Ertz confirming hers after the loss.

The US is already qualified for the 2024 Olympic tournament in Paris. There, the US will look to bounce back from a disappointing bronze medal finish in Tokyo two years ago. It’s unclear what the team will look like – it’s likely that we haven’t had the last of the veteran retirements. However, what is clear is that something just isn’t working within the US National Team and if they don’t want it to become a persistent problem, they need to figure out what that is.

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Women’s World Cup: Spain And Japan Dominate First Knockout Matches

August 5, 2023 by newhiphopnews

We now know the first quarterfinals at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Japan and Spain, who finished first and second in Group C respectively, dominated their Round of 16 matches to progress in the tournament. Japan conceded their first goal of the tournament as Norway neutralized a 15th-minute own goal five minutes later. However, the European side was never able to fully swing the momentum back into an offensive effort. Two second-half goals from Japan sealed the win, as well as cementing the Asian side as a surprise contender in the tournament. Furthermore, the win put 23-year-old Hinata Miyazawa atop the Golden Boot standings with five goals.

Meanwhile, Spain bounced back from their 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Japan to utterly humiliate Switerzland. Spain took the lead in the 5th minute before an own goal even the score. But after that, it was all La Roja. Spain lead 4-1 at half-time and added another after the break for good measure. It was the team’s second 5-goal game of the tournament. In the next round, Spain will take on the winner of The Netherlands versus South Africa. Meanwhile, Japan will face either Sweden or the United States.

Spain And Japan Highlight World Cup Parity

The dominance performances coming out of Group C highlight just how far women’s soccer has come since the last World Cup. While Japan is a one-time tournament winner, the squad has been wildly inconsistent in recent years. After winning in 2011, they finished runners-up in 2015 before falling in the first knockout in 2019. Now they are one of the hottest clubs in the 2023 tournament. Similarly, this is just Spain’s third World Cup. However, you wouldn’t know it from the level of dominance they have demonstrated (outside their match against Japan). The win over Switzerland showed that Spain can hold their own against “real” opponents. Before this tournament, Spain had won just one World Cup match. Now they’ve won three and look like a legitimate deep-run contender.

However, the pair of wins means that if both sides are able to win their quarterfinals, they will once again meet in the semifinals. Spain’s arguably shocking defeat in the group stage sets up a semifinal clash that most people wouldn’t trade for anything. How will Spain adapt and respond when there’s a place in the World Cup Final on the line? Of course, this relies on Spain and Japan beating the likes of The Netherlands, Sweden, and the US. However, that is entirely possible given just how wild this tournament has been.

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Germany “Speechless” After Shocking Women’s World Cup Exit

August 3, 2023 by newhiphopnews

For the first time in the history of the Women’s World Cup, Germany will not participate in the knockout stage. Their group stage came to an end with a 1-1 draw with South Korea. The result would have been enough to see them through to the Round of 16. However, Morocco took a 1-0 win over Colombia to leapfrog Germany in the standings. Germany had begun the group with a 6-0 thrashing of Morocco but suffered a stoppage-time 2-1 loss to Colombia. Furthermore, despite entering as the favorites against an all-but-eliminated South Korea, Germany found themselves trailing after just six minutes. It’s yet another crushing blow for the second-ranked team in the world.

“We are all very speechless,” German midfielder Lena Oberdorf said. “Things didn’t quite click. We didn’t really show the combination we can show and we can play.” Outside of their 6-0 destruction of Morocco, Germany scored just two goals in the tournament, both from team leader Alexandra Popp. Popp nearly scored a 74th-minute header but hit the bar. Furthermore, head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg chose to wait until the 85th minute to tell her team that they needed to score another goal to avoid elimination.

World Top Ten Struggles At The World Cup

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 3: Lena Oberdorf of Germany was crushed after been eliminated from FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group H match between South Korea and Germany at Brisbane Stadium on August 3, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by James Whitehead/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Germany is one of three teams ranked in the FIFA top ten to exit the World Cup in the group stage. Canada missed the knockouts for the first time since 2011 after suffering a 4-0 loss to Australia in their must-win final match. Meanwhile, Brazil was held to a goalless draw by Jamaica, giving As Canarinhas their first group stage exit since 1995. But even the teams that made it through didn’t do so especially cleanly.

The United States, the two-time defending champions, came five inches from elimination in their final group-stage match against Portugal. Had Ana Capeta’s 91st-minute shot not hit the post, Portugal would have progressed over the US. Sweden needed an injury time goal to beat South Africa. England needed a do-over on a penalty to beat Haiti. France were held to a goalless draw by Jamaica. Meanwhile, Spain were beaten 4-0 by Japan. Elsewhere, Australia was all-but-eliminated before their 4-0 drubbing of Canada. The ninth-ranked Netherlands arguably had the cleanest group stage of any team in the top ten. The question is – will this chaos carry into the knockouts?

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Women’s World Cup: Jamaica Makes History With Knockouts Qualification

August 2, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Jamaica made history at the 2023 Women’s World Cup as they qualify for the knockout stage. The Reggae Girlz finished second in Group F following a 0-0 draw with Brazil. In their other two group-stage matches, the team drew France 0-0 and beat Panama 1-0. In qualifying for the Round of 16, Jamaica made it out of the group stage for the first time. At their World Cup debut in 2019, the Reggae Girlz lost all three matches, including a 3-0 loss to Brazil. Furthermore, they become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for the knockout stages in the history of the tournament.

It’s a truly amazing feat for a team that just weeks before the tournament was fighting its national soccer association over discriminatory treatment and unpaid wages. Despite this, the 43rd-ranked nation in the world put on a masterful defensive display in a tough group. They kept clean sheets against two top-ten nations and by holding Brazil to a single point, sent the South American giants home before the knockouts for the first time since 1995. Jamaica will face the winners of Group H in the Round of 16.

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World Gives Reggae Girlz Their Flowers

The soccer world overflowed with joy for Jamaica as the final whistle blew in Melbourne. “History Congrats Girls #ReggaeGirlz,” wrote Jamaican athletics legend Usain Bolt on X. The result also comes a day after the island nation celebrated its national day of emancipation. Jamaica will celebrate its national independence day later this week on August 6.

However, for many soccer fans, the result came with a tinge of sadness. With Brazil eliminated the legendary international career of Marta officially came to an end. Marta confirmed that the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand would be her last. “Yes, it will be my last World Cup. We have to understand that a time comes for us to prioritize other things. I just have to be thankful to have lived all those years in the national team. To have the opportunity to go to another World Cup, a sixth one, for me is something surreal.” Widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Marta had been a Brazilian international since 2002.

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Women’s World Cup: Lindsey Horan Attributes Game-Tying Goal To “Anger”

July 27, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The US Women’s National Team found themselves lucky to escape with a draw as they took on the Netherlands at the Women’s World Cup. The two-time defending champions looked characteristically out of sorts in the first half. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski made several bizarre decisions. This included starting the previously uncapped Savannah DeMelo. 17 minutes in and the US found themselves trailing for the first time since the 2011 quarterfinals as Jill Roord put the Dutch ahead.

It wouldn’t be until the 62nd minute that the US found an equalizer. Lindsey Horan knocked down a Rose Lavelle corner to tie the game at 1-1. Five minutes later, the US thought they had a winner. However, Alex Morgan’s goal was disallowed due to an offside call on Trinity Rodman. Meanwhile, after the game, team hero Lindsey Horan revealed that it was a great sense of anger that led to her vital goal.

Horan Inspired By Heavy Tackle

Moments before Horan’s goal, she was brought down by a heavy tackle from her Lyon teammate Danielle Van de Donk. “So that moment, that little tackle — big tackle — changed a shift in my head because I want to do everything for my team and to win these games,” Horan told reporters. As Lavelle prepared to whip the ball in the box, Horan could be seen arguing with Van de Donk. Horan wenve went as far as giving her a two-handed shove. “Dan is that type of player — when she’s on my team it’s incredible because she’s going to fight to that last second to win a game or go into that last tackle,” Horan said. “That’s what she did and unfortunately I didn’t take it in a good way. I got a little heated and she got to hear it.”

However, there appears to be no bad blood between the pair. They linked up after the game, doing their media availability side-by-side. It wasn’t the only run-in Van de Donk had a US player during the match. After colliding with Lavelle in the 94th minute, Van de Donk played out the final few minutes in a swim cap to prevent bleeding from impacting her performance. The result leaves the group wide open, with the US needing at least a draw against Portugal to progress. However, the US could move on with a loss as long as the Netherlands also lost to Vietnam.

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