women's world cup Archives - New Hip Hop News

Spanish Soccer President To Resign Following Launch Of FIFA Investigation

August 24, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Spain’s historic World Cup win against England last week was overshadowed by the behavior of their federation president, Luis Rubiales. Rubiales, who has headed RFEF since 2018 garnered outrage with a number of inappropriate behaviors during his World Cup celebrations. He forcibly kissed midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth, grabbed his crotch in celebration while standing next to the Queen of Spain, and put striker Athenea del Castillo over his shoulder. Images of Rubiales “celebrations” quickly went viral.

Despite calling his detractors “idiots”, the backlash was fierce and widespread. Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Rubiales to resign, saying an apology was “insufficient and inadequate.” Meanwhile, the Minister for Equality Irene Montero called the kiss in particular “a form of sexual violence.” The backlash was capped off by a joint statement from Hemoso and her union. In that statement, Hermoso said such acts “should never go unpunished.” This prompted FIFA to formally announce an investigation into Rubiales on August 24.

Rubiales Resigns

According to ESPN, Rubiales will formally resign on August 25. Despite his strong rejection of the criticism against him, his continued tenure as President of the federation quickly began to crumble. The favorites to succeed Rubiales are Pedro Rocha, head of the Extremadura football federation, and Pablo Lozano, head of the Andalusia federation. However, the resignation of Rubiales signals a much bigger shift in Spanish football beyond taking a stand against misogyny.

Rubiales has courted controversy at every turn since taking the job five years ago. He fired the men’s head coach the day before the 2018 World Cup began because the coach was set to leave the position after the tournament. He took a domestic cup tournament to Saudia Arabia in a deal with an active Spanish player. Furthermore, Rubiales’ uncle, the former director of his nephew’s cabinet, was accused of embezzling RFEF funds to use them on sex parties. In short, it took internationally-televised misogyny to remove a cancer from Spanish soccer.

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Spain’s World Cup Hero Learns Of Father’s Death Hours After Historic Final

August 20, 2023 by newhiphopnews

On August 20, Spain won their first-ever Women’s World Cup in a 1-0 victory over England. It capped off a dominant tournament for the European side, whose only blip was a shock 4-0 loss to Japan in their final group match. La Roja was in firm control of the final, earning 57% of possession in the final and nearly having more shots on goal than England had total shots.

More specifically, the hero of the match was 23-year-old Olga Carmona. The Real Madrid defender put Spain ahead in the 29th minute, tapping in a long-range shot from just inside the penalty box that goalkeeper Mary Earps just couldn’t get to. It was Carmona’s second hero moment in as many matches, having also scored the game-winner in Spain’s semifinal win over Sweden. However, elation has turned to tragedy as Carmona learned of her father’s death hours after the final.

Olga Carmona’s Father Dies On World Cup Final Day

“@RFEF deeply regrets to report the death of Olga Carmona’s father. The soccer player learned the sad news after the World Cup final. We send our most sincere hugs to Olga and her family in a moment of deep pain. We love you, Olga, you are the history of Spanish football,” the Spanish football federation wrote on social media. Carmona’s domestic club, Real Madrid, also released a statement soon after the news broke. “Real Madrid, the president and the board of directors are deeply saddened by the passing of the father of our player Olga Carmona. Real Madrid would like to extend our condolences and heartfelt sympathy to Olga, her family and all her loved ones. May he rest in peace.”

However, in a cruel twist of fate, Carmona had lifted her shirt after her goal to reveal the word “Merchi” written on her undershirt. “This victory is for the mum of one of my best friends who passed away recently,” she said after the final, explaining the message. Carmona has not publicly commented since learning the news of her father’s passing. It is unknown if Carmona will celebrate with the rest of the team when they return to Madrid on August 21.

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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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FIFA To Launch Landmark Sexual Assault Investigation Into Zambia’s Head Coach

August 4, 2023 by newhiphopnews

FIFA has announced they will be launching an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Bruce Mwape. Mwape is currently the head coach of Zambia’s Women’s National Team and has been since 2018. Zambia, appearing at the Women’s World Cup for the first time, recorded a victory against Costa Rica but failed to qualify for the knockout stage. Allegations against Mwape first arose in September 2022, when the Football Association of Zambia announced it had referred allegations of sexual abuse to FIFA. Following Zambia’s exit from the tournament, The Guardian published a report claiming that Mwape had been seen rubbing a player’s chest in a sexual manner two days before the game against Costa Rica. Furthermore, an anonymous player claimed that “if he [Mwape] wants to sleep with someone, you have to say yes.”

The allegations against Mwape and others have overshadowed Zambia’s historic moment. It was the first time that any senior national team from the African nation had appeared at a World Cup. Furthermore, Zambia came away with the nation’s first-ever win as well. A press conference before their match against Spain ended early because reporters refused to stop asking questions about the allegations.

FIFA Announces Investigation

“FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously. Furthermore, the organization has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident. We can confirm that a complaint has been received in relation to the Zambian women’s national team and this is currently being investigated. We cannot provide further details regarding an ongoing investigation for obvious confidentiality reasons. Anyone who wishes to report allegations or information related to abuse in football can do so via FIFA’s confidential reporting platform. All information that is submitted to FIFA is handled in the strictest of confidence.” This statement was made to ESPN via a FIFA spokesperson

They continued. “In addition, FIFA offers support and assistance to ensure the safety of those who report a safeguarding issue, including witnesses who come forward and give testimony in FIFA Ethics cases. Where guilt is established, FIFA takes the strongest possible sanctions, including removing people from the game for life. Our track record demonstrates this.” In 2019, FIFA handed down a lifetime ban to Keramuddin Keram, the then-President of the Afghanistan Football Federation. Keram had been accused of sexually abusing several members of the women’s national team.

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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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Marta Confirms International Retirement After 2023 World Cup

July 5, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Marta Vieira da Silva is one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Beginning in her home nation of Brazil, she has played all over the world. After a brief stint in the US in 2010 and 2011, Marta returned to the US in 2017 after spending six years in Sweden. Despite being known as “Pelé with skirts”, Marta’s play almost defies comparison. She’s tenacious, fast, and views the field of play like no one else. It’s not an exaggeration to say that no one plays soccer quite like Marta.

On the international stage, Marta has represented Brazil since 2002. She has 115 goals in 174 games and at the time of writing, serves as Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer for the women’s national team. She has played at every World Cup since 2003, also serving as the all-time goalscorer for the competition. However, she has never won the tournament. The closest Brazil has come was a second-place finish in 2007. Now, it appears that Marta is giving herself one last chance to win it.

Marta Confirms International Retirement

Speaking with local media in Brazil on July 3, 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.”

Brazil enter as the #8 nation in the world and will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back Round of 16 exits in 2015 and 2019. They should have a fairly easy time in the group stage. The biggest threat will be France (ranked #5 in the world). Elsewhere in the group, they will face a Jamaican team that is currently fighting its national federation. Furthermore, they will take on Panama. However, winning the group will be vital if they want to avoid a likely Round of 16 matchup against Germany. Regardless, the team is likely to do what they can make Marta’s final tournament the best of her career.

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