Overcoming obstacles, the 2023 Women's World Cup will be the best and most prestigious in history

“This is going to be the biggest and best Women’s World Cup ever.” We probably don’t need to give specific information about the speaker because this is the comment that almost every FIFA official, coach and player has made when asked about the upcoming World Cup. And the above assessment is not polite.

In theory, the 2023 Women's World Cup is the "biggest" in history because the tournament has been expanded from 24 to 32 teams. This year's tournament will see the debut of 8 teams, including Vietnamese girls.

The 2023 Women's World Cup will see the debut of eight teams, including Vietnam. Photo: FIFA

FIFA expects the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to attract 2 billion viewers and sell 1.5 million tickets, figures that no previous Women's World Cup has been able to reach.

According to The Guardian, the quality of this year's tournament promises to be unprecedentedly high due to "the constant development of women's football, with every small improvement bringing positive changes on the pitch".

However, it is undeniable that this year's World Cup is facing certain problems. First is the issue of funding for some teams such as Jamaica and Canada to participate in the tournament.

In addition, the Spanish women's team does not have the strongest squad. Last year, 15 female players of this country refused to join the national team because they were not satisfied with coach Jorge Vilda. However, up to now, Mr. Vilda is still in charge and 12/15 of the above names are not participating in this year's World Cup.

Several stars are also out of the tournament this year due to injuries, mostly ligament problems. The defending champions are without captain Becky Sauerbrunn, talented midfielder Sam Mewis and the attacking trio of Mallory Swanson, Christen Press and Catarina Macario.

The US team won the last two Women's World Cups. Photo: Getty

The England women's team - the Euro 2022 champions - are in a similar situation. They are without key striker Beth Mead, captain Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby. France are without two stars Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

In addition, some teams are having difficulty in calling up players to prepare for the campaign. FIFA itself is having trouble negotiating copyright with some broadcasting units.

According to journalist Suzanne Wrack, the above issues have a certain impact but cannot change one thing: the 2023 Women's World Cup will be the best in history. "Once the ball is rolling, the surrounding stories, whether positive or negative, will be forgotten. Instead, the performance on the field will reflect the progress of the teams over the years. That is wonderful," said Wrack.

The players themselves are also rewarded for their efforts. British media confirmed that FIFA will, for the first time in history, pay players their participation fees directly. Each player will receive $30,000 (VND710 million) for participating in the playoffs. If they win, each will pocket $270,000 (VND6.38 billion).

Speaking of the championship, this year's competition is predicted to be very unpredictable. The US team has won the last two World Cups. However, it will not be easy for them to create a "treble" when teams from Europe are rising strongly.

England are missing many stars but are a united team led by talented female strategist Sarina Wiegman. The German girls, runners-up at Euro 2022, are also ready to win the 4th championship. Meanwhile, Spain and France have also shown stable performance throughout the pre-World Cup campaign.

The French team during a training session in preparation for the 2023 Women's World Cup. Photo: Getty

We cannot ignore the Australian team. With home advantage, Sam Kerr and his teammates promise to go further, instead of being eliminated in the round of 16 like in the previous World Cup. Japan - the champion in 2011 - is also ready to reclaim the throne.

"Many people think that women's football is not as attractive or interesting as men's football matches. However, if they spend time watching women's football matches, they will see how interesting it is. The level of women's football has increased rapidly in the past 10 years. The best will appear at this World Cup," FIFA President Gianni Infantino affirmed.

Now, everything is ready. The biggest football festival on the planet for girls will start tomorrow (July 20).

Sam Kerr is Australia's hope at the 2023 Women's World Cup

According to AB (To Quoc Electronic Newspaper)

Source link: https://baoangiang.com.vn/the-thao/bong-da/vuot-qua-nhung-tro-ngai-world-cup-nu-2023-se-hay-nhat-va-tam-co-nhat-lich-su-a369024.html