With a 2-1 victory over Chile on Wednesday in Auckland, Haiti made history by securing qualification for their first-ever Women's World Cup finals. It's a remarkable achievement that highlights the growth of the team after not even reaching the final stage of Concacaf qualifying during the previous cycle, although there's one clear star of the show: 19-year-old phenom Melchie Dumornay.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup is quickly approaching. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the tournament will feature 32 teams for the first time, eight more than the previous high. Let’s take a closer look at what countries qualified for the Women's World Cup.
SYDNEY - Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has warned against the Matildas getting carried away with their form after they beat Spain 3-2 in the Cup of Nations to extend their winning streak to six matches.
More than 17,000 fans watched on at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday as goals from Cortnee Vine, Clare Polkinghorne and Caitlin Foord gave Australia a 3-0 halftime lead before Spain hit back with late strikes from Olga Carmona and Alba Redondo.
Panama secured a 2-0 win over Papua New Guinea in the final qualifying playoffs for the Women's World Cup in New Zealand on Sunday and will face Paraguay, who beat Taiwan 4-2 on penalties in a thrilling game.
With both teams seeking World Cup qualification for the first time, Panama and Paraguay will face off in Hamilton on Thursday.
Cameroon will face Portugal, and Haiti will take on Chile in the other two playoffs on Wednesday for the July 20 to Aug. 20 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, which will be the first edition to feature 32 teams.
Portugal and Chile start with a slight advantage as 10 teams battle it out for the remaining three berths at this year's Women's World Cup in the final qualifying playoffs over the next week in New Zealand.
Cameroon, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal, Thailand, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea are also involved in the tournament, which will complete the field for the first 32-team Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia later this year.
Spain women's coach Jorge Vilda on Wednesday defended his depleted squad as the best he wants and bristled at questions about a revolt that has seen 15 players frozen out of the national setup for nearly five months.
The Spanish FA in September said the 15 had threatened to quit the team if Vilda was not fired and they would not be welcomed back until they recognized their mistake and asked for forgiveness.
MELBOURNE - Former New Zealand international Maia Jackman said Saudi sponsorship of the Women's World Cup would be in "complete opposition" to female empowerment and set back her work as an ambassador for the tournament.
Australia and New Zealand, co-hosts of this year's World Cup, wrote to global soccer governing body FIFA on Wednesday seeking urgent clarification after The Guardian reported Visit Saudi will be named as a major sponsor of the tournament.
After playing the 2021 tournament in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 competition with a weakened field, the SheBelieves Cup returns in a big way this February with the USWNT playing matches against Canada, Japan and Brazil ahead of this summer's main event, the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
Adidas has unveiled its ball to be used at this year’s Women’s World Cup, and my goodness, it's a winner. Based on the template from last year’s Al Rihla, this year’s edition is called OCEAUNZ and is technically identical to its predecessor.
‘OCEAUNZ’ has been unveiled as the Official Match Ball for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup ⚽️
What do you think of the design? pic.twitter.com/rFCJPzsndL
Please don't shoot the messenger. After not getting the feedback they were looking for from the USMNT kit that drew its inspiration from basketball, American football and hockey before revealing itself as Frankenstein's monster, Nike and U.S. Soccer are back at it again with a jersey for the USWNT ahead of this summer's World Cup.