The final part of our Women’s World Cup previews looks at the teams in groups G and H...
GROUP G
Argentina
Although the Albiceleste are not favoured to make it past the group stages, they are looking to leave a lasting impression with their goal inevitably to win their first ever game at a World Cup.
Facing a tough group, there are certainly hurdles to be overcome but recent performances in the last World Cup, including a pair of draws, 3-3 against Scotland and 0-0 against Japan, as well as an impressive performance against England where they lost 1-0, evidently show that Argentina can compete with the best.
The star of the team will undoubtedly be Estefanía Banini, the Atlético Madrid midfielder who became the first Argentinian woman to be named in Fifa’s Best World XI in 2021. Her technique and ability remain key to the national side.
Italy
Currently at 16th in the Fifa World rankings, the Azzurre aren’t among the favoured nations for the 2023 World Cup and finished bottom of their group at Euro 2022, with just one point from their three games.
With manager Bertolini picking an unpredictable World Cup squad, excluding the likes of Aurora Galli, one of the pillars of the 2019 World Cup team that reached the quarter-finals, it will be interesting to see how Italy set up for this World Cup. The chemistry within the team will be a key factor in determining Italy’s success in the upcoming tournament who are in need of finding the magic they had in France in 2019, otherwise the end of a golden generation will be around the corner.
Manuela Giugliano is quickly becoming the leader of Italy’s midfield and one of the players to watch this World Cup, able to operate as a playmaker or No 10, always displaying her style, vision, reading of the game and her ability to open up passing lanes that other players haven’t seen.
Sweden
The favourites to win Group G and ranked 3rd in the world, Sweden are undoubtedly one of the teams to keep and eye on having reached the knockout stages seven out of the eight times they have competed in the World Cup.
Qualifying for the 2023 World Cup with seven wins and one draw scoring 32 goals in eight games, along with a strong defence who conceded only two goals, the hopes for Sweden at the tournament look promising as they play their opener against South Africa on Sunday. Their key players include Lina Hurtig who has been struggling with injuries recently at Arsenal but tends to step up when it matters, alongside world-class players in Magdalena Eriksson and Linda Sembrant.
As always, Sweden’s goal will be to win the World Cup, but their path to the final is not easy and even if they top this group , their Round of 16 opponents will most likely be either of the Netherlands and the US, so even making the quarterfinals could be a tough ask.
South Africa
South Africa have become a powerful force in African women’s football having won the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, their first major title. However, recent results suggest work still needs to be done as shown by friendly defeats to Brazil 6-0 and Australia 4-1, but that likely won’t deter them from attempting to cause upsets.
Relying on a young squad with very few being aged 30 or over, the majority of players are in their peak years. Led by star player Thembi Kgatlana, who scored the country’s first – and so far only – goal on the World Cup stage when she put Banyana Banyana ahead against Spain in 2019, the stage is set for a promising World Cup for the South Africans.
GROUP H
Colombia
Ready for their first World Cup in 8 years, Las Cafeteras look to mirror last summer’s positive performances in the Copa America seeing them finish second to Brazil. With a strong chance of getting out of the group, despite facing Germany in the middle of their opening three fixtures, a rematch of the Copa final looks likely, with Brazil the strongest side in Group F. Could Colombia get revenge for the final loss? Perhaps – and the fate of the side could rest on teenager Linda Caicedo.
As a soccer prodigy from a young age, the 18 year old is set to become the tournament’s first woman to play in the U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup and now the FIFA World Cup within a year. She is sure to be a player to watch having won the Golden Boot at the Copa America last year.
Germany
Embed from Getty ImagesAmongst the favourites to win the World Cup and top the group, the German team having already won the World Cup twice, will look to recover following their defeat to England at the Euros final last summer by putting up a strong fight to become victorious at this years tournament.
Topping their qualifying group ahead of rivals Portugal, taking 27 points out of a possible 30, with their only defeat coming at the hands of Serbia, ‘Die Nationalef’ will be full of confidence going into the tournament and may even get revenge on England, if things go their way.
Star players for the side include Captain Alexandra Popp, Lena Oberdorf, Klara Bühl and Jule Brand with Popp most likely to win the tournament’s Golden Boot.
South Korea
Embed from Getty ImagesSince Colin Bell’s appointment as manager after the 2019 World Cup, South Korea have demonstrated more aggression and intensity in their game, becoming runners up in the 2022 Asian Cup in India and will look to improve following their exit in the Group Stages in 2019 after losing all three of their games.
Striker Lee Geum-Min as well as former Chelsea midfielder Ji So-Yun who made the PFA WSL Team of the Year five times at her time at the Blues will play an instrumental role in determining the outcome of the tournament for South Korea with their main aim to inevitably at least qualify for the knockout phase.
Morocco
Qualification for the World Cup is an achievement in itself for the Moroccans and hence the lack of experience at the highest level could be the main difficulty. Nevertheless, they have enough talent to make it to the knockout stages and even a close defeat in their opening game to Germany would give the team a real boost.
Ghizlane Chebbak will likely be the star of the team whilst Fatima Tagnaout is without a doubt a generational talent: her unique style and speed on the flank will make her a real danger for opposing defenders.
