The FIFA Women’s World Cup is going to be enormous. It’s literally happening in Australia and New Zealand for the first time in history and it’s going to take over our lives.
The burning question down under is undeniably whether or not the Matildas can legitimately win the FIFA Women’s World Cup. And that will be addressed below, along with everything else fans should know, heading into the tournament; fixtures, teams, venues and more. Plus, how do we watch all the games? There’s a lot we all need to wrap our heads around and here is literally all of it.
Here’s our FIFA Women’s World Cup Major Guide.
When does the FIFA Women’s World Cup kick off?
July 20 – August 20, 2023
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off on July 20 and will conclude with the final taking place in Sydney on August 20.
In the mean time, you can get your Matildas fix by watching their new documentary that follows their journey to the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
How to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia
All FIFA Women’s World Cup games will be broadcast on Optus Sport, while Network 7 will have limited broadcast rights for specific games — which will be available on free-to-air television.
The last Women’s World Cup, which took place in France back in 2019, was watched by approximately one billion people worldwide. Well, the 2023 tournament is expected to come close to doubling that figure.
Can I still get tickets to the FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Tickets to the Matildas games are essentially sold out, but limited tickets to other fixtures are still available.
FIFA announced, on Tuesday June 6, that close to 250,000 additional tickets for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand became available for all 64 matches.
All remaining tickets can be purchased via the FIFA website.
Australia’s Women’s World Cup Fixtures
Australia’s group stage matches for the World Cup have been announced, kicking off in
Sydney on July 20. The details for each match are as follows:
GAME 1 | Australia v Republic of Ireland, Accor Stadium Sydney, 8:00pm Thursday 20 July
GAME 2 | Australia v Nigeria, Suncorp Stadium Brisbane, 8pm Thursday 27 July
GAME 3 | Australia v Canada, AAMI Park Melbourne, 8pm Monday 31 July
Who won the last FIFA Women’s World Cup?
The USA won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and have actually gone back-to-back in the last two tournaments. They are the favourites heading into the 2023 tournament and are looking to go for the three-peat.
Australia only made it to the Round of 16, where we were eliminated after a loss to Norway in a penalty shootout.
Who is predicted to win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup?
The USA are the favourites to win in 2023 at $4 odds, but it is a close race. At the time of publishing, England are close behind at $4.33, followed by Germany at $6, Spain at $7, France at $9 and Australia at $13.
How have the Matildas been playing recently?
The Matildas have won eight out of their last 10 games, and most recently won a friendly against England’s Lionesses that broke the European champions’ 30-game win streak.
While the Matildas had a rough time last year, with a 7-0 loss to Spain, followed by a draw against Portugal and two losses against Canada on home soil, things have been looking up recently.
Between October and April, the Matildas had a seven-game winning streak; including all three games in the Cup of Nations. However, a recent loss against Scotland put an end to this.
Thankfully, our most recent game was perhaps our strongest of the last 12 months. The Matildas won 2-0 against England, despite having significant injuries in the squad and England having the home advantage.
The Matildas have one more friendly against France in Melbourne before the World Cup kicks off on July 20.
Who is in the Matildas squad right now?
Tony Gustavvson is yet to name his squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the squad for our most recent friendlies last month could give us some ideas on what to expect.
It is unclear exactly when we can expect a squad announcement from Gustavvson, but the Lionesses will name their squad next week, so we hopefully shouldn’t have to wait too long.
The April 2023 squad was as follows:
- Mackenzie Arnold (GK)
- Ellie Carpenter
- Alex Chidiac
- Kyra Cooney-Cross
- Larissa Crummer
- Mary Fowler
- Katrina Gorry
- Charlotte Grant
- Clare Hunt
- Sam Kerr
- Aivi Luik
- Matilda McNamara
- Teagan Micah (GK)
- Courtney Nevin
- Clare Polkinghorne
- Hayley Raso
- Amy Sayer
- Remy Siemsen
- Cortnee Vine
- Clare Wheeler
- Jada Whyman (GK)
- Lydia Williams (GK)
- Tameka Yallop
