Four years after France, Australia and New Zealand are hosting the Women’s World Cup, from July 20 to August 20. The time difference will not prevent you from following the matches, in France or elsewhere. Times, broadcast, calendar: everything you need to know about Worlds 2023.
The first matches will take place this Thursday, July 20 with New Zealand against Norway (9 a.m. metropolitan France time). The round of 16 will begin on August 5. The final will take place on Sunday August 20 at noon.
France Télévisions and M6 will share the entire broadcast of the World Cup, which will therefore be unencrypted. For the schedules, many matches will take place in the morning or at noon for France. But some will be in the middle of the night, including a quarter-final at 3 a.m. No match will start after 2 p.m. metropolitan France time.
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The format will be the same as the Men’s World Cup: eight groups of four teams that each play each other once. The top two from each group qualify for the round of 16. The table being already known, the Blue, if they qualify, already know that they will cross with group H of Germany, South Korea, Colombia and Morocco.
Les Bleues, placed in Group F, will play their three group stage matches at noon French time: against Jamaica on Sunday July 23, Brazil on Saturday July 29 and Panama on Wednesday August 2. Their possible round of 16 will take place on Tuesday August 8, at 8 a.m. or 1 p.m. Brazil, 8th nation in the FIFA rankings, is a heavyweight. Not Jamaica (43rd) or Panama (52nd).
Semi-finalist at the Euro last year, France is one of the favorites. But not necessarily from the first batch. Germany, beaten in the final, and England, European champions, are aiming for the world title. Sweden, another semi-finalist, also has its arguments. But all these nations know: the bogeyman is American. The United States, N.1 in the FIFA rankings, have won the last two editions.
The match between France (5th nation in the FIFA rankings) and Brazil (8th) promises to be perilous. He will be the second of three in the group stage. The loser, if there is one, could therefore be in danger of elimination. Same for the opposition between the United States and the Netherlands, remake of the 2019 final. Beware also of the duel between Canadians (7th) and Australians (10th). They will play at home in Melbourne.
77th nation in the world, Zambia is yet one of the 32 teams in the World Cup. It will be his first World Cup, a year after a third place at the African Cup of Nations. He would need a miracle to get out of Group C which includes Spain (6th in the FIFA rankings), Japan (11th) and Costa Rica (36th).
The France team has no shortage of big names with its Lyonnaises, including captain Wendie Renard and the top scorer in the history of Les Bleues, Eugénie Le Sommer (89 goals in 179 caps). The United States arrive with the Ballon d’Or Megan Rapinoe and her friend Alex Morgan, while Brazil will be led by the stainless Marta, 37, who will play in her sixth World Cup.
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Launched in 1991, the Women’s World Cup has “only” eight editions. Half were won by the United States (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019). Germany was crowned twice (2003, 2007), Norway once (1995) like Japan (2011).
Hervé Renard’s players will be keen to do as well or even better than those of Bruno Bini in 2011. At the German World Cup, the France of Laura Georges, Louisa Necib and Sonia Bompastor had reached the semi-finals. The United States then took the best (1-3). The two survivors of this epic? Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer.
