Women’s Soccer World Cup
From the Matildas to the DFB team: World Cup tops and flops
The Australian players celebrate their victory against France. photo
© Tertius Pickard/AP/dpa
The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has set new standards – especially in the development and awareness of the sport. However, the German selection is one of the big losers.
With the grand final between England and Spain the ends Women’s Soccer World Cup. In any case, 17 days after the embarrassing first round elimination of the German soccer team, a nation will be presented with the golden trophy for the first time.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had already described the finals in Australia and New Zealand as the best “of all time” before the final weekend. The ninth edition of the tournament brought enormous and worldwide attention to women’s football – great sporting progress could also be seen in the 32 participating nations for the first time. The tops and flops of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand:
tops
Matildas: The dream trip of the Australians around superstar Sam Kerr only ended in the semifinals against England. However, the co-hosts delighted the country’s many rugby and cricket fans and ensured record viewing figures. However, they were denied medals after the 0:2 in the game for third place against Sweden.
Sporting class: The bigger winner was women’s football itself. More speed, more athleticism, more power, a lot of passion, new playful class – the development is progressing rapidly. In most countries, however, not as far as the structures are concerned. “Equal play” – the same conditions as for men – will remain an ongoing topic.
Worldwide response: “Almost two million spectators came to the stadiums and filled the stands everywhere. There were also two billion viewers worldwide who not only followed their own team but the entire World Cup,” enthused Infantino. The world association took in over half a billion euros.
The outsiders: The debate as to whether 32 teams wasn’t too many quickly died down: Haiti lost only 0-1 to England in the preliminary round, Nigeria played 0-0 against Olympic champions Canada and, like South Africa and Morocco, reached the round of 16, and Colombia even reached the quarterfinals.
flops
The German team: The two-time world champions had to go home after beating South Korea 1-1 in the last group game – they wanted to play for the title. National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg continues, but as with the DFB men in Qatar, it became clear that Germany is no longer among the best in the world.
USA and Brazil: At the last World Cup hosted by superstar Marta, the South Americans missed the round of 16 – the mission of Swedish coach Pia Sundhage also failed. In the first knockout round against Sweden, American world champions from 2015 and 2019 said goodbye to Megan Rapinoe. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has already resigned.
Sustainability: The long journeys to Australia and New Zealand and the distances between the venues required many flights for more than a million fans and the delegations. Although the world governing body FIFA advertised “green stadiums”, experts agreed beforehand that the tournament at the other end of the world is not sustainable.
Weather: Although the teams mostly played in pleasant temperatures during the Australian winter, it was sometimes really cold in New Zealand and down jackets were standard equipment for spectators, coaches and substitute players. In addition, many footballers had to get used to it: it was already getting dark around 5 p.m.