The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, has been full of surprises and memorable moments. One of the most notable matches was between co-hosts Australia and Nigeria, which saw Nigeria secure a 3-2 victory.
Alanna Kennedy of Australia shows dejection after her team's 2-3 defeat in the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match between Australia and Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium on July 27, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia.
Match Highlights
Goals from Uchenna Kanu, Osinachi Ohale, and Asisat Oshoala secured Nigeria a surprise 3-2 win over FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia, who now sit in third place of Group B with one game left to play. They went 3-1 up just seven minutes later when Asisat Oshoala (72’) netted Nigeria’s third which, in the end, was enough to secure them all three points.
Asisat Oshoala (2nd L) of Nigeria celebrates with teammates after scoring her team's third goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match at Brisbane Stadium on July 27, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia.
What was previously a good performance, was quickly reshaped into a historic one as Oshoala’s confidence and ability influenced her side into believing that a win was well and truly in their hands.
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Australia's Perspective
As expected, Kerr has had to miss Australia’s first two group games, but will undoubtedly be doing everything she can to ensure match fitness for her nation’s final chance at qualifying for the knockouts, in their group game against Canada on Monday (31 July). In order to proceed to the knockout stage, Australia must secure a win against Canada.
Sam Kerr of Australia applauds fans after her team's 2-3 defeat in the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match between Australia and Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium on July 27, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia.
Tournament Overview
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the tournament, contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament took place from 20 July to 20 August 2023, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. It was the first FIFA Women's World Cup with more than one host nation, as well as the first World Cup to be held across multiple confederations, as Australia is in the Asian confederation, while New Zealand is in the Oceanian confederation.
The tournament opened with a group stage consisting of eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament featuring 16 teams. The number of games played overall increased from 52 to 64. The tournament replicated the format of the men's FIFA World Cup used between 1998 and 2022.
The event took place over a period of a month, from 20 July to 20 August, in Australia and New Zealand. This Women's World Cup was the first co-hosted tournament, and also the first senior World Cup to be held across multiple confederations.
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The opening match of the tournament, between co-host New Zealand and Norway, was played on 20 July 2023 at Eden Park.
Key Details of the Tournament
- Hosts: Australia and New Zealand
- Dates: 20 July - 20 August 2023
- Teams: 32
- Matches: 64
Qualification and Teams
FIFA's confederations organised their qualifications through continental championships, with the exception of UEFA which organised its own qualifying competition. Australia and New Zealand, as co-hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament, leaving the remaining 207 FIFA member associations eligible to enter qualification if they chose to do so. Australia competed at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, whilst New Zealand did not enter the OFC Women's Nations Cup the same year.
Of the 32 nations qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2019. Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia made their debuts at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Tournament Draw
Retired American international and two-time Women's World Cup winner Carli Lloyd and CNN International sports presenter Amanda Davies conducted the draw. Each confederation had a retired international representing them as a draw assistant: Maia Jackman of New Zealand for the OFC and Julie Dolan of Australia for the AFC, alongside men's internationals Ian Wright of England for UEFA, Alexi Lalas of the United States for CONCACAF, Geremi of Cameroon for the CAF and 2002 World Cup winner Gilberto Silva of Brazil for CONMEBOL.
For the draw, the 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings of 13 October 2022. Pot one contained both co-hosts New Zealand and Australia (both automatically placed in positions A1 and B1, respectively) along with the best six teams. Pot two contained the next best eight teams, with the next best eight teams being allocated into the following pot (pot three). Pot four contained the lowest ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the three inter-confederation play-off winners.
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With the exception of UEFA, teams from the same confederation could not be drawn in the same group. However, since each inter-confederation play-off group contained multiple confederations, the placeholders were identified by the seeded teams in their respective play-off pathways to avoid any draw constraints.
Match Officials
In January 2023, the FIFA Referees Committee announced the list of 33 referees, 55 assistant referees, and 19 video assistant referees (VAR) for the tournament. France's Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan, who became the first female referees to officiate the men's World Cup in 2022, were among those selected for the Women's World Cup. Heba Saadieh became the first Palestinian and Arab female referee to officiate at a World Cup of either gender.
The VAR at the tournament had the spoken explanations broadcast in the stadium and on television as part of a year-long trial of the technique intended to give more transparency to often-controversial decisions.
Australia v Nigeria | FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 | Match Highlights
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
There were two opening ceremonies, one before each kick-off game in the two host nations on 20 July 2023. The first took place at Eden Park, Auckland, ahead of the opening game of the competition between New Zealand and Norway. The ceremonies both featured indigenous welcomes, fireworks, dancing and live music, before a moment of silence. The tournament's closing ceremony took place at Stadium Australia, Sydney, on 20 August 2023, ahead of the Final.
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