Women's World Cup 2023: Top Storylines to Track and Full Bracket Predictions

Jul 01, 2023

The United States women's team will go after its third consecutive Women's World Cup title over the next month in Australia and New Zealand.

The USWNT is favored to capture the crown, but the gap between it and the rest of the top teams in the world is closer than it ever has been.

Alex Morgan and Co. should receive competition from a slew of European nations, led by Germany and England, as well as long-time continental rival Canada.

All of the top squads will have to navigate a larger field of national team programs to win the title.

2023 marks the first time in which 32 teams will be a part of the Women's World Cup. Eight nations will make their WWC debut over the next week.

The tournament also marks the end of Marta's time on the world stage. The all-time men's and women's World Cup scoring leader will try to help Brazil become the first South American country to win the Women's World Cup.

The USWNT will try to become the first-ever side to three-peat at a men's or women's World Cup.

The American women are already in rarified air, as they are one of four teams to ever successfully defend a World Cup title. Germany won the 2003 and 2007 Women's World Cup. Brazil and Italy both achieved the feat on the men's side.

Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and a handful of household names are back for 2023, but the squad will be without the retired Carli Lloyd and injured Becky Sauerbrunn, two vital pieces of the last two World Cup title runs.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski still has six players with over 100 international appearances to choose from, but the lineup selection will skew more toward the younger players.

Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, who have 16 international goals between them, will be vital parts of the attack. Alana Cook, Naomi Girma and Emily Fox, all of whom are playing in their first World Cups, will be key in defense.

Parts of the USWNT roster may look different, but the expectation remains the same. The Americans are the top team in the FIFA Women's World Rankings and have a fairly easy group to get through that features Vietnam, Portugal and the Netherlands.

The first goal is to advance as the Group E winner, a spot that could keep the USWNT away from England, Germany, France and Australia in the knockout round, if those nations all win their respective groups.

The Americans have an easier path mapped out to the final, and that could leave them fresh for the championship match in which they will be expected to win.

A third straight World Cup title would put the American women in a class of their own in soccer history.

The all-time leading scorer in World Cup history will make her final appearance at the tournament for Brazil at 37.

Marta will play in her sixth World Cup and try to extend her scoring record that sits at 17, which is three more than German legend Birgit Prinz and retired American superstar Abby Wambach.

Marta is no longer the best player on the Brazil roster. That title belongs to Debinha, who has 58 goals in 134 international appearances for the South American nation.

The 37-year-old can still play a major role during Brazil's time in Australia and New Zealand. She may be valuable in the Group F showdown with France that could decide first place in the group that also features Jamaica and Panama.

Brazil has not gotten past the quarterfinals in each of the last three World Cups. That should be the first goal for Marta on her farewell tour, but reaching that point will be tough, especially if Brazil takes second in Group F and faces Germany in the round of 16.

Thirty-two nations will take part in the Women's World Cup for the first time in history.

The expanded field from 24 to 32 allowed eight debutantes to participate in the tournament.

Two teams each from Africa (Morocco and Zambia), Asia (Philippines and Vietnam), Europe (Portugal and Republic of Ireland) and North America (Haiti and Panama) are in the field for the first time.

The larger field puts the 2023 WWC on level pegging with the 2022 men's World Cup in terms of group number, size and total teams. The men's World Cup will expand to 48 teams for 2026.

None of the new sides are expected to go far in the tournament (Portugal is the highest-ranked debut side at No. 21), but there could be more upsets throughout the group stage.

An upset or two of the biggest teams in the tournament could shake up how the knockout bracket looks, and that may lead to one or two unexpected quarterfinalists.

At minimum, the 32-team group stage should showcase how far the women's game has come in the last few years and it will display how much talent there is spread across the world in 2023.

Group A: 1. Norway, 2. New Zealand, 3. Switzerland, 4. Philippines

Group B: 1. Canada, 2. Australia, 3. Republic of Ireland, 4. Nigeria

Group C: 1. Spain, 2. Japan, 3. Zambia, 4. Costa Rica

Group D: 1. England, 2. Denmark, 3. China, 4. Haiti

Group E: 1. United States, 2. Netherlands, 3. Portugal, 4. Vietnam

Group F: 1. France, 2. Brazil, 3. Jamaica, 4. Panama

Group G: 1. Sweden, 2. Italy, 3. Argentina, 4. South Africa

Group H: 1. Germany, 2. Colombia, 3. South Korea, 4. Morocco

Round of 16

Norway over Japan

United States over Italy

Spain over New Zealand

Sweden over Netherlands

Canada over Denmark

France over Colombia

England over Australia

Germany over Brazil

Quarterfinals

United States over Norway

Sweden over Spain

France over Canada

England over Germany

Semifinals

United States over Sweden

England over France

Final

United States over England