The full list of teams that made it to the 2023 World Cup includes: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Vietnam and Zambia.
4. Tournament play begins in groups before the competition is over.
The 32 competing teams will undergo a grueling four-week gaming process to fight for a place in the final. Here’s what you need to know: Each team is assigned one of eight pools: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or H. (Team USA is in Pool E, which also includes the Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam.)
Teams play a match against the other squads in their group. The emphasis is on accumulating enough points, which are determined by the number of wins (3 points), draws (1 point), and losses (0 points) for each team. The two best teams with the most points from each group advance to the first knockout phase. This is known as the round of 16, named for the number of teams remaining.
In this stage, the first place team from each group plays the second place team from another group. The winners of this, the remaining eight teams, move on to the next knockout stage, or quarterfinals. The four winners advance to the semifinals, and then two teams remain standing for the final. Third place is determined in a match between the losers of the semifinal round.
5. The United States seeks to be the first team to achieve the treble.
Since the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, the USA has dominated the event, collecting four titles from eight tournaments. They will remain the leaders after the 2023 World Cup regardless of who wins, as second-placed country Germany only has two titles.
Still, Team USA is looking to increase its lead, and it’s in a good position to do so: After back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019, they enter the 2023 edition as the two-time defending champions and the favorite to came back.
However, they will face stiff competition. Canada returns after taking Olympic gold in Tokyo and England won the European championship in 2022. The US is also coming off a disappointing showing at the 2020 Olympics, where they took bronze.
6. The US captain may be out, but other players are ready to step up.
Just a month before the game was set to begin, USA captain Becky Sauerbrunn confirmed that a foot injury she suffered in April would prevent her from playing in the World Cup. “I have no doubt that the 23 players on the final roster have everything they need, in their feet, head and heart, to bring home our fifth trophy,” she wrote in Twitter.
With Sauerbrunn gone, there are still plenty of players to watch on Team USA, including several standout mainstays and some emerging talent:
