WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
All eyes on Australia, New Zealand as co-hosts kick off Women’s World Cup
The ninth Women’s World Cup and by far the biggest in the tournament’s history kicks off on Thursday with co-hosts New Zealand and Australia in action, with record attendances expected at both their matches.
What began as a 12-team tournament in 1991, the Women’s World Cup has steadily grown in stature and expanded to 32 teams – the same as the men’s tournament.
It also marks the first time two countries are co-hosting the tournament as the quadrennial event arrives in the southern hemisphere for the first time.
New Zealand kick things off in Auckland against former champions Norway while Australia host Ireland, with both matches set to welcome more than 100,000 fans in total.
“It will set the tone for a Women’s World Cup that I expect to become a watershed moment in global women’s sports,” FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman said.
The 2015 edition in Canada welcomed a record 1.3 million-plus fans at stadiums but the 2023 tournament is expected to beat that mark with nearly 1.4 million tickets sold so far.
The pressure is on New Zealand, however, not just as co-hosts but also because they have never won a match at the World Cup in five prior appearances.
They are long odds to beat Norway, who have a Ballon d’Or winner in their midst.
Ada Hegerberg returned to the national team last year after a five-year exile and she is looking to put their disappointing group stage exit at the European Championships in the rear-view mirror.
“We must play every match as if it’s our last,” she said. “We need to really bleed for each other and bleed for our uniform, because nothing comes free.”
Australia will be led by Sam Kerr, a Golden Boot favourite and an icon in the sport after the Chelsea forward became the first woman to grace the global cover of the highly-popular video game FIFA 23.
With 55 goals in her last 72 internationals, Australian fans will hope to catch a glimpse of her trademark cartwheel-backflip goal celebration. On the biggest stage, on home soil.
“It’s about entertainment and having fun and showing what football is about. Maybe it might (happen), maybe it won’t,” Kerr said.
-Reuters
Nigeria’s Flamingos have once again confirmed their status as one of the most consistent teams in world youth football after securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a thrilling 5-3 victory over the Benin Republic in Lomé on Saturday.
The victory handed the Nigerian girls an 8-5 aggregate success over two legs and ensured their place at the global showpiece in Morocco later this year.
In doing so, the Flamingos maintained Nigeria’s remarkable record as one of only seven countries to have qualified for every edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup since the competition was launched in 2008.
The exclusive group also includes Canada, Germany, Ghana, Japan, DPR Korea and New Zealand.
Having carried a slender 3-2 advantage from last weekend’s first leg in Ikenne, Ogun State, Coach Akeem Busari’s side arrived in Lomé determined to leave nothing to chance, and they produced an attacking display that ultimately proved too much for their hosts.
Nigeria made a dream start when Mary Dustan opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Benin Republic responded almost immediately, drawing level three minutes later to briefly raise hopes of a comeback.
The Flamingos, however, quickly regained control of the contest.
Esther Stephen restored Nigeria’s lead in the 15th minute before Queen Joseph struck five minutes later to give the visitors a comfortable 3-1 advantage within the opening 20 minutes.
Although the Beninese girls fought back bravely and managed to stay in the contest, the Nigerian side showed composure and maturity whenever the pressure mounted.
Queen Joseph emerged as one of the stars of the encounter, scoring her second goal of the match in the 76th minute to help seal a 5-3 victory and extinguish any lingering hopes of a Benin revival.
The qualification continues Nigeria’s proud tradition in the competition, where the Flamingos have become one of the tournament’s most familiar faces.
Since the inaugural edition in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria has never failed to qualify, a feat matched by only six other nations worldwide. Their consistency has made them one of Africa’s most reliable representatives at the age-grade level and a respected force on the global stage.
The Flamingos’ best performance came at the 2022 tournament in India, where they claimed the bronze medal to become the first Nigerian team to finish on the podium at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
With qualification now secured, attention will turn to preparations for Morocco 2026, where the Nigerian youngsters will once again test themselves against the finest emerging talents from across the globe.
For Busari and his players, Saturday’s victory was about more than just defeating Benin Republic. It was another chapter in a remarkable record of consistency that has seen Nigeria remain ever-present at every edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The challenge now is to transform another qualification campaign into a title challenge when the world gathers in Morocco.
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Spain thrashed England 4-0 to move a step closer to automatic qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup finals, with Germany booking their spot thanks to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Norway in the penultimate round of European qualifiers on Friday.
With the top teams from each of the four A groups qualifying automatically, Germany’s win gave them an unassailable four-point lead over Norway in Group A4 with one game left, while Spain and England are both locked on 12 points at the top of Group A3.
England’s hopes of securing a spot with a win in Mallorca were quickly snuffed out, with Patri Guijarro giving the Spaniards the lead in the 19th minute and Alexia Putellas making it 2-0 before the break.
There appeared to be nothing England could do to stop the Spanish juggernaut, with Putellas adding a second goal 10 minutes after the break and Claudio Pina putting the icing on the cake with a goal from a superb pass by Aitana Bonmati to make it 4-0.
England retain a chance of qualifying directly, but they will have to get a better result when they host Ukraine next Tuesday than Spain manage in their final fixture away to Iceland.
There was late drama in Group A2 as Ireland’s Amber Barrett netted a 90th-minute goal to snatch a 3-2 home win over the Netherlands to move above the Dutch and into second place in the group, one point behind leaders France, who beat Poland 2-0.
The Irish play France in their final game in Grenoble, with the Dutch taking on Poland at home.
Earlier, Pernille Harder came off the bench and scored the winner for Denmark as they downed neighbours Sweden 2-1 to end the Swedes’ hopes of qualifying directly.
The Danes top Group A1 on 11 points ahead of their final game against bottom side Serbia, while second-placed Italy, who are three points behind the leaders, next host Sweden.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s Falconets have been handed a challenging but promising draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after they were placed in Group F alongside former champions Spain, China PR and debutants New Caledonia.
The draw for the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was conducted in Lodz on Thursday, setting the stage for the tournament scheduled to run from 5 to 27 September across four Polish cities.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s most successful teams at the competition, will face a stern opening-round test against European powerhouse Spain, which won the title in Costa Rica in 2022. China PR also brings a considerable pedigree to the group, while New Caledonia will be making their maiden appearance at the global finals.
The Falconets will be hoping to improve on their performance at the last edition and rekindle memories of their best outings, when they reached the final in 2010 and 2014.
Hosts Poland headline Group A alongside Argentina, Benin and Mexico, while defending champions Korea DPR begin their title defence in Group E against Colombia, Costa Rica and Portugal.
Other intriguing group-stage fixtures include Brazil, England, Canada and Tanzania in Group B, while France, Korea Republic, Ghana and Ecuador make up Group C. Group D features former champions Japan and USA alongside New Zealand and Italy.
The full draw is as follows:
- Group A: Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Benin
- Group B: Brazil, England, Canada, Tanzania
- Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ghana, Ecuador
- Group D: Japan, USA, New Zealand, Italy
- Group E: Korea DPR, Colombia, Costa Rica, Portugal
- Group F: Spain, Nigeria, China PR, New Caledonia
The tournament will mark Poland’s first major global women’s football event, with matches to be played in Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Lodz and Sosnowiec.
Six nations — Benin, Ecuador, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal and Tanzania — will make their debut appearances, while Korea DPR and the USA are both chasing a record fourth title.
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