World Cup Now: Is the 2023 Women's World Cup wide open?
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup continued Thursday with tournament cohost Australia taking down Ireland, 1-0, in front of a record crowd of more than 75,500 fans at Sydney's Stadium Australia.
Australia defender Steph Catley converted a penalty kick to give the Matildas the lead in the 52nd minute — and the rest was history.
The win was a difficult one after Australia announced it would be without its captain and star striker Sam Kerr, who is set to miss the first two matches of the tournament after picking up a calf strain during training Thursday.
Following the match, the "World Cup Now" crew — Jimmy Conrad, Leslie Osborne and Melissa Ortiz — was joined by Heather O'Reilly, and together they each shared one big prediction they have for this tournament, including how many teams could challenge the U.S. for the title.
Conrad: "It feels like the gap is closing. I really feel like you could build a narrative for maybe seven or eight teams that could go on to win this tournament, and I don't think we could say that in previous iterations. You have the U.S., of course; Canada is obviously going to be a threat. When I think about Europe, you've got Sweden that could be in the conversation. Germany, France, Spain, Australia. Hopefully Sam Kerr will be healthy to get after it. Japan is another threat; they've had success in the past. It's very cool to see these other countries start to invest in a really important way. It's gonna make everything a lot more challenging. … There are so many competitive teams."
Osborne: "I think women's sports, football especially — this World Cup is gonna help take it to another level. We are at an inflection point in women's sports in general, specifically women's soccer. … The eyeballs, the visibility, the resources that have been pumped into this World Cup. This has such a massive influence and opportunity for our sport going forward. … You're gonna see the effect and the legacy left from this Women's World Cup."
Ortiz: "This is gonna be by far the most exciting tournament in FIFA Women's World Cup history … [and] we're gonna see breakout players, breakout stars, breakout teams."
O'Reilly: "Three-peat, baby! … I think it's theirs (the United States) for the taking. … They're teed up to do something incredible."
