The first round of the group stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is now complete. Here are five takeaways from the first round of the group stage.
5) Host nations came away with wins.
Australia and New Zealand both opened the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup with victories. To begin the tournament, New Zealand defeated Noway 1-0 on a goal by Hannah Wilkinson of Whangarei. The Melbourne City striker scored from Jacqui Hand in the 48th minute for the only goal scored in the first game. This was New Zealand’s first win in the history of the Women’s World Cup.
Australia meanwhile beat Ireland 1-0 on a penalty by Steph Catley of Melbourne. Catley scored in the 52nd minute. The Matildas came away with a key W even though they did not have the services of their star player Sam Kerr, who was out with a thigh injury.
4) Two goalless draws.
In the tournament to date, there were two clean slates. Canada and Nigeria tied at zero on July 21, and France and Jamaica tied at zero on July 23. This was the first time Jamaica ever recorded a point at the Women’s World Cup. Canada meanwhile, had a glorious chance to beat Nigeria, however their leading scorer of all-time, Christine Sinclair of Vancouver, British Columbia, was unable to score on a penalty kick.
3) Only one comeback.
Teams that scored first have won 13 of the Women’s World Cup games to date. The only exception came in Group G, when Sweden came back from a 1-0 deficit to beat South Africa 2-1. The Swedish goals came from Fridolina Rolfo and Amanda Ilestedt. Another interesting statistic was the fact that this was also the only game where both teams scored in the same contest.
2) Casey Phair makes Women’s World Cup history.
On Tuesday, South Korean striker Casey Phair became the youngest player ever to participate in the Women’s World Cup. At 16 years and 26 days, she came in the game in the 78th minute in a 2-0 South Korea loss to Colombia in Sydney.
1) Brazil’s Ary Borges scores thrice.
Ary Borges of Sao Luis, Brazil has the only three goal game of the tournament so far. That came on July 24 in a 4-0 win over Panama. Three other players scored twice. They were Hinata Miyazawa in a 5-0 Japan win over Zambia, Sophia Smith in a 3-0 United States win over Vietnam, and Alexandra Popp in a 6-0 Germany win over Morocco.
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