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The Women’s World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand later this month and this time it’s bigger than ever.
A record 32 teams will be fighting it out down under to become world champions and get their hands on the World Cup trophy.
But what can we expect and which countries should we be looking out for?
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s tournament!
When is the Women’s World Cup taking place?
The Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 tournament takes place from Thursday 20 July to Sunday 20 August.
The opening match sees co-hosts New Zealand take on Norway in Auckland’s Eden Park – the country’s national stadium.
The final will take place a month later at Stadium Australia – also known as the Olympic Stadium – in Sydney on 20 August.
The tournament is set to be the biggest women’s sporting event in history with more than a million match tickets already sold.
Where is the Women’s World Cup taking place?
This summer’s Women’s World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
It’s the first time the tournament will be played in the southern hemisphere and the first time that it’s had more than one host nation.
There are 64 matches staged across 10 stadiums in nine cities over the course of the month.
In Australia, six stadiums across five cities will be used to host matches – in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
In New Zealand, matches will take place in four cities – Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington.
Is there a World Cup mascot?
Tazuni the 15-year-old penguin has been unveiled as the official mascot of the tournament.
The name ‘Tazuni’ is a fusion of her home, the Tasman Sea – which is situated between Australia and New Zealand – and the word ‘unity’, which organisers say is an important part of the event.
Who are the current champions?
The USA are the defending champions, having won the previous two tournaments in 2015 and 2019.
At the last World Cup four years ago, the USA won 2-0 against the Netherlands, managed by current England boss Sarina Wiegman.
The USA are bidding to become the first team – in the men’s or women’s game – to win three football World Cups in a row!
Which countries are taking part?
For the first time, 32 countries will compete in the women’s World Cup – up from 24 countries which took part in the last tournament four years ago.
There are eight teams who’ll be competing for the very first time – Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia.
The tournament will begin with a group stage consisting of eight groups of four teams.
Here are this year’s groups:
Women’s World Cup 2023 groups
Group A:Â New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B:Â Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Group C:Â Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Group D:Â England, Haiti, Denmark, China
Group E:Â USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal
Group F:Â France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
Group G:Â Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Group H:Â Germany, Morocco, Columbia, South Korea
After all the group stage matches are complete, the top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stage of the tournament, starting with the round of 16.
Which group are England in and when are they playing?
England are the only UK home nation to have qualified for the tournament and they’ve been drawn in Group D alongside Haiti, Denmark and China.
England’s opening fixture is in Brisbane against Haiti on Saturday 22 July. The game kicks off at 10.30am UK time (7.30pm local time).
Their second group match is against Denmark at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday 28 July. Kick-off is 9.30am UK time (6.30pm local time).
The Lionesses will then face China in their final group game, which takes place in Adelaide on Tuesday 1 August at noon UK time (8.30pm local time).
Which countries are favourites to win the Women’s World Cup?
The Lionesses became European Champions last year when they won the Euros and they’re one of the teams tipped to go all the way this summer.
But it won’t be easy as there are plenty of other teams hoping to take home football’s biggest prize.
Other favourites to lift the World Cup trophy include former winners Germany, Spain and the number one side in the world and reigning world champions, the USA.
