FIFA Women's World Cup preview - Group B
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TSN.ca's lookahead to the FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup continues with a preview of Group B that features Canada, Sam Kerr and hosts Australia, the debuting Ireland and Nigeria.
Sam Kerr Australia AUSTRALIA
Confederation: AFC
FIFA ranking: No. 10
Manager: Tony Gustavsson
Captain: Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Previous World Cup appearances: Seven
Major honours: OFC Women’s Nations Cup (1993, 1998 and 2003), AFF Women’s Championship (2008) and AFC Women’s Championship (2010)
In naming his provisional Matildas squad for the World Cup, Australia manager Tony Gustavsson has attempted to mix exciting young prospects like midfielder Amy Sayer (Stanford) and forward Remy Siemsen (Leicester City) with established veterans like forward Caitlin Foord (Arsenal) and all-time caps leader defender Claire Polkinghorne (Vittsjo GIK), but what jumps out from the 29-player list is the confidence he has in key players being ready to contribute after lengthy injury layoffs. Chief among those is 31-year-old Kyah Simon. The Tottenham Hotspur forward with 29 international goals to her name tore her ACL in October in Spurs’ 2-1 win over Reading in a League Cup match. Alanna Kennedy is also on the roster, despite the 28-year-old Manchester City defender appearing in only eight games this past season with a number of injuries, including a calf strain and a fractured shoulder. Midfielder Chloe Logarzo’s ACL injury resulted in a release from the Kansas City Current, but Gustavsson has also given her a shot. These are gambles to be sure, yet Gustavsson could be proven to be a genius should these players be able to play up to what healthy versions of them are capable of doing. Still, the star of the Matildas’ roster remains its tireless captain, Samantha Kerr. Fresh off of another Women’s Super League title with Chelsea and a 29-goal campaign across all competitions. Kerr’s hit rate at the Blues has been astonishing, scoring 90 goals in 116 appearances. The Matildas’ all-time leading scorer with 63 goals in 120 appearances, the 29-year-old Kerr is set to embark on her fourth World Cup. She memorably had a four-goal game against Jamaica at the 2019 World Cup in France. There are few more imperious goal threats in women’s football than Kerr and she alone is enough to take the Matildas’ credentials seriously. But a tough group with Canada and Ireland awaits. Still, the quality here should be enough for Australia to make a run in front of home fans.
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Canada Adriana Leon Jordyn Huitema CANADA
Confederation: CONCACAF
FIFA ranking: No. 7
Manager: Bev Priestman
Captain: Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns)
Previous World Cup appearances: Seven
Major honours: Summer Olympics (2020), CONCACAF W Championship (1998 and 2010) and Pan Am Games (2011)
Canada returns to major international competition for the first time since claiming its first ever Olympic triumph at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games. While Bev Priestman’s side boasts a number of world-class talents like the Chelsea trio of defenders Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence and midfielder Jessie Fleming, but it appears that Australia and New Zealand will mark a bowing out on the international stage for some of the team’s stalwart veterans. The 2023 World Cup could mark a swansong for midfielder Sophie Schmidt, defender Allysha Chapman (both Houston Dash), midfielder Desiree Scott (Kansas City Current) and the greatest footballer the country has ever produced in forward Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns). The CanWNT’s all-time leader in caps (323), goals (190) and assists (55), the now 40-year-old Sinclair does not score at the clip she once did with only seven goals since 2020, so it will be incumbent upon the likes of Jordyn Huitema (OL Reign), Cloe Lacasse (Benfica) and Evelyne Viens (Kristianstads) to help shoulder the load offensively, especially with Janine Beckie (Portland Thorns) unavailable with an ACL tear incurred this past February. Worrying, too, is Canada’s form heading into the tournament. The CanWNT is 1-3 in 2023, scoring three goals and conceding six, including a 3-0 loss to Japan at the SheBelieves Cup in February. It’s a far cry from the team’s 2022 showing in which it reached the CONCACAF W Championship final and went 9-1-2, including back-to-back wins over Group B opponent Australia. The talent at Priestman’s disposal is enough to get Canada out of the group. Where it goes from there remains to be seen.
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Sinead Farrelly Ireland IRELAND
Confederation: UEFA
FIFA ranking: No. 22
Manager: Vera Pauw
Captain: Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Previous World Cup appearances: None
Major honours: N/A
A nation with a rich footballing tradition, Ireland makes its maiden voyage at the Women’s World Cup. Vera Pauw’s Girls in Green head to Australia and New Zealand by virtue of capturing one of the final spots available in a UEFA playoff last fall. In a match with rivals Scotland at Hampden Park, Caroline Weir had the opportunity to play hero in front of the home fans. In the 19th minute, veteran Liverpool defender Niamh Fahey was adjudged to have handled in the area and Scotland was awarded a penalty. Real Madrid star Weir stepped up to take it, but her effort was poor and easily stopped by Everton’s Courtney Brosnan. The save allowed Ireland to pull off the victory, thanks to second-half substitute Amber Barrett. Only five minutes after she came onto the pitch, the Turbine Potsdam drove forward and scored in the 72nd minute for the game’s only goal. All of Fahey, Brosnan and Barrett appear on Pauw’s 31-player preliminary squad highlighted by captain Katie McCabe. The 27-year-old Arsenal midfielder is the best-known player in the squad and capable of the spectacular like her bullet of a goal against Manchester City in April that was named the Women’s Super League’s goal of the season. Also on the roster is Sinead Farrelly. The 33-year-old NJ/NY Gotham midfielder made her Ireland debut in April against the United States. The Havertown, Penn., native retired from football in 2016 after a series of injuries and alleged sexual coercion from Paul Riley, who coached Farrelly at three different teams (and was fired in the wake of the NWSL abuse scandal in 2021). She returned to the game this past spring after a nearly seven-year absence and received her first cap weeks later. Farrelly’s participation will likely be one of the stories of the tournament. While an outside shot to get out of the group, Pauw will hope that her team can show the same kind of mettle it did to qualify in order to advance into the knockout round.
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Asisat Oshoala Nigeria NIGERIA
Confederation: AFC
FIFA ranking: No. 40
Manager: Randy Waldrum
Captain: Onome Ebi (Levante Las Planas)
Previous World Cup appearances: Eight
Major honours: Africa Women Cup of Nations (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018) and African Games (2003 and 2007)
Have the Super Falcons steadied the ship? That will be the question manager Randy Waldrum is asking ahead of Nigeria’s trip to Australia and New Zealand. Nigeria heads into the tournament as winners of three straight games after a brutal seven-match losing streak from mid-2022 to earlier this year. On-field performance was only one of Waldrum’s worries with reports of a massive split of the locker room following a falling out between captain and Super Falcons legend Onome Obi and the team’s best player, Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala, over the captain’s armband. There was also reported discord between Waldrum, who also serves as head coach of Pitt’s women’s team, and his assistants. Perhaps actual game time is the best medicine for these kinds of issues, but Group B will not be an easy one for the Super Falcons. In two games against Canada last summer, Nigeria was held 2-2 and lost 2-0. Crucial to Nigeria’s success will be the aforementioned Oshoala. Scorching hot for Barca, the 28-year-old Oshoala has 83 goals in 89 appearances for the team since heading to Spain in 2019. If they can get on the same page, the talent assembled by Waldrum has the potential to make waves. Whether or not they can will become evident very quickly.