The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand began on July 23, 2023 and ended on August 20. After the group stage, the subsequent round of sixteen, and then the quarter and semi finals, Spain won the championship game. Despite the fact that games often took place at five in the morning due to the 14 hour time difference, it was a riveting tournament to watch. All teams played excellently, resulting in a thrilling 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The first stage of the World Cup is called the group stage, in which 32 teams compete in groups of four. Teams advance depending on how many games they won, lost, or tied out of three matches. Ultimately, two teams from each group advance to the next stage. From group A, Switzerland and Norway advanced. In their home country, Australia won group B and advanced along with Nigeria. Japan and Spain advanced from group C and England and Denmark advanced from group D. Group E was won by the Netherlands, and the U.S. came in second. From group F, France and Jamaica advanced. Sweden and South Africa advanced from group G, and finally, Colombia and Morocco advanced from group H.
The round of sixteen was where the games began to get more exciting because in this round, each team plays one game and is eliminated if they lose. Should the game be a draw, the teams go to penalty kicks. Spain beat Switzerland in a crushing 5-1 defeat. Sweden beat the U.S. because after half an hour of overtime the match remained square, and the Swede women won 5-4 in penalties. The same happened in the England versus Nigeria game, with England winning 4-2 in penalties. France pulled off an incredible victory over Morocco, winning 4-0 in regulation time. Additionally, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, and Colombia advanced.
Next came the quarter-finals, which followed the same rules as the round of sixteen. Spain, Sweden, Australia, and England advanced to the semi-finals. During the semi-finals, Spain beat Sweden 2-1 and secured their spot in the final against England, who beat Australia 3-1. Australia and Sweden competed in the play-off game for third place, which Sweden won 2-0. Finally, in the long-anticipated final, Olga Carmona scored an early goal for Spain in the 29th minute. The score remained static for the rest of the game, resulting in Spain’s first Women’s World Cup victory.