The Women’s World Cup is now just one week away and the excitement is building ahead of the biggest women’s football tournament on the planet. Our preview series has reached Group E, where the current world champions lie in wait.
Group E
USA
Portugal
Netherlands
Vietnam
All eyes in this group turn to the dominant force in women’s football, USA. They’ve won the last two editions of this tournament and Group E provides an early repeat of 2019’s final. The US beat the Netherlands 2-0 to secure their fourth World Cup title and they are 5/2 favourites with Betfred to be the first ever team to win three consecutive World Cups.
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But things may not be as straightforward this time around. Three key players, Mallory Swanson, Sam Mewis and Catarina Macario are all missing and star name Megan Rapinoe is now 38. Added to that Alex Morgan is 34, and there is a sense that this squad isn’t quite at its peak, especially when you consider the progress other nations have made.
Despite this, the US are worthy favourites. Their squad has more depth than any other at the tournament, with quality in every position. Most of those are based on home soil, with Lindsey Horan of Lyon the only member of the 23 not playing her domestic football in the USA. However, with the rapid progress of the European game, it will be intriguing to see whether the rest of the world has caught up with those across the Atlantic.
The Netherlands were strong four years ago, but have suffered a difficult cycle to get to this point. They went out in the quarter-finals of the Euros when trying to defend their crown on English soil, and they haven’t been in great form since, losing to both Germany and Austria this year. The loss of Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema to injury is a hammer blow to their chances while fellow forward Romée Leuchter will also be absent. That means there could be a lack of goals in this team, with Lieke Martens shouldering more and more creative responsibility for this side.
If one of the big guns slips up, then Portugal will hope to take full advantage. They proved in the recent 0-0 draw with England how defensively resolute they can be, while they’ve also beaten co-hosts New Zealand, Ukraine and Cameroon in 2023. Jessica Silva is the standout forward and should be exciting to watch, but it is this team’s defensive fortitude that could carry them into the knockout stages.
Vietnam are playing at their very first World Cup and shocked many by getting here as they made the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarter-final for the first time and won the Southeast Asian Games. They will be seen as the rank outsiders, but write them off at your peril. They only lost 2-1 to Germany away from home in June and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha has the ability to take whatever chances the team is able to create for her.
This is a group full of stories, and one to sit back and enjoy. The USA are likely to run riot again, but that game between Portugal and the Netherlands should be one to watch. We might even see the 2019 finalists crash out in the group stage.
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