The FIFA World Cup will be held in New Zealand and Australia from July 20 to August 20. For the first time, 32 teams are participating in the Women’s World Cup. Four years ago, 24 teams made it to the games.
In the opening matches on Thursday, the organizing countries will be on the field: New Zealand will face Norway and Australia will face Ireland.
The opening matches will be played in Auckland and Sydney. The final will be played in Sydney.
What does do?
shows all 64 matches of the World Cup as live broadcasts, with commentary in both Finnish and Swedish. The World Cup broadcasts start with a pre-broadcast on TV2 and Areena from 21:05.
Read also: The football party of the month begins! See the program and broadcast information of the World Cup here
Even this summer you can play the super popular Futistietäjä game. In Futistietäjä, which can be found in the app and on ‘s website, you can bet on the results of the tournament from the opening match to the championship party. The best scientists are rewarded with product prizes. You can also challenge your friends in team games.
In Futistietäjä, you can also find the opening goal predictions for each match, where the best bettors are also rewarded.
The super popular Futistietäjä is here again! Take part in the competition and you can win prizes
Through the application and ‘s competition pages, you can also stay on top of the hottest topics of the competitions, you can watch the most interesting clips and find the most important statistics, results and the competition program.
From Areena, you can watch all live broadcasts, recordings and video clips as usual.
‘s World Cup soccer website
Football World Cup 2023 in Areena
Who are the early favorites?
The Women’s Soccer World Cup has been played since 1991. The United States has won the World Cup four times out of eight tournaments.
Four years ago, the United States defeated Holland in the World Cup final. This time Holland has a star striker on the sidelines due to a knee injury Vivianne Miedema.
The toughest teams from last year’s European Championship, England, Germany and France, have been raised as the toughest challengers for the United States.
– I believe that the United States is a tough team even now. However, the winning team is open. It’s really hard to guess, Urheilu’s expert Essi Sainio evaluate.
Last year, he celebrated the NWSL championship of the American professional series in Portland’s shirt Natalia Kuikka meets the star players of the national team every week. According to Kuika, the US team is full of skilled, physical and fast players.
– When they play really well together, the United States can be a really unstoppable team, Kuikka states.
Top-class mental qualities will also come to the fore.
– The essence of Americans exudes such self-confidence that they consider themselves the best in the world. Playing is really affected when self-confidence is low. It separates them from Finland and the rest of Europe, says Kuikka.
Finland mentioned!
The Finnish national team did not make it to the World Cup, but was behind Sweden and Ireland in its qualifying group. Sweden went directly to the games and Ireland made their way to the final tournament through the further qualifiers.
Although the Finnish national team will not be seen at the games, there will be one Finn. Lina Lehtovaara is one of the judges selected for the World Championships.
In Finnish terms, the performance is rare: it has previously only been achieved by the whistler at the 2003 World Championships Katriina Elovirta and refereed at the 2011 World Championships Kirsi Heikkinen together Tonja Weckström and Anu Jokelan with.
There is one player from Finland’s main league, the National League. A player representing Åland United at the club level plays in the New Zealand team of the host country Jacqui Hand.
More on the topic:
The joy from the World Championships evaporated when Lina Lehtovaara heard of a heart problem – the top judge passed a fierce test and survived with a scare
When Jacqui Hand, 24, got a job in Finland, she didn’t know that Åland was an island – the quick visit of the player named to the World Cup took a long time
What is the talk before the Games?
The World Cup has been overshadowed by the knee injuries of several star players, but still the best players in the world can be seen on the field. Oceania will also see the farewell of two great players at the national team level.
of the United States Megan Rapinoe and Brazil Marta are playing for the last time in the value tournament.
Four years ago, at the time of the previous World Cup, Rapinoe came to the attention of the whole world when she waged a war of words with the then president of the United States Donald Trump against and at the same time led the United States to the world championship.
The now 38-year-old Rapinoe was also chosen as the best player of the World Cup and she was also the best goal scorer of the games with six hits. Rapinoe’s entire career also ends this year, when the club season in the United States ends.
37-year-old Marta is one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Marta is the first soccer player of all time to have scored in five different World Cups, including men’s and women’s.
Marta has been chosen six times as FIFA player of the year.
– Marta and Megan Rapinoe have been the faces of women’s football. Even those who follow less sports know them. Both are extremely big personalities on and off the field, Sainio the importance of the duo.
In many countries there has also been an uproar before the start of the World Cup. Zambia’s head coach is suspected of sexual abuse, while Ireland’s head coach has been accused of inappropriate behavior in the past in the American club.
The Nigerian team, on the other hand, has threatened a boycott due to unpaid fees. The Canadian and South African teams have also had trouble with their federations.
– These Kohu show that these World Cups have a very high visibility. The players also recognize that such things cannot happen at a professional level. Things like this can’t happen anyway. I hope there will be quick changes, Sainio summarizes the situation.