Women’s World Cup: Who will challenge the USA?
En route to winning its fourth World Cup in 2015, the United States women’s national team gave up just three goals throughout the whole tournament. Two of those goals were scored by Japan in the final, a game the U.S. comfortably won 5-2. That’s the level of dominance the team displayed the last go-around. They were an absolute unit. An undisputed powerhouse.
A lot of that roster remains. The squad is still in good hands with Jill Ellis at the helm. Seven of the starting 11 from the championship game in 2015 are traveling to France and most of them are still a vital part of the starting lineup. But, some of those players are a little older. A few of them have retired from national team duty — most notably — iconic players Hope Solo and Abby Wambach.
Yes, the United States is still the number one team in the world according to FIFA’s monthly rankings. But the road to another final and possibly a title is not as cut and dry as it might have been in the past. So for fans of the women’s national team, or just high-level football, keep an eye on a few nations that are serious challengers for the Women’s World Cup trophy.
England
Despite having limited success in year’s past — only qualifying for three of the six World Cup cycles prior to 2019 — this iteration of the English national team is filled with promise. More specifically, talent. The Guardian releases its top 100 footballers of the year annually, and of the players mentioned for 2018, 10 of them were England internationals; 10 percent of the top talent in the world comes from one small nation off the northern coast of France.
The Lionesses have a brilliant array of attacking power, offering a mix of veteran figureheads and young talent. Striker Ellen White is the woman her teammates will look to target up top, but will also track back and destroy opportunities from opponents in and around the box. The English might also possess the most sturdy back line of any team in the tournament. Millie Bright is young, but looks poised to pair with center-back partner (and captain) Steph Houghton.
Houghton is the rock that allows the fullbacks to push up without much fear of having to make a quick turnaround to track back on defense. Most notably, Lucy Bronze, who can make her case as best right-back in the world as the starter for perennial giants Lyon. The midfield is the area on the pitch that needs to be sorted out for England to be considered a cup favorite, but have shown they might have the talent to do so in players named Jade Moore, Jill Scott and an aging Karen Carney. England has the fourth best odds according to FiveThirtyEight, but a draw with 20th ranked Scotland and seventh ranked Japan could stifle the Lionesses before the knockout rounds.
Netherlands
The Netherlands are making just its second appearance in the World Cup, but the second in a row. This team is on the rise. They’ve tasted silverware as, just two years ago, they took down Denmark in the European Championships. Since then, the Orange have won 17 of 24 games across all events and have done so by dominating teams in the counter attack. No team across that span has scored more than two goals on the Netherlands, and as good as its defense is, in attack is where they really shine.
Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema is a once-in-a-generation talent, and she’s proven to be more than just that. 22 years old and she’s already scored 58 goals in just 75 appearances for her country, including the match winner against Denmark in the 2017 Euro finals. Lieke Martens is a threat on the wing equally as much as Miedema. She’s scored 42 goals for her country and is one of the team’s premier playmakers, frequently getting crosses in for her teammates.
Similar to England, the Netherlands are far from a dynasty when it comes to the women’s international game, but they have some serious potential. Currently, the Dutch sit at eighth in the FIFA world rankings, but should be considered as one of the top two or three favorites behind the United States. In fact, FiveThirtyEight has them as the fifth best odds in the tournament, likely due to the Dutch’s open style of football which can leave them susceptible to goals on the counter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAubDsltNDU
Japan
In the 2015 edition of the women’s World Cup the Japanese put two past Hope Solo and the Americans in the final. Unfortunately, Carli Lloyd scored a hat-trick for the U.S. in the first 20 minutes and Japan lost 5-2. There aren’t many familiar faces left from the team that beat the U.S. in 2011 and made it back to the final in 2015. However, the L. League (Japan’s domestic league) has been getting stronger and there is some exciting young talent coming through the clubs.
Saki Kumagai is one of the few holdovers from the 2015 squad and she’s now become the captain of the national team and one of the few players who doesn’t play domestically. She plays for the ever-present giant, Lyon. In Japan’s 4-4-2, Kumagai controls the defense from her centerback position. Mizuho Sakaguchi controls the midfield and will hope to unlock some of Japan’s young attackers.
Japan proved itself as the best team in the Pacific by winning the Asian Games this past August, but since, has had a rocky run of form. The reason why people shouldn’t count them out as a contender is its ability to score goals in a hurry with a quick passing style. The draw wasn’t kind to Japan however, ending up in a group with a strong Scotland team and one of the cup favorites, England.
Germany
The two-time champions of the world are just as stocked full of talent as any of its previous campaigns. Currently, the squad ranks second in the world and have steadily been closing in on the United States. Some of its group-mates are quite dangerous as well, Spain and China both fall within the top 16. But the Germans are plenty battle tested even with the addition of a new manager earlier this year.
The last match the squad lost was 3-0 to France in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. However, the two met for a friendly in April of this year and the Germans got revenge by a score of 1-0, the lone goal coming from its star striker Lea Schuller. The 21 year-old forward has only made 13 appearances for the national team. But she’s made the most of her chances, scoring eight goals in her limited opportunities. Dzsenifer Marozsan is an elite play-maker at the 10, but she can also play more of a forward role when manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg decides to switch formations, which she does often. In the past five games, the Germans have played a variation of a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1, 4-3-3 and 3-2-4-1. Maybe once Women’s World Cup matches start happening she’ll lock down a formation, but as of now, it will be a surprise to opponents what the team chooses to play.
France
Ahh, the hosts. The fourth ranked team in the world. The squad that took down the U.S. 3-1 the last time the two met. The nation that has been given the best odds to win the tournament by FiveThirtyEight. If it’s not England as the most balanced team in the world, France should right there for consideration. Keeper Sarah Bouhaddi is a pillar of French women’s football. She’s been with the national team since 2004 and its first choice keeper since 2007. She’s been with her club team — Lyon, the rulers of women’s football — since 2009 and has won the best keeper three consecutive years. Amadine Henry is the French captain and is in charge of how the team plays, whether they hold or push forward. She controls the ball from the midfield and often starts a lethal attack with forwards named Valerie Gauvin and Eugenie Le Sommer getting service charging down the field.
Some may say group A is the group of death for this tournament, but it’s likely France will have no trouble navigating past the Korea Republic, Norway and Nigeria. Although, all of those nations offer a tough test to the hosts. France hasn’t had Women’s World Cup qualifiers to deal with over the past few years since it’s the host, instead the squad has been playing mostly friendlies. And destroying the competition. Over the past two years, France has won 10 of its 11 matches and its only loss came to the hands of Germany, a team that’s second in the world only behind the U.S.
Twitter: @dren_sports