Who will win the Women’s World Cup?
Go, USA!
Chill! But maybe they’re right.
Our goal is to win the World Cup, there is no question about it.
The US Women’s National Team has always been the dominant force
and still ranks No. 1 in the world.
However, questions have been raised
whether their long reign at the top is about to end.
Last year before the Women’s Euros
I made a case for women’s football on this channel,
now I'm making one for Europe.
The best European teams compete easily with the American national team.
Here are three reasons why the balance of power in women's football is shifting.
Before we get started, let us know in the comments
who you're backing to go all the way at this World Cup.
And now let’s go.
The US women could earn their fifth World Cup title in Sydney this summer.
After all they have already won four of a total eight World Cups and have never finished worse than third at the tournament.
They are also record champions of the Olympic Games and the CONCACAF Championships.
US was really dominating a lot.
Yes, Nadia, you’re right.
But after the last World Cup, U.S. dominance in women's football has arguably waned.
One reason: the U.S.-team itself.
I mean I feel like there isn’t really a huge gap anymore
and I don’t think there has been for a long time.
And that’s best portrayed by looking at the last Olympics in Tokyo.
In 2020, coach Vlatko Andonovski took over.
One year later, he traveled to Japan with a team of superstars that had an average age of almost 31 years.
They still took home the bronze medal, not a bad result.
Especially considering they had finished 5th at the previous Olympics under Jill Ellis.
So what's the big deal?
Well it was the criticism surrounding the team's performance.
“exhausted and outmatched”, “all brakes, no gas”, “unimpressive”
Two-time Gold Medalist Aly Wagner called the bronze medal achievement "disappointing",
while goalkeeper Hope Solo thought that 'The team lacked fight and winners’.
A lot of experts expected a generational change
as big stars like Megan Rapinoe, Kelley O’Hara, Tobin Heath or Becky Sauerbrunn were well into their 30s
and after captain Carli Lloyd hung her boots from international football after the Olympics.
But that didn't exactly pan out.
Andonovski tried to make some changes, cutting older players like Christen Press from the squad
and testing younger talent such as Catarina Macário or Trinity Rodman.
But there wasn’t a proper make over of the squad.
Andonovski is still building his team around super strikers Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
The team now only averages an age of 28.5 because Sauerbrunn and Heath are out due to injuries.
And Speaking of injuries, the US’ leading goal scorer in 2023,
Mallory Swanson, is out for the World Cup as well.
There’s a lot of noise around Team USA which might explain the lack of performances.
They are still undefeated this year, but secured only narrow victories and did not look that convincing.
But more interesting are the US’ three defeats at the end of 2022.
They lost to England, Spain and Germany.
Not only do they show that the US is beatable,
it also shows who can beat them.
I would say at this point it is like, you know, head to head.
The best European teams compete easily with the American national team.
So if the most dominant football nation doesn't take home the World Cup title, then who will?
Well, there are other nations beside Europe's best. Brazil, Japan, Canada or hosts Australia
all have hopes of making it far beyond the group stages.
But the ones repeatedly mentioned as US rivals for the title are all European,
which we can quickly identify with the FIFA World Ranking.
5 out of the top 6 teams in the world are from Europe.
And the reason for that is simple: competition! And money, but I’ll get to that later!
At the 2019 World Cup in France, the three other semi-finalists besides Team America
were the Netherlands, Sweden, and England.
And while the US’ high-level competition outside World Cup tournaments is fairly limited,
it’s a whole other situation in Europe.
The Women’s Euros serve as a perfect training ground for Europe’s finest.
Out of last year’s semi finalists England, Germany and France
are among Europe’s best and the world’s elite.
And they’re expected to make it far this year as well.
The Lionesses recently went 30 games undefeated.
And while they will have to make it without their injured Captain Leah Williamson,
the European Champions are top favorites.
Ze Germans are back.
Their runners-up finish at the 2022 Euros proved what they are made of.
Alex Popp leads a title-hungry group.
It seems as if new head coach Hervé Renard breathed new life into Les Bleues.
They’re now more than the dark horse of the tournament!
But it's not only the national teams that are bridging the gap. It’s European football as a whole.
The National Women’s Soccer League was THE ultimate Women’s Football League…but
But now with better leagues like, you know, higher level of professionalism,
the European teams are like getting there.
Local leagues in Europe, such as the Women's Super League in the UK and the German Frauen Bundesliga
are reaching much higher levels, and are increasingly producing world-class players.
And: they even attract players from the US.
Young American talents usually play College football
before starting their professional careers.
But what if Europe calls?
Well, Catarina Macario or Korbin Albert decided to forgo their college careers to move to Europe.
And it’s not only young talents.
When Sam Kerr joined Chelsea from Chicago in 2020, she left the NWSL as the league's MVP.
Her transfer and her rumored record-breaking salary of between 4 and 600,000 Euros
bolstered the WSL’s push to become the world's best women's football league.
Just like the Premier League, the WSL is becoming an international brand.
Matches are now broadcast not only in the UK but also in the US, for example.
And it’s not only England. The most expensive transfer in women’s football
happened in 2022, when Keira Walsh joined FC Barcelona from
Manchester City for around 500,000€.
And there's one thing that the rest of the world envies about Europe...
The UEFA Champions League.
Everyone loves it. Whether its FC Barcelona or FC Barcelona Femení playing:
In 2022, Barcelona's 5-1 Champions League victory over German side Wolfsburg
took place in front of a world-record crowd of 91,648,
the highest attendance at a women’s football match ever.
The last three Best FIFA Women's Players...
European.
The best footballers in the world right now, Sam Kerr and...
Europeans.
And if you ask me: all this development comes by no means as a surprise.
I said it before: Money, investment, moolah, dough…you get it.
The European clubs themselves and governing bodies like the British FA
are investing heavily in the Women’s game,
and competition drives the rapid rise.
When you have all that, better facilities, better training, better pay, better staff,
you get better quality and bigger crowds.
And a power shift.
I'll finish off by admitting something.
Sure, the U.S. might win this World Cup. Come on, guys! It's football.
But: I think that they won’t be as untouchable as they looked a couple years back.
The World Cup could be a catalyst for other nations to kick off a new era.
My point exactly. Thank you Laura!
And of course that makes a tournament like the World Cup all the more exciting and attractive, doesn’t it?
If it is harder for teams to win a title, they are way more motivated to give their all,
which makes it way more watchable and enjoyable for us fans.
That was it from me guys, let me know what you think.
And don't forget to watch the World Cup. Cheerio!