Squiz Today – Thursday, 20 July

THE SQUIZ

It’s been a long time coming, but the biggest-ever women’s sporting event held in Oz and New Zealand kicks off today. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will bring 32 countries together, starting with a match between our Kiwi cousins and Norway at 5.00pm. But Aussies are counting down to the face-off between the Matildas and Ireland at 8.00pm. There’s expected to be a whopping/record 82,500 fans at the stadium in Sydney tonight, and while our women have the home-ground advantage, you can never discount the luck of the Irish… They say they won’t let anything throw them off their game.

SO HOW ARE THE AUSSIES LOOKING?

Glad you asked. The Matildas are currently ranked 10th in the world, which is a solid effort considering our women’s league – the A-League Women – launched in 2008. It’s also a nod to the quality of our players… Even the most casual observers have probably heard of our star striker/captain Sam Kerr’s name. She’s the Fremantle girl who grew up to dominate for English Premier League side Chelsea and her national team. She’ll take to the field tonight alongside our other stars, including Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter and Mackenzie Arnold. But to answer the question on everyone’s lips about whether our 23-player squad can take Oz to the top – insert shrugging lady emoji… The US are the reigning champs and the bookies’ favourite to retain the trophy, but an AI-generated prediction this week reckons the Matildas have the skills to get through to the knockout rounds.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW?

There’s plenty, but given the World Cup runs through to 20 August, we’ll have lots of time to get into the nitty gritty over the next month. To get you across the important deets – Oz will host 35 matches across 5 cities, and NZ will host 29 across 4 cities. And despite football’s international governing body FIFA being pleasantly surprised at how fast tickets have sold, you can still nab single match passes to some games here. If you can’t get to a game, don’t fret – you can watch at least 15 of them via free-to-air telly on Channel 7. And regardless of who comes out on top in the final, reports say the massive surge of interest in this year’s tournament will likely have long-lasting, positive effects on the women’s game – both in Oz and abroad. All that’s left to say is may the best team/Matildas win…Hungry for more background to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup? Of course you are. Have a listen to our Squiz Shortcut episode on it here.

The friendless Commonwealth Games

Like the last cold cocktail frank on a plate being passed around a party, it seems no one wants the 2026 Commonwealth Games… For the past 48 hours, the world has been catching up on the news that Victoria has pulled out of hosting the event – and so far, there are no firm takers. British PM Rishi Sunak is a bit cross at suggestions it’s on the UK to save the Games – saying he expects Australia to find a “viable solution”. He’s been asked about it because Birmingham hosted in 2022, so if it did step in, it would get organisers out of a big pickle. There are also reports India could be an option, with officials in the city of Ahmedabad already planning a bid for the 2036 Olympics. Back home, the shock is still reverberating from Premier Daniel Andrews’ decision to pull the pin – former Olympic champ Grant Hackett said it’s “deflating” for the entire country.

Trump facing a jury – again…

Is it just us, or is it starting to get hard to keep up with Donald Trump’s legal woes? The former US president took to his socials to reveal prosecutors have told him he’s in their sights over the 6 January riots on Capitol Hill in 2021. Trump says he has to appear before a grand jury within days and that “almost always” leads to an arrest. This is on top of a whole bunch of other court proceedings Trump is now juggling… He’s facing 37 counts related to hanging on to classified documents as well as 34 counts of falsifying business records related to paying out hush money in 2016. So far, the drama appears to be actually helping Trump… He’s the hot fav for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with a double-digit polling lead over his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Border bolter sparks trouble in North Korea

A US soldier has sparked a major diplomatic incident by deliberately crossing the border into North Korea. Travis King had been stationed in South Korea and was about to be flown back home after being detained on assault charges. But once his military escort had got him to the airport and seen him off through customs, he did a sneaky backtrack and joined a tour group heading to the famous demilitarised zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea. It could get very tricky very quickly for US President Joe Biden if the unpredictable North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tries to use King as a bargaining chip. And as if things were not already tense enough on the Korean Peninsula… An American nuclear-armed submarine has just arrived for a *friendly* visit, with the North retaliating by firing two ballistic missiles. Yikes…

A case for weekend warriors

In an ideal world, we would all have the time/motivation to head to the gym every other day – or not have to exercise at all… But a major new study has found ‘weekend warriors’ – aka those who cram their weekly workouts into one or 2 days – get similar heart benefits to their more regular counterparts. Of 90,000 UK Biobank participants, 42% were considered weekend warriors, 24% were regular exercisers, and 33% were inactive. After comparing participants’ fitness habits with their hospital records over the next 5 years, the risk of heart attack was found to be 35% and 27% lower for the regular exercisers and the weekend warriors respectively, compared to the no-exercise group. And the risk of stroke fell by 21% for weekend warriors and 17% for regular exercisers, suggesting that it’s the quality of the exercise that really counts. Does walking between the desk/couch and the fridge count? 

It’s Barbie v Oppenheimer at the box office

The big day is finally here, with 2 of the biggest movie releases of the year (aka last few years…) both premiering in Aussie cinemas today. And after the bright-pink fever dream that was the Barbie PR campaign, Christopher Nolan’s star-studded Oppenheimer was always going to be the underdog, with the biopic projected to make a respectable US$50 million in its opening weekend, compared to Barbie’s $100 million. The so-called ‘Barbenheimer’ dual premiere is proving to be a boon for the box office, with US cinemas reporting a surge in ticket sales for double feature screenings of the films. And analysts say the phenomenon could even boost the fortunes of other new releases as moviegoers rediscover their love of the big screen post-pandemic. As long as films start getting made again, given the writers’/actors’ strike. And as long as Barbie’s PR team leaves the popcorn alone… 

A Bluey video game is reportedly in the works after internet sleuths discovered a new tweet from a bot that shares decisions on Australian video game classifications. It hasn’t officially been announced yet, but it’s described as a “treasure hunt-style game” starring the world’s favourite cartoon dog and her family. 

A legal smackdown in the US has ended after the phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’ was released from its trademark. US fast food giant Taco Bell had petitioned to free the phrase from lesser-known Wyoming chain Taco John’s, who backed down due to the legal fees. That’s what those in the biz call a (burrito) wrap…

In New Zealand, the field is wide open for someone to trademark the phrase ‘Possum Thursdays’ following reports Kiwis have started hunting and cooking the marsupials due to rising meat prices. But before you dig into your butter possum curry, food safety experts say to be wary of bacteria lurking in hunted meat. Delicious…

11.00am (AEST) – State funeral for former Labor minister Simon Crean – Melbourne

12.00pm (AEST) – Tassie Premier Jeremy Rockliff delivers his State of the State address

12.00pm (AEST) – Lowy Institute holds a discussion called ‘Russia-Ukraine war: Where to next?’ – Sydney

8.00pm (AEST) – Women’s Soccer – FIFA World Cup – Matildas v Republic of Ireland – Sydney

ABS Data Release – Labour Force, June

The inaugural National Tech Summit begins (until 21 July) – Brisbane

Colombia’s national day

International Moon Day

International Chess Day

Birthdays for Terri Irwin (1964), Sandra Oh (1971) and Ben Simmons (1996)

Anniversary of:
• Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first men to walk on the moon (1969)
• the CIA releasing documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments (1977)
• death of Bruce Lee (1973)