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.