The World Cup that is taking place in Australia and New Zealand has been historic. The competition has shown the two sides of football: the joy of teams like Jamaica, Morocco or South África, who have secured their first-ever round of 16 appearance, while some of the favorites like Germany, Canada, Argentina or Brazil have been knocked out in the group stage.
This has been ‘The World Cup of surprises’. In this edition, the fans have been witnesses of the major growth in women’s football around the world. The sport can be unpredictable, especially if conditions are better and equal. A few years ago, it was unthinkable that teams such as Colombia or Morocco would be able to take down a powerhouse like Germany.
One of the most talked-about events has been the upset the German side suffered on the last day. Many women’s football experts believed they were the leading candidate to raise the World Cup’s trophy. The power rankings also had the USA or England as favorites, but Germany started off really strong and had a call-up list filled with talent.
The reigning European runners-up began the World Cup by demolishing Morocco in a 6-0 win. They looked unstoppable and had Alexandra Popp on top of her game, as usual. However, their good performance only lasted throughout their debut. The German squad had a poor showing against Colombia in a 1-2 loss. With their participation on the line for the last game, they only managed a disappointing draw against Korea. For the first time ever, they would not come out of the group stage.
Brazil have been another big disappointment. The ‘Canarinha’ are synonymous with success, but they could not pull it off this time around. They followed the same script as Germany, starting the competition with a convincing 4-0 win over Panama with a hat-trick by Ary Borges. On the second match they suffered a setback after losing to France (1-2), meaning they were forced to win their last game in order to stay in the tournament. Like Germany, they also drew in a scorless match against Jamaica (who moved on to the round of 16 for the first time ever).
Brazil’s expectations for their national team were on another level. They knew it was Marta’s last World Cup and did everything they could to promote it and support their squad. The government modified the schedules of public workers so that they could follow the competition. They had not been eliminated so early since the 1995 World Cup.
The worst part about Brazil’s defeat has been the farewell of the greatest legend ever in women’s football, Marta Vieira da Silva. ‘La Rainha’ was the first-ever role model in women’s football, the player that paved the way for female footballers and the one that broke the stereotypes of ‘traditional football’. Her legacy is historic and nobody can take it away. She won every individual and collective trophy: the league in evey country she has played in, league cups, supercups, the 2004 Champions League (playing for UMEA in the 2003/04 season) and Conmebol Libertadores (with Santos in 2009). She has won eveything but the World Cup with Brazil. That was the one thorn on the side of a player that deserves everything.
Marta has played in six World Cups and scored a goal in every one of them except for the most recent one. Nevertheless, she likes breaking records and is the top scorer in the history of the tournament (including both the feminine and masculine tournament) with 17 goals (1 more than Klose). She has been selected as the best player in the world by FIFA six times, certainly not enough to represent what Marta has meant for women’s football. She is the greatest of all time without a shadow of a doubt.
Canada is another national team that gained momentum before this World Cup. Perhaps it is not one of the most striking countries and they may not have te most renowned players, but they have been doing very well for quite some time. The Canadians also won the gold medal on the 2021 Olympics demonstrating great performance. They were not in a very difficult group, but their dreadful start against Australia condemned them (4-0).
They seemed to improve on the second match thanks to their comeback win against Ireland in a game they began trailing right from the start. The group was really close until the very end and therefore, they had everything to play for on the last matchday against Nigeria. The match ended in a scoreless draw and they were eliminated. Jamaica made history and qualified for the round of 16 for the first time without suffering a single defeat.
Another one of the surprising eliminations has been that of Argentina. They were not one of the favorites to win this World Cup, but there were high expectations on the South Americans, who had the support of stars like Leo Messi. The Argentinians leave the competition without obtaining a single win, scoring their only point against South Africa, another one of the positive surprises as they have reached the round of 16 taking out Italy and Argentina in the process.
The same way Brazil did with Marta, Argentina also say goodbye to one of their icons. Estefanía Banini is part of the history of women’s football outside the pitch as a result of her struggle in South America. She was sidelined from the national team for three years (2019-2022) because she fought for the rights of the players. She courageously achieved her goal and her name will remain engraved in the history of the sport.
Banini has proven to be one of the best players in the world for quite some time. It is no coincidence that she was included in FIFA’s 2021 team of the year. She has won trophies all over the world, from the Libertadores with Colo-Colo to the Copa de la Reina with her current team, Atlético de Madrid. She also won the 2014 South American Games with Argentina.
This World Cup is leaving good and bad moments, depending on how you look at it. There is still a lot of competition left and anything can happen. Any team can win by the slimmest of margins. Tell that to the United State’s national team, who avoided elimination as a result of Portugal hitting the post. Spain was thrashed by Japan and many other surprises are still to come. And while we are on the subject of ‘La Roja‘, they will play Switzerland in the round of 16 this Saturday at 7 am. We will see if the sensations improve and the Spaniards take advantage of some of the favorites being knocked out.
Main image: @DFB_Frauen.
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
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