FIFA Women’s World Cup Calendar 2023: Opens Up Tournament
Australia & New Zealand 2023 Kicks Off in July
New Zealand vs Norway Opens Up Tournament
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is under a month away and co-hosts New Zealand open up the tournament by taking on Norway on July 20th. Meanwhile, the USA will kick off their title defense at Australia & New Zealand 2023 the next day with a match vs. Vietnam. Recall that every team will play three group stage games in a round-robin format before the knockout stage starts on August 5th. We’ll run through the FIFA Women’s World Cup calendar and the important dates bettors should be aware of.
Group Stage: July 20th-August 3rd
The FIFA Women’s World Cup has been expanded to 32 teams, which means eight groups of four teams. Group A kicks off with New Zealand vs. Norway on July 20th. Australia also take on Republic of Ireland in a Group B match on the same day. The first group stage matches will run until July 24th.
One match for punters to circle on the FIFA Women’s World Cup calendar is the USA vs. the Netherlands on July 26th. Both teams are ranked in the top ten in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. It’s also a rematch of the 2019 final, which the USA won 2-0.. France vs. Brazil on July 29th and Canada vs. Australia on July 31st are other standout matches.
Once every team plays three matches, the group stage will conclude. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage. The first tiebreaker is goal difference, followed by goals scored. In the event two or more teams are still level, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals scored may all come into play.
Round of 16: August 5th-8th
The remaining 16 teams will play in predetermined pairings from August 5th-8th. So, the winners of Group A face the Group C runners-up and Group A runners-up take on the Group C winners. The Group B winners take on the Group D runners-up and vice versa and so on and so forth.
Two matches a day will be played from the fifth to the eighth to determine the quarterfinals teams. At this stage and onward, there will be two 15-minute extra time periods in the event of a draw. If the match still isn’t decided after 120 minutes, the teams involved contest a penalty kick shootout.
Quarterfinals: August 10th-12th
Getting to the last eight in the first-ever 32-team FIFA Women’s World Cup is an achievement in its own right. The quarterfinals will take place from August 10th to 12th. With Australia between 12 and 15 hours ahead of Eastern time and New Zealand 16 hours ahead, it may be difficult to catch these matches.
The first quarterfinal match is at 9 p.m. ET on August 10th but the others are between 3:00 a.m. and 6:30. Unfortunately, the next rounds won’t be any easier for American viewers to watch.
Semifinals: August 15th & 16th
Last time around, the four semifinalists were the USA, England, Sweden and the Netherlands. The first semifinal match is on Tuesday, August 15th at 4:00 a.m. ET at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. For viewers on the East Coast, the second semifinal is a bit more watchable. It’s on August 16th at 6:00 a.m at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The two winners will advance to the final, while the losers go on to the third place play-off.
Third Place play-off: August 19th
Lang Park in Brisbane, Australia will host the Third Place play-off. It’s on Saturday, August 19th at 4:00 a.m. ET. While the winner will be disappointed to not have made the final, a bronze medal is a solid consolation.
Final: August 20th
Exactly a month after the first group stage match, two teams will duke it out in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final. Like the second semifinal, this match will be held at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Last but certainly not least on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Calendar, this will obviously be the must-watch match of the tournament. It’s at 6:00 a.m. ET on August 20th, which is a Sunday.
The USA won the last final over the Netherlands by a 2-0 scoreline. Notably, the Americans are +250 favorites to repeat as England, Spain, Germany and France round out the five most likely teams to win the tournament. Japan, in 2011, became the only non-USA or European team to win the final.
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