FIFA Women’s World Cup Calendar 2023
Tournament Kicks off on Thursday
USA Enter as Defending Champions
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off Thursday as co-hosts New Zealand go head-to-head with Norway on July 20th. One day later, defending champions USA open up with Vietnam. Along with New Zealand, Australia will be co-hosts of the first Women’s World Cup in Oceania. As Australia and New Zealand 2023 gets started, we’ll look at the major dates on the Women’s FIFA World Cup calendar that bettors should be aware of.
Opening Matches: July 20th
The first batch of Women’s World Cup matches is on July 20th. The tournament ends with New Zealand vs. Norway in Auckland at 3:00 a.m. Eastern. Co-hosts Australia face off with the Republic of Ireland at 6:00 a.m. Eastern in a Group B contest. Sam Kerr, one of the best Women’s players in the world, is one to watch for the Matildas. Nigeria also take on Canada and the Philippines, in their first World Cup appearance, go head-to-head with Switzerland later on the 20th. There are multiple debutants this time around, as the FIFA Women’s World Cup now features 32 teams.
Group Stage: July 20th-August 3rd
With eight groups of four teams, the group stage Women’s FIFA World Cup calendar runs from July 20th to August 3rd. Each team will play every other team in their group in a round-robin format.
There are some excellent matches in the group stage for bettors and fans alike. The first match to circle on the calendar is USA vs. the Netherlands on July 26th. Then, France and Brazil clash in a Group F contest on Saturday, July 29th. July 31st has a pair of excellent matches, with Japan vs. Spain and 2021 Olympic Champions Canada vs. Australia.
The group stage concludes on August 3rd. Then, the top two teams in each group in the World Cup table standings will advance to the knockout stage. The first few tiebreakers in case two or more teams finish level on points are goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head points.
Knockout Stage: August 5th-20th
The top two teams in each group play in the round of 16, which kicks off on August 5th and concludes on August 8th. Unlike the group stage, extra time and penalties will be played as needed following a draw. There will be two round of 16 matches per day from the fifth to the eighth. The winners of the round of 16 matches will advance to the quarterfinals.
With only one quarter of the original teams remaining, the quarterfinals run from August 10th to 12th. The winners, according to the World Cup scores, will book their place in the semifinals.
Four years ago, at France 2019, the semifinalist teams were USA, England, Sweden and the Netherlands. Tuesday, August 15th at 4:00 a.m. ET is the first semifinal. The 4:00 a.m. start may be difficult for American viewers to catch but the second semifinal is on August 16th at 6:00 a.m. ET. The two semifinal winners advance to the final, while the losers contest the third-place play-off.
Brisbane, Australia’s Lang Park will host the Third Place play-off on Saturday, August 19th at 4:00 a.m. ET. Sweden came in third place last time around and have been bronze medalists in two of the last three tournaments.
Final: August 20th
One month after the opening group stage matches, the two remaining teams will play in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final. The best is saved for last on the Women’s FIFA World Cup calendar. The match is at 6:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 20th at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia.
Four years ago, Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle scored as the USA defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the final. The USWNT are favorites to win a third straight Women’s World Cup heading into Australia and New Zealand 2023. England, who won the Women’s Euro last year, come in at +400 outright odds. Spain, Germany and France are the three other teams with +1000 odds or shorter to lift the World Cup trophy.
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