FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 – Group C Preview & Fixture
Group C at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup sees former champs Japan take on Spain, Costa Rica and debutants Zambia.
Spain and Barcelona star Alexia Putellas. Photo by Getty Images
Group C Teams
Spain
Spain are an interesting proposition at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. A powerhouse in the men’s game, the women’s La Roja haven’t quite matched that level as yet but are one of the favourites to progress from this group.
The Spanish women’s team have made the World Cup finals just twice before, but were last in their group in 2015, an effort that saw long-time coach Ignacio Quereda replaced by then 34-year-old Jorge Vilda. The squad improved for France 2019 and made an appearance in the second round, only to fall to eventual champions USA in a 2-1 result.
La Roja breezed through qualifying for Australia and New Zealand 2023, scoring 53 goals along the way. But Spanish sides are often prone to dressing room issues and this time in September 2022, 15 regular players voiced a lack of confidence in coach Vilda. and were reprimanded by the Spanish FA for refusing call ups.
Most of those players have since returned to the fold and La Roja will be looking to put almost 12 months of acrimony behind them when they line up against Costa Rica for their Group C opener in Wellington, led by powerhouse performer and dual Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.
Costa Rica
It’s just the second appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for Costa Rica after they finished third in their group in 2015. However, many of the players of that golden generation have since departed the team, with a new generation of women set to try and prove themselves on the world stage in Australia. The Amelia Valverde-coached side will be looking to take points off some of their more fancied opponents, but may struggle a little in this group.
Zambia
The Bruce Mwape-coached Zambian side are making their FIFA Women’s World Cup debut, making the finals thanks to a top-four finish at the Women’s African Cup of Nations. Zambia feature a star striker in Barbra Banda, who scored two hat-tricks at the Olympics, one of those coming against the Netherlands. However, her efforts were cancelled out by some horrific defending, with that Netherlands result ending 10-3 to the Dutch women. A 4-4 draw with China followed, along with a 1-0 loss to Brazil where their defence was much improved. And, if Zambia can continue to build on that, then Banda and her team may cause some headaches in this group.
Japan
Japen head into the FIFA Women’s World Cup looking to reclaim past glories, having won the tournament in 2011. The early teens proved a superb period for Japanese women’s football as they also claimed a silver at the 2021 London Olympics before finishing runners-up to the USA in 2015.
However, a failure to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, followed by poor showings at the 2019 World Cup and Tokyo Olympics in 2021 demonstrated Japan’s Golden Generation was coming to an end.
Since then, Japan’s Under-20 World Cup-winning coach Futoshi Ikeda has taken charge of the Nadeshiko with a view to bringing along the next generation of talent. To that end, they go into the 2023 Women’s World Cup as one of the favourites to progress from Group C, with striker Mina Tanaka, one of the players to watch over the next few weeks.
Group C – Fixture
All times AEST
Fri, Jul. 21 – Spain vs Costa Rica 5:30pm Sky Stadium, Wellington
Sat, Jul. 22 – Zambia vs Japan 5:00pm Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Wed, Jul. 26 – Japan vs Costa Rica 3:00pm Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Wed, Jul. 26 – Spain vs Zambia 5:30pm Eden Park, Auckland
Mon, Jul. 31 – Japan vs Spain 5:00pm Sky Stadium, Wellington
Mon, Jul. 31 – Costa Rica vs Zambia 5:00pm Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Paul Barbieri
Paul has been writing about sport for more than 20 years – including 3 years as senior writer & editor for Odds
