⚽️ The 9th Women's World Cup

The Women's World Cup officially kicks off in Australia/New Zealand tomorrow morning. The United States have won the last two and enter the tournament as clear favorites to win their 5th title. England, Spain and Germany are the biggest challengers, but do they have enough to take down the champs? Let's break it down 👑 (3 min read)

Author

Justin Schnell
July 19, 2023

Photo by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images

World Cup Preview

Did you know this is only the ninth Women’s World Cup? Officially recognized by FIFA in 1991, only four countries have ever won the tournament, with the United States being the only nation to qualify for all nine tournaments 👇

  • United States, 4x: 1991, 1999, 2015, 2019

  • Germany, 2x: 2003, 2007

  • Norway, 1x: 1995

  • Japan, 1x: 2011

This year’s tournament has a major storyline around it, equal pay for men and women. For context, the USWNT earned $6M in total for its successive World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019, while the men earned $13M for losing in the first round of the knockout stage this past November in Qatar. The path towards equality is there and hopefully rolls out in 2026/2027, but the overall prize money this year is still not comparable to the men’s World Cup

  • Prize money from the Women’s World Cup will increase 300% to $110M, compared to $440M from Qatar

  • Even if that increase is a step in the right direction, only 5.4% of TV Sports News coverage focuses on women’s sports in the US

Ultimately, this is an important World Cup for women’s sports, and I encourage you to do your part and watch as many matches as you can, as the on field product is worth it. Just watch this genius ad and you’ll see 👇

With kickoff just a few hours away, take a look at the odds heading into Thursday morning’s Group Stage matches (full schedule here & odds here) 💰

This will definitely be a tricky World Cup to keep up with, given the time difference in Australia/New Zealand. Either way, expect the USWNT to continue their impressive run over the last eight years 💪

  • Alex Morgan leads the way up front with 121 International goals (5th all-time), Megan Rapinoe is playing in her last World Cup, Julie Ertz (wife of Zach Ertz) has 118 appearances under her belt and Trinity Rodman (daughter of Dennis Rodman) is the future of the women’s team

With a month of soccer about to begin and pool play going until August 3rd, here are some of the biggest games on the schedule ⚽️

  • Thursday July 20th, 3AM EST: New Zealand vs Norway

  • Friday July 21st, 9PM EST: USA vs Vietnam

  • Wednesday July 26th, 9PM EST: USA vs Netherlands

  • Saturday July 29th, 6AM EST: France vs Brazil

  • Monday July 31st, 3AM EST: Japan vs Spain

Trivia Question: Who has the most goals in USWNT history? Hint: she’s not an active player

For My Parlay Gurus

No parlays today, but I do have a few futures I'm thinking of throwing in. Take a look and let me know if you’re riding with me 🤞

  • Trinity Rodman to win the Golden Boot: +1900

  • Alyssa Naeher to win the Golden Glove: +380

  • Australia to win Group B: -185

  • USA to win the World Cup: +240

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Trivia Answer: Abby Wambach’s 184 goals is the most ever for the USWNT. Mia Hamm is second with 158, and Carli Lloyd third with 134