As the only top-10 nation in Group C, Spain has to be considered the overwhelming favourite to finish in first place. La Roja’s starting 11 is littered with players who ply their trade at Real Madrid and UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona, giving them a decided edge in quality over their Group C opponents. But a long-standing dispute between the players and manager Jorge Vilda could derail the Spaniards’ World Cup campaign.
Former world champion Japan comes into this tournament with a point to prove after disappointing efforts at the last World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics. This young Japanese side should be able to progress to the knockout round at the expense of World Cup debutants Zambia and a Costa Rican team that is still searching for its first win at the tournament.
GROUP B SCHEDULE
July 21: Spain vs. Costa Rica (3:30 a.m. ET)
July 22: Zambia vs. Japan (3 a.m. ET)
July 26: Japan vs. Costa Rica (1 a.m. ET)
July 26: Spain vs. Zambia (3:30 a.m. ET)
July 31: Japan vs. Spain (3 a.m. ET)
July 31: Costa Rica vs. Zambia (3 a.m. ET)
THE TEAMS
SPAIN
FIFA world ranking: 6
Odds to win the World Cup: +521 (via Sports Interaction)
Odds to win the group: -588 (via Sports Interaction)
Previous World Cup appearances: 2
Best showing: Round of 16 (2019)
2019 World Cup: Round of 16 (1-1-2)
Manager: Jorge Vilda
Probable formation: 4-3-3
Probable starting XI: María Isabel Rodríguez (Real Madrid) – Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Ivana Andrés (Real Madrid), Laia Codina (Barcelona), Ona Batlle (Barcelona) – Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona) – Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Jennifer Hermoso (Pachuca), Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
THE BIG QUESTION: Will Barcelona midfielder and back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas be at her best following a lengthy layoff due to an ACL injury?
THE PULSE: Even with all of the drama that’s going on (more on that in a second), Spain has to be considered one of the favourites to win the World Cup. Manager Jorge Vilda has a team rich in quality and depth, as he can call upon a number of squad members who play at the highest level, including players who helped Barcelona win this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Spain runs opponents into the ground and dominates games with their possession, patient passing and technical skills. La Roja also enters the competition full of confidence thanks to a run of seven wins in eight games this year, including victories over six nations who’ll be competing at this World Cup.
THE X-FACTOR: Controversy has enveloped La Roja since September, when 15 players sent a letter to the Spanish FA saying they would not play for the team as long as Vilda remained in charge. The players questioned his training methods and tactical standards, and they also had complaints about his behaviour toward them. The Spanish FA backed Vilda and while some players have returned to the team, some have decided to sit out this summer’s World Cup.
Also, Spain has not lived up to its top billing in recent years and has woefully underperformed in big tournaments – Round of 16 at the last World Cup and quarter-finals in the 2022 European Championship. Can the Spanish women put that history behind them and finally be good under a coach they tried to force out last fall? If La Roja don’t implode, they can contend for the World Cup. But that’s a big if.
COSTA RICA
FIFA world ranking: 36
Odds to win the World Cup: +50,000 (via Sports Interaction)
Odds to win the group: +41,600 (via Sports Interaction)
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Best showing: Group stage exit (2015)
2019 World Cup: Did not qualify
Manager: Amelia Valverde
Probable formation: 4-2-3-1
Probable starting XI: Daniela Solera (Sporting FC) – Gabriela Guillén (Alajuelense), Valeria del Campo (Monterrey), Fabiola Villalobos (Alajuelense), Gabriela Guillén (Alajuelense) – Katherine Alvarado (Saprissa), Emilie Valenciano (Alajuelense) – Melissa Herrera (Bordeaux), Gloriana Villalobos (Saprissa), Priscila Chinchilla (Glasgow City) – Raquel Rodríguez (Portland Thorns)
THE BIG QUESTION: Can a Costa Rican team that has lost 14 of its 15 games suddenly find its top form and win its first-ever match at the World Cup?
THE PULSE: Costa Rica goes back and forth between a four- and five-woman back line, which gives you an idea of how much coach Amelia Valverde emphasizes defensive organization. Las Ticas don’t boast much scoring power and the majority of their players play for clubs in the country’s modest first division. So, if they’re going to somehow get out of the group, it’ll be on the strength and quality of their defensive play.
Their schedule isn’t exactly easy — they have to face European powerhouse Spain and former World Cup champions Japan in their first two matches. They’ll be considered big underdogs in both contests, so it’s not inconceivable that Costa Rica could be eliminated from contention before its Group C finale vs. Zambia.
THE X-FACTOR: With former captain Shirley Cruz, 37, not selected for the World Cup, all eyes will be on another veteran in Raquel Rodríguez. The 29-year-old Rodríguez, who plays for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL, is a skilled and tenacious midfielder with over 40 goals for her country. She also has valuable big-tournament experience – she became the first Costa Rican woman to score in a World Cup during the 2015 competition in Canada.
ZAMBIA
FIFA world ranking: 77
Odds to win the World Cup: +47,600 (via Sports Interaction)
Odds to win the group: +8,050 (via Sports Interaction)
Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Manager: Bruce Mwape
Probable formation: 4-3-3
Probable starting XI: Catherine Musonda (Tomiris-Turan) – Martha Tembo (BIIK Shymkent), Lushomo Mweemba (Green Buffaloes), Agness Musase (Green Buffaloes), Margaret Belemu (Shanghai Shengli) – Evarine Katongo (ZISD Women), Susan Banda (Red Arrows) Ochumba Lubandji (Red Arrows) – Racheal Kundananji (Madrid CFF), Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli), Avell Chitundu (ZESCO Ndola)
THE BIG QUESTION: Can the lowest-ranked nation at this World Cup overachieve by winning a game or get out of a group that includes two nations in the top 11, in its tournament debut?
THE PULSE: Zambia will be competing in its first World Cup this summer, but even though the odds are stacked against it, confidence is high within the team despite a lack of experience. The Zambians made their Olympic debut in Tokyo and are coming off an impressive third-place finish at last year’s African Cup of Nations. They also upset perennial powerhouse Germany in an international friendly last month.
There are issues to overcome, though. Zambia’s back line is pretty weak – they’ve given up 18 goals in their previous six games in 2023. Any nation at the World Cup worth its salt should be able to score against the Africans. Also, coach Bruce Mwape is facing allegations of sexual misconduct that are being investigated by the police. Taking all of this into consideration, Zambia will be hard-pressed to make it out of the group.
THE X-FACTOR: Forward Barbra Banda made history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first woman in tournament history to score consecutive hat tricks. Banda, who plays for Chinese club Shanghai Shengli, is her country’s most dangerous and consistent goal-scoring threat. As such, the Copper Queens will be looking toward the 23-year-old forward to lead the attacking charge and replicate her goal-scoring prowess from the Olympics.
JAPAN
FIFA world ranking: 11
Odds to win the World Cup: +2,818 (via Sports Interaction)
Odds to win the group: +401 (via Sports Interaction)
Previous World Cup appearances: 8
Best showing: Champions (2011)
2019 World Cup: Round of 16 (1-1-2)
Manager: Futoshi Ikeda
Probable formation: 5-3-2
Probable starting XI: Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe) – Jun Endō (Angel City), Moeka Minami (Roma), Saki Kumagai (Bayern Munich), Shiori Miyake (INAC Kobe), Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds) – Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai), Fūka Nagano (Liverpool), Honoka Hayashi (West Ham United) – Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City), Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City), Riko Ueki (Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
THE BIG QUESTION: Will manager Futoshi Ikeda’s decision to omit 30-year-old forward Mana Iwabuchi, one of Japan’s all-time top scorers, from his roster come back to haunt him?
THE PULSE: Roughly half of Japan’s World Cup squad are 24 or younger, and many of the players featured for manager’s Futoshi Ikeda’s side that won the Under-20 World Cup in 2018. This is a tightly knit and a well-organized Japanese team – opponents have had a tough time breaking down the five-woman back line.
Getting out of the group should be pretty straight-forward as Japan’s opening two games are against Zambia and Costa Rica. The third game against Spain will likely decide first place, which is important because the second-place team would likely face a tough Norway side in the Round of 16.
THE X-FACTOR: Japan stunned the soccer world when it defeated the heavily favoured United States in the 2011 World Cup final. Four years later, the U.S. exacted revenge on Japan in the final in Vancouver. Reaching back-to-back World Cup finals represented a golden age in Japanese football, and it looked like there’d be more to come from the Nadeshiko as a new crop of players were ushered onto the team.
But Japan failed to build upon that momentum, bowing out in the Round of 16 in 2019 and in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. There is a sense that this World Cup represents the last chance for some of the team veterans to help Japan climb the mountain again. Will that kind of motivation be enough for the Japanese to go on a deep run?
from Sportsnet.ca https://ift.tt/8h1DOVl
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