One of the strangest things about international soccer is that success at the highest level is rarely shared by men's and women's teams of the same country.
Women have been competing in World Cups and Olympics since 1992 and 1996, respectively. Argentina has won everything in men's soccer but still has never won so much as a single game at the Women's World Cup. Italy couldn't even qualify for the Women's World Cup between 1999 and 2019. Spain's men won three major men's trophies between 2008 and 2012; at that point, its women's team had qualified once, total, for any major tournament.
Other than Germany, which has long dominated women's soccer in Europe, the list of World Cup and Olympics winners is all teams with zero World Cup success in men's soccer: the USA. Norway. Japan. Canada.
This year, though, Europe has finally provided a list of true contenders that goes beyond "Germany, and maybe France if the moon is right." In fact, besides Germany and the USA, the three biggest favorites in the tournament that starts Thursday are all European countries that are powerhouses on the men's side, but are woefully short of women's trophies.
Spain is the big newcomer, and they might be the favorites to win the whole thing, if it wasn't for off-field issues. Last year, 15 players decided to quit the team until manager Jorge Vilda was removed, owing to a list of complaints.
Somehow, the Spanish soccer federation decided to stick with Vilda anyway, and now the team is missing 12 of the 15 rebels, including many of its best players — especially those from FC Barcelona, which has become the best club team in Europe.
Alexia Putellas, the midfielder who may be the world's best player, is with the team despite the strife, but whether she can lead her team past all the coaching conflict is anyone's guess.
France, too, is coming off major off-field conflict, this being a theme of women's soccer over the past few years. Several high-profile players quit the national team in protest of their treatment by longtime coach Corinne Diacre, who has since departed — thus bringing the protesting players back into the fold.
In Diacre's place is Hervé Renard, who has a ton of experience coaching men's teams in the international game but very little women's soccer experience. So, as always, there's no telling what we'll see from France. They've long been the underachievers of women's soccer; they have amazing talent from some of the best club teams in Europe, but they always seem to lose in the quarterfinals.
The key European team to watch is England, which finally broke through and won the European Championships in 2022, after a long string of late knockout-round defeats. Like the USA, the Lionesses are dealing with a rash of injuries, but even so, they have the talent and the recent success to make a run. Certainly, 2023 is their best chance yet of winning the World Cup; among other positives, their players aren't currently fighting with their governing body.
Speaking of conflict with governing bodies, Canada also deserves a non-European mention, especially since they're the defending Olympic champions. This time, the conflict stems from a situation in which Canada Soccer failed to pay the players for most of 2022, then threatened to sue them anyway if they stopped playing.
The conflict seems to have galvanized the team. And it's worth remembering that when the USA won the World Cup in 2019, they were also in the middle of a dispute with U.S. Soccer over pay. Sometimes, off-field distractions aren't as distracting as we think.
The U.S. team opens play vs. Vietnam at 8 p.m. Friday (Ch. 9).
If you look beyond North America and Europe, you have to mention Australia as a potential dark horse. They're the home team, but more importantly, they have Sam Kerr, who has had a claim to being the best striker in the world. Across the sports world, the Aussies do have a tendency to punch above their weight when they're playing at home, so it's not a good idea to bet against the Matildas — especially after they beat France last week in their final tune-up.
Not everything has changed in women's soccer. Brazil is still the only South American nation that's anywhere near being a contender, and Italy still can't get its act together. On the positive side, the Scandinavian nations remain among the top sides.
But with every major tournament that rolls around, there are a few more contenders from the places you might expect. And this might be the tournament that one of those newfound heavyweights breaks through.
