All You Need To Know About Australia, Canada, Ireland and Nigeria

We are getting ever closer to the start of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, with just over a week left before the action kicks off.

The two co-hosts have been drawn in the first two groups as is tradition. New Zealand will not have a straightforward time getting out of Group A, but Australia should be expected to advance from Group B. It might not be all smooth sailing, though, so is all you need to know about the four contestants of the second group:

🇦🇺 Australia

Current FIFA Ranking: #10

World Cup History: 7 previous appearances; best result: Quarterfinals (2015)

Major International Trophies: 1 Asian Cup (2010), 1 AFF Championship (2008), 3 OFC Championships (1994, 1998, 2003)

Co-hosts Australia are in the conversation for potential World Cup winners, largely thanks to their squad quality but also because of the home advantage they will enjoy. For example, a sellout crowd of about 80,000 will attend their tournament opener in Sydney, which is set to be quite a spectacle.

Of course, with such support comes some expectations, so the fans will want to see their side make a decent run in the knockouts at least. If things click, though, they could be a force to reckon with for other teams.

Tactics and Recent Results

Tony Gustavsson has been in charge of the Matildas since 2020, having previously won two World Cups as a part of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) coaching staff in 2015 and 2019. His time Down Under has not been quite so successful yet, but an impressive World Cup campaign could change everything.

The first major tournament he oversaw was the most recent Summer Olympics, where the Matildas did well enough to reach the semifinals. At the time, the Swedish coach set his side up in an interesting 3-4-3 system despite a dearth of center-backs, but he has since moved to a back-four.

That is what Australia used in the 2022 Asian Cup, which ended in disappointment for them as they crashed out at the quarterfinal stage. After that—and a seven-goal defeat against Spain in a subsequent friendly—Gustavsson has seemingly settled on a 4-4-2 formation.

That has yielded mixed results so far. The first two matches ended in defeats against Canada, but wins against Denmark and Sweden thereafter were encouraging. Their two results in 2023 have been similar, as a heavily-rotated side lost to Scotland but then the A-team impressed in a 2-0 win over European champions England.

Key Player

Part of the reason behind Gustavsson’s keenness to rotate his side is to avoid being over-reliant on certain players. Nevertheless, they have senior figures all over the pitch who will be crucial to their World Cup campaign.

Their most important player is quite easy to pick, though: Sam Kerr. The now-29-year-old forward was the Matildas’ top scorer at the last World Cup with five goals, but she could well better that tally this time out.

She moved to Chelsea following that tournament, for whom she has been absolutely lighting the Women’s Super League up. She has won the English top-flight in each of her three full seasons there, scoring 53 goals at a rate exceeding a goal per game.

One could easily make the case that she is the best striker coming to this World Cup, so she will be in contention for the Golden Boot.

Expectations

Anything but a top-two finish in the group would be a massive disappointment for Australia, and they would ideally want to at least avoid defeat against Canada too. Regardless of where they finish, the Matildas are extremely likely to face one of England, Brazil and Germany before the semifinals, so a best-ever World Cup campaign will not come easy.

They will surely not be low on support throughout this tournament, so Australia still have to be considered in the discussion of potential winners.

🇮🇪 Republic of Ireland

Current FIFA Ranking: #22

World Cup History: No previous appearances

Major International Trophies: N/A

A memorable playoff final against Scotland at Hampden Park saw Ireland qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever thanks to Amber Barrett’s solitary goal in the 72nd minute, but they will not rest on their laurels.

They most definitely are underdogs, but their gritty tactics could make them a stumbling block for the big-hitters.

Tactics and Recent Results

Credit must go to Vera Pauw for instilling this style of play in the side. The former Dutch international has proven herself to be a pragmatist, switching to a very defensive 5-4-1 formation after failing to qualify for the last Euros.

Defensive solidity certainly was the foundation of Ireland’s successful World Cup qualification campaign, as they let in just two goals in their nine games. Their goalscoring figures were massively bloated by 20 in two games against Georgia, but on the whole, their matches did not tend to feature a lot of goalmouth action by design.

After securing this historic World Cup qualification, Ireland have prioritized friendlies against top sides to prepare themselves for the challenges they will face in Australia. They lost all three of their matches against the USWNT and France this year, but only six goals conceded in those games is not too bad. A draw with China and a win over Zambia in between them were encouraging results, so Ireland will go into this World Cup on the up.

Key Player

Across the women’s and men’s game, Ireland are all too familiar with the phenomenon of losing their best players to English clubs, so it should not be much of a surprise that well over half of their squad earn their bread and butter in British Pounds.

The best-paid of the lot almost certainly is Katie McCabe, who is the only player in the squad to have played continental club football this season. She has been at Arsenal at 2015, so she is now a senior figure for the side that made the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal earlier this year.

As a left-sided midfielder, she generally leads Ireland’s advanced down the left flank in the 5-4-1 formation but can also deputize as a wing-back if needed. In any case, she is going to be the best Irish player to take to the pitch in Australia, so she will be integral to their chances of success.

Expectations

As is the case for almost any tournament debutantes, Ireland should not have a lot of pressure to perform and would be predicted to bow out of the group. Playing in the first match in Australia will not do their chances any favors due to the support that their opponents will receive, but there is some hope for them.

The Girls in Green will back themselves to get a win against Nigeria on the final day of their group, so taking points off either Australia or Canada could give them a chance of sneaking into second. They certainly are underdogs, but write them off at your peril.

🇳🇬 Nigeria

Current FIFA Ranking: #40

World Cup History: 8 previous appearances; best result: Quarterfinalists (1999)

Major International Trophies: 11 African Cup of Nations (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018)

It may surprise some that Nigeria have the best historical World Cup record in this group being the only side to have featured in every edition to date. Their utter dominance of continental football in Africa over the years explains that record, but they seem to be heading in the wrong direction now.

On the pitch, their elimination in the most recent AFCON semifinal against would-be champions Morocco might be seen as a crossroads moment in African football, but Nigeria’s biggest issues currently are off the pitch.

Tactics and Recent Results

Nigeria have won their last two matches prior to the World Cup including one against New Zealand, but that does not paint half the picture of their preparations.

The squad and coaching staff are currently locked in a dispute against the federation, accusing them of leaving wages unpaid and general neglect of the women’s team. A public war of words has ensured between head coach Randy Waldrum and the federation’s communications director Ademola Olajire, souring Nigeria’s preparations for this tournament. Rumors even spread suggesting that the squad was considering boycotting their tournament-opener, though they have since been dispelled.

On the pitch, Nigeria have generally adopted a possession-oriented style of play using a 4-3-3 formation in Waldrum’s tenure. While that has been easy to implement against lesser opposition in Africa, it should be interesting to see how they fare in a group with Australia and Canada.

Key Player

Prolific forward Asisat Oshoala is widely regarded as the best player from Africa, recently becoming the first person from her continent to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin. Her record of 90 goals in 96 appearances for current UEFA Women’s Champions League holders Barcelona speaks volumes about her quality and goalscoring prowess.

Her return for the Super Falcons has been similarly prolific at 30 goals in 41 caps. Alongside fellow forward Desire Oparanozie, she is one of just two players in the Nigerian squad who have a double digit tally in terms of international goals, so they will be quite reliant on her in the final third.

Expectations

The spoiled preparations make it difficult to predict how Nigeria might fare, but in any case, they would not have been backed to advance from the group ahead of Australia and Canada. Like Ireland, they will hope to spoil the party of one of the big-hitters and stay in contention on the final day of the group, but the likelihood of them pulling it off is low.

More importantly, fans will hope that the internal dispute is resolved soon, but that is tough to call at the moment.

🇨🇦 Canada

Current FIFA Ranking: #7

World Cup History: 7 previous appearances; best result: Semifinalists (2003)

Major International Trophies: 1 Olympic Gold (2020), 2 CONCACAF Championships (1998, 2010)

The other group favorites are Canada, who are the best-ranked team among these four. Their success in the most recent Olympics was something they have been building towards having won two Bronze medals in the past, but now they will aim to shine at the biggest stage.

Unfortunately, they too have been plagued by issues with the federation recently, going as far as planning to boycott a match in the most recent SheBelieves Cup before being threatened with legal action and deciding to play in protest.

Tactics and Recent Results

On the pitch, Canada have had a decent time in the last few years. Of course, winning the Olympic Gold was their biggest achievement, but a run to the CONCACAF Championship final in 2022 was not bad either. The SheBelieves Cup ended in a group stage elimination, but we cannot read into that too much given the off-pitch issues that took center stage at the time.

Bev Priestman’s knockout-compatible tactics have certainly contributed to their successes in the last two major tournaments they played. Generally favoring three midfielders in front of a back-four, the 37-year-old Englishwoman asks her players to prioritize defense first and leaves it to the attackers to deal damage at the other end.

Just five goals conceded in the Olympics and CONCACAF Championship combined show that these tactics have worked so far, so they have no reason to change the formula going into this tournament.

Key Player

Legendary forward Christine Sinclair will be playing her sixth World Cup at the age of 40 this year, so this could well be her last. Therefore, many are likening her tournament to Lionel Messi’s campaign in Qatar 2022, where he won the crowning jewel for an exemplary career.

Sinclair’s role for her national team is not too dissimilar to the Argentine great’s, as she is given a great deal of positional freedom behind two strikers in a 4-3-1-2 formation. She serves as the link between the goal-getters and the rest of the side, so her role is crucial in Priestman’s system.

Sinclair is the captain too so her leadership qualities will prove useful but even if she does not say a word, her teammates will be motivated to perform well and give their all for her sake.

Expectations

Canada are not ouright favorites to win the tournament, but like Australia they are most definitely in the conversation. Their record in knockouts under Priestman has been quite impressive, so no one will want to cross paths with them. If they make it out of this group—which, on paper, has to be their bare minimum target—they will hope to win the whole thing.