Whether you call it soccer or fútbol, the 2023 Women’s World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, was full of twists and turns. Six games into this year’s competition, the US Women’s National Team faced up against Vietnam, a match that resulted in a win for the US with the score being 3-0. Despite the win, the prior World Cup champions received an unexpected wave of disappointment from fans in terms of their execution on the field. The lack of preparation and focus from the United States only grew clearer following their tie with the Netherlands in their second group stage game and later a 0-0 tie against Portugal. Despite their group stage performance, the team was given one more chance to show the kind of performance the world expected from the #1 ranked team going into this 

World Cup. Ending up second in their bracket, the USWNT was headed to play Sweden in the Round of 16. Among the 31 other teams in the group stages, we began to see some other unexpected results. Japan hits the ground running, winning all three of their group stage games including a 4-0 win over the soon to be champion, Spain. Germany takes an early exit from this year’s World Cup, finishing 3rd in their group. Germany also becomes the highest ranked team to not make it past the group stages despite being ranked previously ranked #2 in the world.

In the round of 16, we see Spain begin to take their lead after a 5-1 win over Switzerland. Japan also continues their winning streak. Putting their group stage performance behind them, the USWNT manages to muster up a strong fight against Sweden. However, Swedish goalkeeper Zećira Mušović plays an astounding game, managing to hold off all shots from the US. At the end of the 120 minutes, the result came down to penalty kicks. Perhaps one of the most thrilling moments of the World Cup, viewers around the world were on the edge of their seats. Time appeared to stand still as kick after kick after kick the penalties continued. After a miss from both Sweden and the US in the 3rd and 4th rounds, the margin for error was becoming increasingly slim. Holding their breaths down to the final kick, Swedish fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief while the United States stood in complete shock as the realization of their exit hit them with an intense blow. The tournament host, Australia, continues on through to the Quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Denmark.

At this point in the tournament, the remaining teams included Spain, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Australia, France, England, and Colombia. Led by coach Futishi Ikeda, the Japanese National team had gained massive respect from viewers around the world with their brilliant execution of the game, making Japan an obvious choice for fans whose teams had made an exit to cheer for. However, their winning run came to a devastating end as a result of their 1-2 loss against Sweden but the Japanese team left with nothing but support from anyone watching. As the end grew near, Spain continued their run with a 2-1 win, sending Sweden home. Australia faces a 1-3 loss against England around this time as well. In the end, the Finals came down to Spain and England. Both teams provided an exciting effort however Spain managed to find the back of the net in what was somewhat of an early goal (28’). From then on, both teams are given many close opportunities but neither manage to make anything of it. Despite this, Spain, able to keep their lead for the remainder of the game, are named 2023 Women’s World Cup champions.