July 19 () –
Group G of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will have the expert and competitive Sweden as the rival to beat for first place by two teams that aspire to qualify for the round of 16 such as Italy and Argentina, and a South Africa that will want to put up a ‘battle’ and not be a mere ‘guest’.
The Swedish team is one of those that can also boast of having participated in all the editions of the World Cup, where it has been the protagonist on several occasions and at different times, a good example of its potential. Thus, his best result is the runner-up in 2003 against Germany, while he was third in 1991, in 2011 and four years ago in France.
Sweden, number three in the FIFA ranking, is one of the countries with the longest tradition in the women’s football scene, as shown by the fact that it was European champion in 1984 and the two silver medals it has won in the last two Olympic Games. Lost by the Netherlands in the 2019 final, in the last Eurocup they stayed in the semifinals, overwhelmed by the hosts England (4-0).
The team led by Peter Gerhardsson has players of a recognized level in continental football such as the Blaugrana Fridolina Rolfö, the center back Magdalena Eriksson or top level forwards such as Stina Blackstenius, Kosovare Asllani or Sofia Jakobsson with whom he hopes to return away in a big tournament.
In theory, the main rival to challenge the Swedes for first place would be a growing Italy. The ‘Azzurre’ arrive animated in their attempt to shine again as they did in the last World Cup where they were one of the surprises by reaching the quarterfinals after leading a group with Australia and Brazil and leaving China out in the first match.
The Netherlands put an end to their adventure in what was the first World Cup since 1999, but the team led by Milena Bertolini, in charge since 2017, has confirmed its improvement with a second consecutive classification where it hopes to make up for some disappointment in the last Euro Cup where he could not get past the not excessively complex group (France, Belgium and Iceland) and where he only added one point.
Italy, ranked 16th in the world, will compete in Australia and New Zealand immersed in a renewal process where the presence of a very young footballer like Giulia Dragoni, a midfielder for the FC Barcelona subsidiary who is only 16 years old and who has managed to gain a foothold in the final list.
The Italian team could have as a rival for the gap that Sweden can leave for the round of 16 an Argentina, located in position 28 in the FIFA ranking and that also wants to expose its growth on the international scene in the fourth World Cup of its story, second in a row.
The Argentine team, third in the last Copa América and whose country created a women’s league in 2019, knows that to aspire to be at the crossroads they will first need to win the first game in their World Cup history. So far, out of nine World Cup matches, they have only tasted two draws, both in 2019 against Japan and Scotland. In Germán Portanova’s squad, the ‘Spanish’ Estefanía Banini, heroine of Atlético’s Copa de la Reina title, and Florencia Bonsegundo (Madrid CFF) stand out.
Finally, South Africa will seek to surprise and make the ticket to the round of 16 more expensive than any of its rivals in what will be the second World Cup in its history after the historic one four years ago in France. There, where she shared a very tough group with Spain, Germany and China, she left empty and only scored one goal, records that she wants to improve this time supported by her status as current African champion, a historic achievement and which she did with plenty of victories. Desiree Ellis is in charge of a team led by former Atlético de Madrid striker Thembi Kgatlana.
