Who are the favourites to win the 2023 Women's World Cup? | OneFootball

The Women’s World Cup takes place this summer between July 20 and August 20, but which team are the favourites to win the competition?

Barcelona have been crowned Liga F champions, Bayern Munich won the Fraun-Bundesliga, Chelsea made it four WSL title wins on the trot, and Olympique Lyonnais topped the Division 1 Féminine table.

Now the dust has settled on another sensational domestic season, it’s time to turn our attention to the main event this summer — the Women’s World Cup.

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The ninth edition of the tournament is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Last year, the USWNT claimed their fourth trophy, while runners-up Netherlands are still in with a chance of going one step further this year.

However, many of the top-seeded teams are missing prolific goalscorers and reliable defenders — so at this stage, it truly is anybody’s game.

10. Canada

Despite being ranked sixth in the world, Canada have just scraped into the top 10.

As well as having recent disputes with the Canadian Soccer Association, the Olympic gold medal-winning team have drawn a short straw in the group stage.

Matches against Australia, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland are all planned, and Beverly Priestman is unable to call on star striker Janine Beckie this tournament.

Much like the other notable players, the 28-year-old has torn her anterior cruciate ligament and is completely sidelined from the competition.

9. Brazil

A Seleção started this year with a bang, beating two-time World Cup champions Germany and forcing a penalty shootout at the first Women’s Finalissima, too.

The Brazilian ballers have shown that they’re not messing around, and they’re coming to claim more than the runners-up medals they achieved in 2007.

Marta and Debinha missed the Wembley exhibition earlier this year, but could be included on the World Cup roster alongside the likes of Barçelona’s Geyse, Rafaelle and veterans Luciana and Tamires.

8. Netherlands

The Netherlands came close to being crowned champions in 2019, but were eventually beaten 2-0 in the final by the USWNT.

Since then though, they’ve had head honcho Sarina Weigman depart for England, and their star striker - Vivianne Miedema - sidelined by a ruptured ACL.

The 26-year-old has already confirmed that she will miss this summer’s celebrations, and Andries Jonker’s team face an uphill battle without her.

Netherlands’ group stage is tough — they are due to take on Vlatko Andonovski’s side in the first round, as well as Portugal and Vietnam.

7. Sweden

The top seeds of Group G, Sweden, are interestingly being classed as an underdog team heading into this year’s tournament.

Despite sitting above England in the FIFA World Rankings, the 4-0 trouncing handed to Sweden at Euro 2022 last year has cast a shadow of doubt over Peter Gerhardsson’s squad.

However, nobody has more World Cup podium finishes than the Blågult.

And, they have members like Magdalena Eriksson and Fridolina Rolfö who have grown accustomed to winning at club level. They aren’t going down without a fight.

6. Australia

This year’s co-hosts are gearing up to make their ninth World Cup appearance, and will be hoping to claim the top prize while performing on home soil.

Arguably, Australia’s squad has never been stronger. Ellie Carpenter is back in the fold, youngster Mary Fowler is proving her worth and of course, Sam Kerr will be doing what she does best - scoring screamers.

The Matilda’s definitely have a home advantage, but will it be enough for them to be crowned champions of the world for the first time?

5. France

Following the exit of Corinne Diacre earlier this year, Hervé Renard was named the new France manager and is likely to stay in the position until 2024.

Since he was installed at the helm, the squad have won their last three games, have been allowed to bring their children to camp, and are ready to dominate a difficult Group F.

France achieved their best result in the 2011 edition of the tournament, where they placed fourth. However, Renard and co. will be hoping to do much better this time around.

4. Germany

When it comes to international football, Germany is a powerhouse.

In the past, the team has lifted the World Cup twice and won a staggering eight of the thirteen UEFA European Championships.

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is yet to claim any silverware since her 2019 takeover, but she will be hoping to replicate past successes and hopefully add another star to their jerseys.

Lena Oberdorf and Katherin Hendrich to rely on, Group H is in for a wild ride.

Due to a fallout with the Spanish Football Federation, Spain are currently without 15 of their experienced national team players.

Despite the missing personnel, the team are still expected to impress at this summer’s tournament.

Elsewhere, Alexia Putellas has recently made a full recovery from her ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, but it's currently unknown whether the Barcelona baller will help lead Jorge Vilda’s World Cup campaign this summer.

2. England

European champions England are expected to go the distance in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

Under the watchful eye of Wiegman, the Lionesses have won trophies like the Arnold Clark Cup and beat Brazil in a penalty shootout. They head to the World Cup as the tournament's second favourites.

However, if England plan on bringing it home, they will be doing so without their captain, Leah Williamson, and their EURO 2022 golden boot winner, Beth Mead.

Both have recently ruptured ACLs, so they’ll be watching their team compete from the sidelines.

1. USA

As four-time tournament champions, the USWNT are tipped as the favourites heading into the summer competition.

However, it’s worth mentioning that the squad are currently going through a major transition period.

There’s a changing of the guard going down in the US camp, with fresh faces Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thomspon and Trinity Rodman all expected to make their World Cup debuts this summer.

On the flip side, if veterans Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Kelly O’Hara are included in the 23-woman squad, then it’s likely they will be issuing farewells and collecting their flowers during the tournament.