Women’s World Cup: the most important sporting event of 2019
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The edition of the 2018 World Cup is intended to be another step towards the consolidation of the contest, whose favorite is again the United States
Between June 7 and July 7, the eighth edition of the Women's World Cup will take place in France, an event that was born in 1991 and that struggles to get ahead among the competitions organized by the FIFA. The current champion, the United States, will arrive as the big favorite, while Brazil, Argentina and Chile will try to give South America an outstanding performance. In LatinAmerican Post we give you some details of what this 'Women's Party' will be in the middle of the year.
Leer en español: Mundial Femenino de Fútbol: el evento deportivo de mujeres más importante del 2019
Conmebol recalls that the draw for the Women's World Cup was held at La Seine Musicale in Paris on December 8th. There the determined, among other things, that France, and second favorite according to the specialists, will debut against the Republic of Korea in the opening match at the Parc des Princes on June 7. At the event, world soccer stars such as Alex Scott, Louis Saha, Didier Deschamps, Kaka, Michael Essien, and Steffi Jones, among others, were present.
According to the Fifa website, the history of the tournament is recent, only 28 years, specifically since 1991 when the first edition was organized in China; Canada 2015 was the most recent. China 1991, Sweden 1995, the United States in 1999 and 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011 and Canada 2015 are so far the seven editions held.
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Who are the favorites?
The former soccer and world champion and gold medal winner with the United States in London 2012, Megan Rapinoe, said in an interview on Telemundo that the favorites to win the edition of France 2019 are the host team, as well as England (her country), Japan and Australia.
The same TV channel analyzes through Youtube the favorites to stay with the contest. For its specialists, the United States will always be the A1 candidate, but this time France is, without doubt, the other big candidate for its sustained growth in recent years and its local status. Germany cannot be left out because of its tradition of podium in this contest.
At the same time, As informs how the competition groups were distributed, six in total, which make up the 24 national pools. France, the local, was located in group A along with Nigeria, Norway, and South Korea. In the B, will be Germany, China, Spain, and South Africa, while in the C group there are Australia, Italy, Brazil, and Jamaica. The D group will be composed by England, Scotland, Argentina and Japan, while in the E group will be Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, and Holland. Finally in the F group, the big favorite United States will play against Chile, Thailand and Sweden.
An unfavorable decision?
La Tinta from Argentina explains a situation in which the World Cup could be affected: recently, FIFA ratified its decision to match the 2019 France final with the Copa América finals and the Gold Cup, male tournaments.
For the mentioned media, the simultaneous development of the two most important selection tournaments in the continent will generate a diversification of audiences and, to a certain extent, the loss of socio-media interest in detriment of the women's World Cup, beyond the strategies of the maximum soccer organism for empowering women.
As a common fan, it is easy to predict that the 2019 World Cup France's final match will have fewer reflectors compared to the Copa America. An attitude with which FIFA contradicts itself in relation to the development of women's soccer on the planet, beyond ensuring that the three finals will not be played at the same time, that is, they will not be simultaneous.
La Tinta ends by saying that, while the levels of audience and soccer practiced by women in the world have experienced exponential growth in recent years, the media and advertising position of this sport in men will have a considerable advantage over women if they play a final on the same day.
What to expect from the South Americans?
For this tournament, South America and the CONMEBOL will be represented by three national teams that previously qualified: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. There Conmebol remembers a little how the three reached the World Cup.
Brazil was crowned in April 2018 South American champion for the seventh time in its history (since 1991) after beating Colombia 3-0 in La Serena, Chile, which also allowed it to advance to the Olympic Games in 2020Tokyo. Out of eight South American qualifying cups played so far, Brazil has had the luxury of winning seven of them.
In this regard, Marta, Brazil's great figure, said: "We came here to make a great competition, not only to win, I felt we are making progress, we left here with a clear conscience". In turn, Argentina, who reached the final day with chances of of winning the title, was beaten 4-0 on the last date by the host, Chile, who managed to qualify for the World Cup with the combination of that result and the setback of Colombia.
Undoubtedly, Brazil is our maximum representative, a team with talents and experience that could reach the semifinals of the event. Group C, with the exception of Australia, a careful rival, does not seem to be a problem against Italy and Jamaica, and from the round of 16, the Brazilians will depend on their success in the 'Win or Win" matches.
Argentina looks more complicated in zone D, as it will play against two rivals mentioned by Rapinoe as candidates for the title: England and Japan, even Scotland does not seem a weak opponent. Overcoming the group stage will be a success. Finally, Chile has it even more complicated in the F, because it is not a traditional competitor of this contest and will have to measure forces with two feminine powers like the United States and Sweden. At least, if it is able to beat Thailand, it will be an acceptable performance.
LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano
Translated from "Mundial Femenino de Fútbol: el evento deportivo de mujeres más importante del 2019"
