Women’s World Cup fixtures today

“Beyond Greatness” is the ambitious slogan of the 2023 Women’s World Cup and that will certainly be the goal for those competing on the first Sunday of the tournament.

The competition has already produced enthralling contests, great goals and an abundance of penalties but the biggest edition of any Women’s World Cup ever is still in its infancy – there will be plenty more spot kicks to take (and miss).

Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s mouth-watering slate of matches.

The first game of Group G is, theoretically, one of the biggest mismatches in the opening round of fixtures. Sweden sit third in FIFA’s world rankings while only two teams at the tournament are lowlier than 54th-placed South Africa.

Yet, those ratings rapidly melt into insignificance as soon as the two teams step onto the pitch. Both sides tend to favour a direct route to goal via quick breaks which could conjure a chaotic, but eminently engrossing, contest.

How to watch on TV

READ MORE ON THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

For the second major tournament in a row, the Netherlands and Portugal have been drawn in the same group. If Sunday’s showing at the World Cup is anywhere near as entertaining as the match at Euro 2022, we are in for a treat.

The Netherlands raced into a 2-0 lead before Portugal clawed their way back into the match shortly after the half-time interval. Danielle van de Donk spanked in a sumptuous winning goal for the Dutch but Portugal’s boss Francisco Neto was defiant after the match. “I am proud of them,” he said, “and I think every person in Portugal should be proud of this team.”

One year on, can Neto’s side fill their nation with even more pride?

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France avoided a mass protest from their playing squad by abruptly replacing the divisive manager Corinne Diacre with Herve Renard in March. Sunday’s bout with Jamaica will only be his fifth game as head coach and first in a competitive setting.

Jamaica’s squad, by contrast, are still embroiled in an on-going dispute with the federation. Before the tournament, the players released a scathing statement which pointed to “subpar planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition and accessibility to proper resources”.

Even without these strained circumstances, Jamaica would have to be considered significant underdogs for a meeting with a team ranked fifth in the world.

How to watch on TV

LISTEN NOW

Former Italy international Arianna Criscione, Dulwich Hamlet’s Brittany Saylor and Football for Future founder Elliot Arthur-Worsop join Katie Cross to have football’s climate conversation about the Women’s World Cup and tournament football’s carbon footprint. Pledgeball’s Heather Ashworth also gives an update on the Pledgeball’s new Women’s World Cup initiative.

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!