Does anyone else believe that there could be a way in the WWC where most of the top 5 teams get knocked out before the quarterfinals or where USWNT don't even get out of the group stage or would that be absolutely impossible?
It's difficult to say when we don't even know the composition of the groups at group stage. Heck, the qualifying tournaments themselves are still underway! (And in Europe it's still technically possible that some big names won't even qualify for the WWC itself, including previous WWC winners, as Germany and Norway, or very good teams as England, Sweden, Netherlands or Denmark). What I can say for sure is that there will probably be at least 1-2 good to very good teams from Europe who won't even qualify and that European qualifying tournament (but other tournaments also) seems to say that there is now much more parity in the women's football than there had ever been in the past. Not sure if this can translate into a surprise-2019-winner or into early demises of traditional powers, but I totally expect hard-fought matches at each level, starting at group-stage.
Once we know the composition of the groups at the group stage, maybe one of our resident experts on FIFA's rating system will be able to tell us what the statistical chances are of major upsets.
One or two surprise teams may make some waves in the Group Stage and one prominent team may be eliminated there. However, I can't imagine a scenario where 6 of the final 8 teams are not FIFA Top 10 teams (and the remainder would be FIFA Top 11 - 20 teams. This Mens World Cup is absolutely carnage as it relates to the "favorites".......or should I say the Meh World Cup R R R R R R. 340 days till the start of the World Cup Tournament that matters.
Because of its flawless nature, I most certainly, and encourage others to live their lives by the FIFA World Rankings. Taking the reasonable McSkillz premise to the ridiculous extreme, I converted the actual Meh World Cup Bracket (and their FIFA World Ranking) and substituted the corresponding (by ranking) Women's Team and this the result: Norway England.............Norway - Brazil Canada..............Brazil - Germany South Korea......Germany - France Turkey................France - North Korea Kazakhstan........Kazakhstan - New Zealand Spain..................New Zealand - Ukraine Japan - Italy Denmark Sooooooooo at this point of the hypothetical Women's Tournament the Top-10 teams eliminated would be USA (1), England (4), Canada (5), Australia (8), Netherlands (9), North Korea (10).
wow guys, I think it was a dumb question as I forgot we haven't finished the qualifiers and final seedings and such. I guess we can resurrect this thread in about 6 months. I got too excited wondering about the women's tournament after having watched some of the R16 games yesterday. I just thought it was interesting how you could be the greatest player of all time or the highest paid player in the world with all the money and material items and still not come close to winning a WC. Still, despite the speed and pace of the mens game, I still find the women more interesting for some reason. I guess I know the female players better than the male players or perhaps the women play the game a little raw and don't always embellish as much as the dudes. Not to say the men don't have heartbreak, its just all these male players are professionals that get paid millions of dollars so I guess its hard to feel sorry for them.
So what you're saying is that it actually does take an entire team, and not just an individual player to win the Cup. Yep. As for the original question, there is growing parity in the women's game, but still not as much as in the men's. But even on the men's side, only 8 countries have ever won the World Cup. I'm just cheering for a new winner this year at this point. Next year, I think its quite possible to have a top contender knocked out early, even not making it out of the group. I would be shocked though to have as many knocked out early as in this year's men's WC.
There could be some upsets, of course--but in the end the United States surely will be the favorite. After the U.S. there is a group of quality teams that seem pretty closely matched and should be contenders--namely, the next 8 teams in the current Fifa rankings, which are Australia, Brazil Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan and The Netherlands. One of those teams is sure to win it. The real question is, if you had to pick three of the eight teams just listed to make the semis, along with the U.S., let's say, which three would you pick? It's impossible, but for the fun of it I'd pick Australia, England and The Netherlands. So, to answer your question, no, I don't think it will be as unpredictable.
My answer to your posit, McSkillz, is that that scenario is always possible, depending on the individual character of each World Cup. I agree with lil one about parity. Parity has increased greatly in our soccer. It is continuing.
The slaying of the Giants in the 2018 Men's World Cup was unique, and the Women's game is at least 20-30 years behind. In fact, that sort of slaying in the Women's World Cup doesn't actually happen until the 2055 World Cup according to the 21st century almanac .... Papua New Guinea beats Italy in Group A Ireland beats Japan in Group B Peru beats the Conglomerate Republic of Whole Korea in Group C North Iceland beats Australia in Group D South Iceland beats USA in Group E African Sudan beats Brazil in Group F Tonga beats Spain in Group G Bosnia and Herzegovina beats China in Group H Old Morocco beats England in Group I Greenland beats Netherlands in Group J Bermuda beats Sweden in Group K Luxembourg beats Germany in Group L The Knockout Stage is also crazy, especially in the Round of 32. France gets knocked out by Latvia in penalty kicks. *North and South Iceland having success in 2055 is what ultimately leads to the formation of North Pole's federation several years later. *New Zealand loses to Tonga in the Semifinals of OFC qualifying, and fails to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2003, 52 years earlier. Two nations from OFC earn bids to the 48 nation Women's World Cup in 2055.
WWC_Movement clearly this is totally awesome and I would give you gold in reddit speaks but how does this womens sport truly grow? does it get more respect if the USA doesn't always win it every WWC? Does it get more respect if the USA are totally dominant for the next 20 years? Lets say they win it as much as men's Brazil and they have like 5 stars on their breast in the next 20 years. What does that mean for women's sports? Does that make them stale or does that make them grow and have other countries investing more time and effort? Would a team like The Netherlands winning the next WWC be a big deal or a set back? Would a team like Germany winning the WWC just keep it stale since they would tie US with three stars? Or would France which I think hasn't won a WWC yet totally do it just like their male counterparts in their hosting country? But the problem with that is their "golden" team came and went and now they are in youth development. So what happens next year?
Have to agree with wwc. We don't yet have the parity in the women's game to have a similar outcome in the wwc.
WWC_Movement clearly this is totally awesome and I would give you gold in reddit speaks but how does this womens sport truly grow? "Women's soccer was destined to grow. Families love soccer. Families have daughters. Daughters love to run and kick a ball when they are young. It's a simple chain reaction that was inevitable in reciprocal growth from generation to generation. Women's soccer was eventually going to launch off the launching pad, and the rocket of women's soccer is still launching and flying upward" does it get more respect if the USA doesn't always win it every WWC? "Yes. Japan winning in 2011 ended up being the best thing to happen at that time for the world and even for the United States, especially since the United States captivated a record audience on television to watch the sport in watching them seek revenge and achieve it in 2015. Americans (and especially "Muricans") love nothing more than a good old American revenge story. You couldn't have scripted a better movie from 2011 - 2015" Does it get more respect if the USA are totally dominant for the next 20 years? "Yes. The women's game needs the United States to be on top of the pedestal. It motivates other countries to try to knock them off the top spot, and it still serves as a blueprint to the rest of the world on how to improve, optimize, and sustain your invested funding and overall progression of the women's game in their own country" Lets say they win it as much as men's Brazil and they have like 5 stars on their breast in the next 20 years. What does that mean for women's sports? Does that make them stale or does that make them grow and have other countries investing more time and effort? "This would be perfect. The United States continuing to win about 40%+ of the Women's World Cups going forward (at least 2 out of every 5). If they get to 5 stars by 20 years from now, that's a good ratio. It keeps the United States on top of the pedestal, and it still gives hope to the other nations that the USWNT can be beaten at any given World Cup as well. The women's soccer world needs the United States to be GREAT, just not perfect all the time. The image below at the bottom of this post reveals what the USWNT crest will look like after they have won their 6th star by the end of the 2047 World Cup at the latest, heading in to 2051. Winning 2 out of 5, and 3 of the next 8 World Cups does not make them stale, and other nations will certainly continue to move forward in their invested efforts and progression of their women's program" Would a team like The Netherlands winning the next WWC be a big deal or a set back? "This would be a big deal for UEFA and their teams. It would show European women's football that there is more to Germany (and Norway historically) as being the only ones who can win a major title from Europe. It would enable the UEFA nations to invest more in their women, either immediately, or eventually, depending on several factors. But does Netherlands winning the World Cup help CONMEBOL invest more in their women? Probably not immediately, and maybe a little more down the road, but CONMEBOL nations are going to progress their women's programs at a slower pace no matter what happens. Netherlands winning the World Cup does a lot for UEFA, and most likely doesn't hold the other federations from the other (non-UEFA) confederations to relinquish or pullback their funding for their women" Would a team like Germany winning the WWC just keep it stale since they would tie US with three stars? "That certainly doesn't help UEFA as much as Netherlands winning it. It helps Germany. It motivates France and England a bit more potentially, because they continue to want to be where Germany is at (by winning major titles). But it doesn't give any more hope to nations like Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, etc. However, if the Dutch win the World Cup, these other nations have more hope that they can be the next Netherlands type of nation to emerge out of nowhere and win the World Cup after only a few short years of serious progression, much like Netherlands from 2014-2019, in which they've shown their intense ascension among the top nations in the world of women's football. Maybe other nations come up with their own 5 or 10 year investment plan as well, in pursuit of becoming the next Netherlands" Or would France which I think hasn't won a WWC yet totally do it just like their male counterparts in their hosting country? "France is very capable of winning this tournament in 2019. For them to do so, they will have to be able to withstand those moments in which they are not in full rhythm, and be able to find a way to keep fighting and persevere. They haven't learned to win that way yet in major tournaments. The SheBelieves Cup they won in 2017, they beat the USWNT in a blowout when they were clicking on all cylinders. France doesn't know how to win a knockout match yet in which they are not in rhythm, and when they are facing adversity. The USWNT does know how to win that way if needed. That's the difference between those two nations still. If France and the USWNT play each other in 2019, if the final score is 3-0, there's a better chance France won. If the final score is 2-1, or 1-0, there's a better chance the US won. If France does win the World Cup next year, it also may help England want to invest more in their women. It helps Germany want to invest more to try to get back on top. It helps Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Denmark more, because they remember France not being that great until the 2011 Women's World Cup, and it was only 8 years later in which they hoisted the trophy. France winning in 2019 does more for UEFA and the world of women's soccer than Germany winning it. Especially since Germany just won Olympic Gold, have 2 World Cup titles, and a billion UEFA European titles" So what happens next year? "Stay tuned. It's going to be a WILD RIDE. Some of the best women's soccer matches you'll ever see take place in the 2019 Women's World Cup"
Women's soccer is growing fast, getting more competitive worldwide, fast, and this trend will continue regardless of who wins the next few World Cups. UEFA teams will certainly get better, and I expect UEFA plus the U.S., Australia, Brazil and Canada to dominate the sport in the next 20 years. Let's remember that UEFA remains the big dog in men's international soccer, with Brazil the only consistent challenger. France and Germany have won the last two men's WCs, and the two best teams this year were arguably France and Belgium--and Italy and the Netherlands didn't even make the tourney. UEFA's women's teams will keep getting better. They don't have the depth of talent that the U.S. does, but that will change. The Euro women's leagues will get better and better and become grow more competitive--the top clubs are already quick to snatch up the best players. (Manchester United just started a women's team.) As for national teams, Italy just qualified for its first women's WC, so you know they are stoked, and with the Dutch winning the Euro championship you've surely got more young Dutch women eager to hit the field. France has been strong and will probably get stronger. Germany is Germany. The Scandinavians should not be discounted. The U.S. should continue to win World Cups, as we have a very big pool of talented player, but it will get harder to do so as other national teams get better--and they are getting better. Next year's World Cup should be the most competitive yet, I should think.
Sorry about that mistake. I saw a video of jubilant Italians after they'd qualified and thought I'd read that it was their first time to the big dance--but maybe it was their first time /back/ to WC in a long time--20 years.
Right now I think that the US will win it, so my answer; no. US will win but hopefully France can do well as well and progress at least to the semi finals. But it'd been nice if they won it as well considering what their counterparts did in Russia this year... And Germany isn't even qualified, and if they do, I predict another groupstage KO because German football is a one way mess these days lol
Germany will get out of their group if they qualify for the World Cup. 16 of 24 teams get out of their group. Germany will certainly beat the 4th best team (worst team) in their group. That should enable them to advance. If Germany finish 3rd in their group, they'll be one of the four 3rd place teams. This will be due to pounding the worst team in their group (goal difference).