This week, we continue our preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup, looking at Groups E and F, after previewing Groups A and B two weeks ago (see: The Week in Women's Football: World Cup Groups A & B preview; Calgary Foothills exclusive - Tribal Football) and Groups C and D last week: (The Week in Women's Football: Kaylan Williams exclusive - a USA star playing for Dinamo Moscow - Tribal Football). We also report that the third edition of the 2023 CAF Women's Champions League will be staged in the Ivory Coast.

Women's World Cup 2023 Group Previews

Group E—in New Zealand—Netherlands, Portugal, U.S. and Vietnam

The two-time reigning Women's World Cup champions Americans and 2019 runners-up Netherlands are clear favorites in Group E over the two debutants teams from Portugal and Vietnam. The U.S. has exciting young talent in Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez, who could all have breakout tournaments like Rose Lavelle did in 2019 (though she has missed some OL (Seattle) Reign games this season due to injury, she is back for her second tournament in a row).

Mallory (Pugh) Swanson's long-term injury against the Irish in April will change the way the team attacks. Success will ultimately come down to veterans Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz, who will provide vast experience and guidance to the younger players, though long-time central defender Becky Sauerbrunn injured her foot about two months ago during the NWSL season and will be sorely missed.

Sauerbrunn wrote on Twitter about her injury, "Heartbroken isn't even the half of it. But that's sports for you and that's life, really. I had hoped and worked and hoped some more to make it back in time to help lead the team at this World Cup, but after lots of discussion, unfortunately, there's just too much variability in my return to play timeline. So, I'll be home, working as hard as I can to get back on the field as quickly as I can. It's been an honor to work and play alongside this incredible group of athletes. They have my unwavering support. And, more importantly, they have my unyielding belief. This program has always been about the collective and I have no doubt that the twenty-three players on the final roster have everything they need — in their feet, their heads and their hearts — to bring our fifth trophy home."

Another American who could not successfully comeback from an ACL tear in time for their first round matches in New Zealand was Catarina Macario of Lyon in France (see: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL results; shake-up at OL Reign; Stoney ponders MLS future - Tribal Football).

On June 21, head coach Vlatko Andonovski named his 23 player roster:

U.S. Women's National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals) – 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury* (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy* (North Carolina Courage; 14), Alyssa Naeher*** (Chicago Red Stars; 90)

DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook* (OL Reign; 24/1), Crystal Dunn** (Portland Thorns FC; 131/24), Emily Fox* (North Carolina Courage; 28/1), Naomi Girma* (San Diego Wave FC; 15/0), Sofia Huerta* (OL Reign; 29/0), Kelley O'Hara**** (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 157/3), Emily Sonnett** (OL Reign; 74/1)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Savannah DeMelo* (Racing Louisville FC; 0/0), Julie Ertz*** (Angel City FC; 118/20), Lindsey Horan** (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 128/27), Rose Lavelle** (OL Reign; 88/24), Kristie Mewis* (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 51/7), Ashley Sanchez* (Washington Spirit; 24/3), Andi Sullivan* (Washington Spirit; 44/3)

FORWARDS (6): Alex Morgan**** (San Diego Wave FC; 206/121), Megan Rapinoe**** (OL Reign; 199/63), Trinity Rodman* (Washington Spirit; 17/2), Sophia Smith* (Portland Thorns FC; 29/12), Alyssa Thompson* (Angel City FC; 3/0), Lynn Williams* (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 52/15)

* First Women's World Cup

** Second Women's World Cup

*** Third Women's World Cup

**** Fourth Women's World Cup

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O'Hara made their fourth WWC Finals side while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and midfielder Julie Ertz were both named to their third Finals side. Four players were named to their second World Cup Team and 14 were selected to their first Women's World Cup Roster (see above).

Twenty-two of the 23 players on the roster play domestically in the National Women's Soccer League. Lindsey Horan, who plays for French champion Olympique Lyon, is the only exception as she was on loan from Portland, but it was announced the following day that her loan move was made permanent after OL paid the Thorns a fee of 250,000 Euros, with another 50,000 Euros possible—a very strong transfer fee amount in the women's game for a player that has been stellar on both the club and international team fronts—while Horan signed a contract with Lyon for the next three seasons.

Nine of the 12 NWSL clubs are represented on the roster with the OL Reign leading the way with five players. The Washington Spirit has four, NY/NJ Gotham FC has three and Angel City FC, San Diego Wave FC, the North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns have two each. Racing Louisville and the Chicago Red Stars have one each. Orlando Pride, the Houston Dash and Kansas City Current have players called into other WWC Finals sides, but none for the Americans.

This roster features six players with 100 or more caps, led by Morgan with 206. Five players have between 50-99 caps and 12 have fewer than 50 caps. There is one player who has never been capped by the U.S. full national team, but has had an outstanding season in the NWSL—midfielder Savannah De Melo (25) of Racing Louisville—who is the third player ever to make a U.S. World Cup roster without previously earning a cap. Debbie Keller was the first to do so in 1995 and Shannon Boxx was the second in 2003. DeMelo has been in training camps with the senior side, most recently being called up in the fall of 2022, and will have a chance for her debut cap in the USA's WWC Send-Off Match on July 9 vs. Wales in San Jose, California. That match could also be the 200th cap for Rapinoe, who is sitting on 199 appearances for the USA. Rapinoe would become the 14th player in USWNT history to reach the 200-cap milestone.

Note: There are three mothers on the team in Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Crystal Dunn.

Off the field, interest in the U.S. WNT has never been higher and that is reflected by the fact that Fox Sports, the U.S. broadcaster of the tournament, reported in mid-June that they had reached advertising sellout levels of 90%, out-pacing the rate for the 2019 tournament, even with the expansion of 12 more games due to 8 more teams participating (64 matches from 52 in 2019). A Fox executive felt that the prospect of a f rematch of the 2019 Final in the first round had boosted advertiser interest. Verizon Wireless (telecoms) will sponsor the pre-game show, Volkswagen will sponsor the halftime show and Google will sponsor what Fox is calling its "bridge show" in between games. Frito Lay will sponsor experiential watch parties. In a struggling television ad market in the States, this is a good thing and hugely important for the growth of women's football in the country.

The Netherlands and the U.S. were WWC Finalists in 2019. The less than successful Mark Parsons project (who is back in the NWSL at the Washington Spirit) for the last Women's EURO took some steam out of the Dutch team's sails plus Arsenal's lethal goal scorer Viv Mediema will miss the tournament with an ACL, but this is still a very talented team, with three WCL Finalists from Wolfsburg and, on their preliminary squad of 30 players, they had close to a combined 1,500 caps. Among them was Miedema's former Gunners team-mate and now with Lyon in France Danielle van de Donk (31), who will likely play her final World Cup, while Jill Roord (Wolfsburg of Germany) and Lieke Martens (Paris St. Germain) will add guile.

Head coach Andries Jonker (60), a native of Amsterdam, has been an influential figure in the men's game, including a stint as VfL Wolfsburg's manager, an interim coaching spell at Bayern Munich, a role as an assistant to Louis van Gaal at Barcelona and was also the temporary head coach of the Netherlands women's national team over two decades ago (in 2001). He also played for the Dutch men's national team.

Of the 15 playing in other countries on the Netherland's Finals roster of 23, four of the experienced side each play in Germany and France, three each are playing in England and Italy and one is from Spain, while eight are based-domestically:

Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar (FC Twente), Lize Kop (Ajax), Jacintha Weimar (Feyenoord).

Defenders: Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City/ENG), Caitlin Dijkstra (Twente), Merel van Dongen (Atletico Madrid/SPA), Stefanie van der Gragt (Inter Milan/ITA), Dominique Janssen (Wolfsburg/GER), Aniek Nouwen (AC Milan/ITA), Lynn Wilms (Wolfsburg/GER).

Midfielders: Jill Baijings (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Danielle van de Donk (Lyon/FRA), Damaris Egurrola (Lyon/FRA), Jackie Groenen (PSG/FRA), Wieke Kaptein (FC Twente) Victoria Pelova (Arsenal/ENG), Jill Roord (Wolfsburg/GER), Sherida Spitse (Ajax).

Forwards: Lineth Beerensteyn (Juventus/ITA), Esmee Brugts (PSV), Renate Jansen (FC Twente), Lieke Martens (PSG/FRA), Katja Snoeijs (Everton/ENG).

Seventeen-year-old midfielder Wieke Kaptein made the squad but has yet to receive her first cap—if she does play, she would be the youngest ever Women's World Cup player for the Dutch side.

Among the last cuts from the preliminary roster of 30 players were primarily home-based players, though forward Shanice van de Sanden (30) of Liverpool in England was a surprise omission. She played 14 games this past season with one goal but injured her knee in January, which slowed her down. She was an inspiration when Netherlands won the 2017 EURO at home. Van de Sanden will accompany the team to the Southern Hemisphere this month, along with ADO Den Haag's goalkeeper Barbara Lorsheyd, as teams can replace individuals in their 23 player squad up to 24 hours before their first game for medical reasons.

Portugal has made three of the last four major tournaments (2017 and 2021 Euros and now the 2023 WWC), as the country has been quite competitive at the senior level as their league teams have linked up with tradition men's powers. On May 30, Portugal head coach Francisco Neto named his 23 player squad. Portugal is going with a primarily home-based side except for goalkeeper Ines Pereira of Servette of Switzerland, defender Diana Gomes of Seville of Spain, defender Joana Marchao of Parma of Italy, midfielder Andreia Jacinto of Real Sociedad of Spain, midfielder Fatima Pinto of relegated Deportivo Alaves of Spain and midfielder Tatiana Pinto of Levante of Spain, who has played previously at home, in England and Germany:

Goalkeepers Rute Costa (SL Benfica), Ines Pereira (Servette FC/SWI), Patricia Morais (SC Braga)

Defenders Ana Seica (SL Benfica), Carole (SL Benfica), Catarina Amado (SL Benfica), Diana Gomes (Sevilla FC/SPA), Joana Marchao (Parma Calcio 2022/ITA), Lucia Alves (SL Benfica), Silvia Rebelo (SL Benfica)

Midfielders Ana Rute (SC Braga), Andreia Norton (SL Benfica), Andreia Jacinto (Real Sociedad/SPA), Dolores Silva (SC Braga), Fatima Pinto (Deportivo Alaves/SPA), Kika Nazareth (SL Benfica), Tatiana Pinto (Levante UD/SPA)

Forwards Ana Borges (Sporting CP), Ana Capeta (Sporting CP), Carolina Mendes (SC Braga), Diana Silva (Sporting CP), Jessica Silva (SL Benfica), Telma Encarnacao (CS Maritimo)

Despite playing a part in Portugal's historical qualifying campaign, there was no room for Suzane Pires (30), who was born in Brazil, played collegiately with Southern Connecticut State University, with the NWSL Boston Breakers for 12 games in 2015, with Santos in Brazil, in Portugal with Maritimo from 2018-2020 and for the past three years with Ferroviaria in Araraquara in Sao Paulo State in Brazil. Other late cuts included Andreia Faria (23) of Benfica and Alicia Correia (20) of Sporting Lisbon.

A former NWSL player who did make the squad—Jessica Silva of Benfica, who we interviewed for Tribal Football two years ago (see our interview with her in May of 2021: The Week in Women's Football: Challenge Cup review; San Diego replaces Sacramento; Ovechkin joins Spirit ownership - Tribal Football)—talked last month to The Guardian about how Portugal's debut WWC was so important to the growth of the game among young females in the country. Silva (28) has over a century in caps with her country after her first cap in 2011 and won a UEFA WCL tile with Lyon in France.

She referenced the recent success of the squad in making three of the last four WWC/EURO finals since 2017 (see above) when she talked about the significance of making this first WWC Finals: "It has been going on for a while, not only under [head coach] Francisco Neto [who was appointed in 2014 and is only 41-years-old today], and not only with me and the current players. But these nine years have brought success, evolution and the growth of our team. There has been investment in the women's game in Portugal so, looking at the big picture, it has been a collective effort to get into the World Cup. We have a different mindset, a new way of playing. We believe in our abilities, in our football."

Jessica Silva further said: "It's a landmark in the history of Portuguese football because we need to have more girls who want to play football. We need the women's game to be more sustainable so that, in the future, Portugal can continue to be a part of big competitions. We are on the right path, the right process, so this World Cup will be special because it's our first, but it is something that we really want to do more, to be present in these tournaments."

Silva is proud that she is seen as an inspiration to youth in Portugal: "One of the things that made me prouder on this path as a woman athlete is to inspire kids. In Portugal, there aren't as many players as we need, we need more. And one of the things that I enjoy the most is feeling that I am a reference to those kids. It is a great responsibility because one of my goals is not only to play football. It is to play for the kids, and I play so they can believe in my path, and believe that they can also have a history with football…. I dream that one day Portugal will be one of the countries with more registered players in the world. I'd love to see that. I hope that in 10 years, I'll look back and say, 'Yeah, we did good' and that happened. This is my dream as a woman and a footballer."

In the 2023 Southeast Asian Games Women's Football Tournament, two of Asia's Women's World Cup Finalists participated, including Group E's Vietnam and the Philippines, with the latter drawn into Group A with co-hosts New Zealand. Philippines' Sarina Bolden scored two goals, including a 98th minute winner against Malaysia (1-0) and then with a successful penalty in a 2-1 win over Vietnam, but surprisingly they did not make it out of their four team group—Indonesia withdrew before the tournament started after a 1-0 loss to Myanmar—with Myanmar advancing to the semifinals with a better goal difference (+3 to +1) than the Philippines, along with Vietnam, who were also tied on 6 points but with a +4 goal difference. Vietnam won the tournament in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's Olympic Stadium after defeating Myanmar 2-0 in the final on May 15.

Huynh Nhu (30) of Ho Chi Minh City led the team in goals with three to tie for third among the tournament scorers. Nhu has scored an incredible 67 times in 72 internationals—the all-time leading goal scorer for her country—and became the first Vietnamese women's footballer to play in Europe for Vilaverdense in Portugal's Campeonato Nacional Feminino or top tier league, scoring 7 goals in 14 matches; Shu is the only player in Vietnam's Finals preliminary squad that is playing abroad. Nhu, who scored in the final win over Myanmar, said: "This victory makes us become more confident when playing in big tournaments like the World Cup. It also increases the belief of the fans." At the SEA games, in the bronze medal match, Thailand easily dispatched the host side Cambodia 6-0. Thailand made the last two WWC Finals but missed out this time in Asian Qualifying in early 2022 for the tournament in Asia/Oceania—interestingly they just edged Vietnam 2-1 for the fifth and final AFC spot for Canada in Vietnam, so the Vietnamese side has been building nicely for some years now and are richly deserving of their first Finals spot.

Vietnam then went to Germany in June under their veteran head coach Mai Duc Chung (72), who coached the men's national team for Vietnam in the past. Over almost three weeks, Vietnam beat Eintracht Frankfurt's U-20s (2-1), then third-tier amateur team TSV Schott Mainz (2-0) but then fell to Poland's U-21's (2-1). Vietnam also defeated the U.S. Embassy's Blue Army Team (6-3). In a major international on June 24, Vietnam fell to Women's EURO 2022 runners-up Germany 2-1 in Offenbach, with Nguyen Thi Tuyet Ngan (Ho Chi Minh), scoring in the 92nd minute, to offset Germany's second goal in the 80th minute from Janina Minge (24), who scored nine goals with Freiburg this season, her eighth season with the Black Forest-based club. This game was only Vietnam's second senior international against a European side, after losing to France 7-0 in 2022 (they were down 6-0 at the half) in Orleans.

Vietnam (in red) in action in their 2-1 win over Frankfurt on June 10, 2023 on Vietnam's Pre-Women's World Cup extended training camp/tour in Germany.

Photo courtesy Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Vietnam 2023 WWC provisional roster:
Goalkeepers: Tran Thi Kim Thanh (Ho Chi Minh), Khong Thi Hang (Than KSVN), Doan Thi Ngoc Phuong (Ho Chi Minh), Dao Thi Kieu Oanh (Hanoi)
Defenders: Ha Thi Ngoc Uyen (Ha Nam), Chuong Thi Kieu (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thi Thu (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thi Thu Thao (Ho Chi Minh), Hoang Thi Loan (Hanoi), Tran Thi Hai Linh (Hanoi), Le Thi Diem My (Than KSVN), Luong Thi Thu Thuong (Than KSVN), Nguyen Thi My Anh (Thai Nguyen), Tran Thi Thuy Nga (Thai Nguyen).
Midfielders: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung (Ha Nam), Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thi Thuy Trang (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Nguyen Bao Chau (Ho Chi Minh), Ngan Thi Van Su (Hanoi), Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha (Hanoi), Thai Thi Thao (Hanoi), Duong Thi Van (Than KSVN), Nguyen Thi Truc Huong (Than KSVN).
Forwards: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Ngan (Ho Chi Minh), Pham Hai Yen (Hanoi), Vu Thi Hoa (Ho Chi Minh), Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang (Than KSVN), Huynh Nhu (Lank Vilaverdense/POR)

Group E Prognosis

The U.S., despite a string of injuries to a veteran defender and two young attacking talents, should still cruise to the semifinals, but I think France, England, Australia or possibly Brazil or Spain will derail them at that point. The Netherlands, even without Viv Miedema, has the talent to certainly make the Quarterfinals and possibly the semifinals as well. If they do make the last four, all bets are off and they could make their second consecutive WWC final match, but I think France, England and Spain among the UEFA Finalists are just a shade better, particularly as the Dutch are missing the prolific scoring of Miedema.

Portugal should finish third and Vietnam fourth. Portugal made it through the February Intercontinental playoffs in New Zealand in February. Vietnam will participate in the Finals for the first time and this is a huge achievement for a country that has developed its women's team well over the past 5-6 years and budgeted adequate resources to the effort. Their appearance should raise their global profile and allow them to access more of their diaspore in the future, particularly from Europe and America, if they ever want to utilize that option. Trying to keep the Americans under the 13-0 scoreline with which they beat neighbors Thailand in 2019 in their World Cup opener is a laudable goal and Vietnam's defense doesn't typically leak goals. The key for them is to not get into a track meet with the U.S. and avoid a double digit score, which certainly seems doable, particularly after their strong performance a few weeks ago against Germany.

Group F in Australia—Brazil, France, Jamaica, Panama

Brazil and Frane have legitimate credentials to at least make the semifinals this summer, in a group with two CONCACAF teams. Having never before gotten past the semi-finals at the Women's World Cup (2019 was their first Final Four and then they made the semis last year at the 2021 Women's EURO in England), can France finally go all the way to the Championship Final under new coach Herve Renard? I wouldn't bet against this talented team and their new amazing coach.

Brazil, with Marta making her sixth Finals team, will be targeting winning the Championship and they have the individual talent, mixed with a savvy veteran coach from Sweden, to achieve that goal. Jamaica will hopefully continue to build the game at home on the back of their second consecutive Finals while Panama, who lost to Argentina in the Intercontinental Final four years ago for a last spot in France, built on that experience and succeeded through two playoff matches in New Zealand earlier this year, besting Papua New Guinea (2-0) and Paraguay (1-0).

France, with recently appointed temporary head coach Herve Renard (probably on his way after the WWC given his wanderlust and after reportedly taking a seven figure pay cut for the job) was an absolutely brilliant selection, taking over from long-time head coach Corrine Diacre, who was losing the interest of some of her veterans (much like what Spain in Group C has been dealing with; see last week's column: The Week in Women's Football: Kaylan Williams exclusive - a USA star playing for Dinamo Moscow - Tribal Football). Renard, who did so well with Saudia Arabia at the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar late last year, guiding the team to a 2-1 win over ultimate winners Argentina in the first game (the Argentine's only loss of the tournament), and won a African Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012—where he is still revered and in 2014 with Ivory Coast (see: The Week in Women's Football: Results, rosters - our big World Cup form preview -Tribal Football).

Former France WNT captain Amandine Henry is moving to Angel City FC of the NWSL after the Women's World Cup; Renard brought her into France's squad again after an absence of 30 months. Henry (33) earned the last of her 93 caps in December 2020, then fell out after a dispute with Diacre, as did captain Wendie Renard, Marie-Antoinette Katoto (who will miss the tournament due to an injury) and Kadidiatou Diani, who all said in February that they would not play with the national team under her control. Renard (not related to her new head coach), a native of Martinique in CONCACAF, has 144 caps and 34 goals for France (seventh all-time); she is an incredible leader and at club level with Olympique Lyonnais, Renard has won 15 French League Championships, nine Coupes de France and eight UEFA Women's Champions League titles—she was brought into the 26 member provisional Finals roster by the new coach as was Diani and all-time French international top scorer Eugénie Le Sommer (88 goals).

Two veterans to watch for France include Amel Majri (30), who has won twelve league titles and eight UEFA Women's Champions League titles at Lyon and is very influential; she is going to her third WWC. Viviane Asseyi (29) had six goals in 22 games in her first season in the WSL in 2022-23 with West Ham United, after two seasons with Bayern Munich in Germany, following 11 seasons in the French league with Montpellier, Olympique Marseille and Bordeaux; she made her second WWC Finals team to go with the 2019 tournament in France.

Young players to follow include: Selma Bacha (22) of Olympique Lyonnais, Sandy Baltimore (23) and Oriane Jean-François (21), both of Paris Saint-Germain.

France's attack will miss Delphine Cascarino (26) of Olympique Lyon, who tore her ACL late in the season in the club's 1-0 win over Paris St. Germain; she has scored 14 goals in 56 appearances for her national team. She has played for Lyon since 2015, scoring 20 goals in 126 matches. Paris St. Germain's Antoinette Katoto is also missing with an ACL injury from last July in the Women's EURO.

The 26 member preliminary roster had the majority of players based in France (17), with five in England, two in Spain, one in Italy and one in the U.S.:

• GK: Mylène Chavas (Bordeaux)
• GK: Solene Durand (Guingamp)
• GK: Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Juventus/ITA)
• GK: Constance Picaud (Paris Saint-Germain)
• DF: Maëlle Lakrar (Montpellier)
• DF: Wendie Renard (Lyon)
• DF: Estelle Cascarino (Manchester United/ENG)
• DF: Elisa de Almeida (Paris Saint-Germain)
• DF: Sakina Karchaoui (Paris Saint-Germain)
• DF: Selma Bacha (Lyon)
• DF: Aissatou Tounkara (Manchester United/ENG)
• MF: Sandie Toletti (Real Madrid/SPA)
• MF: Grace Geyoro (Paris Saint-Germain)
• MF: Amandine Henry (Angel City/USA)
• MF: Amel Majri (Lyon)
• MF: Laurina Fazer (Paris Saint-Germain)
• MF: Kenza Dali (Aston Villa/ENG)
• MF: Oriane Jean-Francois (Paris Saint-Germain)
• MF: Lea Le Garrec (Fleury)
• FW: Eugenie Le Sommer (Lyon)
• FW: Clara Matéo (Paris FC)
• FW: Viviane Asseyi (West Ham/ENG)
• FW: Vicki Becho (Lyon)
• FW: Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain)
• FW: Naomie Feller (Real Madrid/SPA)
• Eve Perisset (Chelsea/ENG)

For Brazil, former Sweden and U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage has done a nice job since joining the side in July of 2019 as their first European WNT head coach. Brazil were runners-up to Germany 2-1 in China in the 2007 final. Interestingly they beat Germany 2-1 in April after falling to England 2-1 in the First Women's Finalissimal (EURO Winners versus CONMEBOL Champions) in a wonderfully entertaining game at Wembley.

Sundhage will be reliant on Kansas City Current midfielder Debinha for creative inspiration and scoring, who made her second WWC roster. Debinha has 134 international appearances, fifth overall for Brazil. Her 58 goals rank third on Brazil's all-time list, behind only Marta (115) and Cristiane (96), who was not selected for this summer's WWC Finals (see more below). Signed as a Free Agent in January after playing for six years North Carolina Dash, Debinha leads the Current in goals scored, both for regular season play (6) and in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup (3). She scored her 40th career NWSL goal against the Washington Spirit June 18, making her the first Brazilian player to reach that milestone.

Also from the NWSL, six-time WWC Finalist Marta (Orlando Pride) will likely come off the bench as she is still recovering from a knee injury that kept her out for about a year, but she can still strike a lethal ball at goal. Gotham FC's first year player Bruninha (21) has been hugely influential for Gotham FC, who are having a good year in the NWSL. Bruninha helped Brazil finish third at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the U-20 side win the CONMEBOL Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino without conceding a single goal throughout the tournament. Joining Gotham FC in August 2022, Bruninha has started in all 11 games this season, contributing two goals.

After the World Cup, the NWSL is gaining another Brazilian, and one of the top players in Europe at that. The Houston Dash have recently signed Brazilian Women's National Team midfielder and 2023 Italian Serie A Champion, Andressa Alves. Alves signed through the 2024 season with an option for 2025. This signing is huge for the American league. She spent four seasons at Roma and helped them win the league and reached the WCL quarterfinals this season. Andressa's 2022-23 season included a career best 17 goals across all competitions and she made Serie A Femminile's Top 11. During the 2021-22 season, Andressa was named Serie A Midfielder of the Year as Roma finished second to Juventus.

The attacking midfielder departs Roma as Giallorossi's all-time leader in assists (15) and second in goals scored (40) across 103 games in all competitions, becoming just the fifth player in Roma history to make 100 appearances for the club. Prior to joining Roma in 2019, Andressa spent three seasons (2016-19) with La Liga's FC Barcelona, scoring 35 goals and providing 20 assists in 91 league appearances. Prior to joining FC Barcelona, Andressa played one season (2015-16) with Montpelier in the French Top Division, appearing in 20 games, and scoring eight goals. She was a shoe-in for the Brazilian WWC Finals side.

At the international level, Andressa has represented the Brazilian Women's National Team with 106 caps, eighth most all-time and sixth amongst active players, and has scored 21 goals, 10th most all-time and fifth most amongst active players. Andressa, who made her debut for the senior team in 2012, has represented Brazil in the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2015 Pan American Games and CONMEBOL Copa America, which she won twice in 2014 and 2018.

Brazil's defense, always a weak point at past WWC Finals, should be better this time as Pia Sundhage has had four years to work on it with more tactical structures. Previously she spent five years at both Sweden and USA as their managers, where she picked up three Olympic medals and a runners-up spot in the 2011 World Cup with the United States. A former professional player, Sundhage scored 71 international goals in 141 appearances for Sweden, and won the 1984 Women's Euros with her nation, too.

For the final squad announced on July 28, Marta (37) made her sixth consecutive finals but forward Cristiane (38) did not. Sundhage told the media said she did not want to talk about players — such as Cristiane — who had not made the squad. Cristiane has scored 11 goals for Brazil in previous editions of the tournament and has been playing at home with Santos since 2020—she has played previously in China, France, Germany, Korea Republic, Russia, Sweden and for the Chicago Red Stars in WPS. She has always delivered goals for the national team but her club career has been problematic, with concerns at various clubs about her fitness, being prone to injury and her perceived less than full commitment.

Pia obviously felt that she had better options despite Cristiane scoring eight goals in 14 matches this season for Santos in the Brazilian national championship. Cristiane had not played with the nats since February 2021 at the She Believes Cup in the U.S. With younger players like Debinha and Kerolin (23), who has eight league goals in 13 matches this season for the surprising first place North Carolina Courage (23) in her second season with the club, Brazil should be fine with their goalscoring. Kerolin, a terrific dribbler, was suspended by CONMEBOL for two seasons for failing a drugs test in 2018 in the Copa Libertadores Femenine

Before heading to Australia, Brazil played a last friendly game in Brasilia on July 2 against Chile, winning 4-0 after building a 3-0 lead within the first 35 minutes.

The biggest surprise inclusion in the squad was 34-year-old Flamengo goalkeeper Barbara, who had not been picked for recent camps. Seven of the Finals squad play in Brazil, six each play in Spain and the NWSL in the U.S., two in Portugal and one each in England and Italy. Eleven of Brazil's 23 players have never played at a World Cup:

Goalkeepers: Leticia Izidoro (Corinthians), Camila (Santos), Barbara (Flamengo).

Defenders: Rafaelle (Arsenal/ENG), Bruninha (Gotham FC/USA), Kathellen (Real Madrid/SPA), Antonia (Levante/SPA), Tamires (Corinthians), Lauren, Monica (both Madrid CFF/SPA).

Midfielders: Adriana (Orlando Pride/USA), Ary Borges (Racing Louisville/USA), Kerolin (North Carolina Courage/USA), Ana Vitória (Benfica/POR), Duda Sampaio, Luana (both Corinthians).

Forwards: Debinha (Kansas City Current/USA), Andressa Alves (Roma/ITA), Nycole (Benfica/POR), Gabi Nunes (Madrid CFF/SPA), Geyse (Barcelona/SPA), Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras), Marta (Orlando Pride/USA).

It is odd that we have two CONCACAF teams in one group with Panama making it from the bizarre Intercontinental Playoffs—another legacy of the poorly attended, highly expensive tournament that we hope never to see again, with a return to home and away playoffs with fans. When the draw was made before the NZ tourney, it was a placeholder but few expected two CONCACAF teams to take the spot (though we called it ahead of the tournament: The Week in Women's Football: WC Playoffs; Riley explains Panama choice; PNG appoint ex-Man City defender Prior - Tribal Football). Jamaica is better than people think and Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has been world class at Manchester City this season, scoring 20 goals in 22 games and finishing second in the Golden Boot race. The Reggae Girlz second WWC in a row for a federation that struggles financially is a testament to their players and their coaching staff. If Brazil or France stutters, Jamaica could advance to the knockout stages. The last group game between Brazil and Jamaica could be must see TV if both teams are still in the running for the Round of 16 at that point in July.

On June 28, Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson announced his final roster of 23 players for next month's FIFA Women's World Cup, with a mix of core players from the last campaign and emerging talents. Eleven players from the France 2019 campaign return, including captain Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Chenya Matthews, Havana Solaun, Konya Plummer, Chantelle and Allyson Swaby. Making their first WWC squad are youngsters Liya Brooks, Solai Washington, Kalyssa Van Zanten and Kameron Simmonds, all of whom are based in the States at colleges or high school.

Chamblee junior Solai Washington was recently named the 2023 Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the year and helped the Lady Bulldogs of DeKalb County (metropolitan Atlanta) to the Class 5A girls' state title. She scored four goals and added two assists in Chamblee's 9-0 Final win over Greenbrier. Washington finished the season with 42 goals and 9 assists on the way to being named the Georgia High School Soccer.com Class 5A Player of the Year and Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year as Chamblee finished 21-0-1. Chamblee made the state finals for the second consecutive season.

Like Haiti, none of the players are playing at home in Jamaica, which is an indictment that the best players there need to move abroad to develop. Eight players currently play in the States (two in the NWSL and the others in college or high school), five in England, three in France, two in Scotland, and one each in the Czech Republic Hungary and Spain, with two currently unattached:
Goalkeepers: Rebecca Spencer (Tottenham/ENG), Sydney Schneider (Sparta Prague/CZE), Liya Brooks (Eugene Timbers FC/Washington State University/USA)

Defenders: Allyson Swaby (Paris St-Germain/FRA), Chantelle Swaby (FC Fluery 91/FRA), Konya Plummer (unattached), Deneisha Blackwood (GPSO 92 Issy/FRA), Vyan Sampson (Hearts/SCO), Tiernny Wiltshire (unattached).

Midfielders: Peyton McNamara (Ohio State/USA), Drew Spence (Tottenham/ENG), Trudi Carter (Levante/SPA), Solai Washington (Concorde Fire/USA), Atlanta Primus (London City Lionesses/ENG), Havana Solaun (Houston Dash/USA)

Forwards: Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/ENG), Jody Brown (Florida State/USA), Tiffany Cameron (ETO FC Gyor/HUN), Kameron Simmonds (University of Tennessee/USA), Kalyssa "Kiki" Van Zanten (Univ. of Notre Dame/USA), Cheyna Matthews (Chicago Red Stars/USA), Paige Bailey-Gayle (Crystal Palace/ENG), Kayla McKenna (Rangers/SCO)

For the two unattached players, Tiernny Wiltshire (25) is American-born, played at Rutgers University in her home state of New Jersey and then abroad in Israel and Finland. She signed an international replacement player contract with the Houston Dash in August of 2022. Konya Plummer (25) played collegiately in the States and in five games for the Orlando Pride in the 2020 and 2021 seasons; she then played six games on loan to AIK in Stockholm, Sweden in their first season in the top flight Damallsvenskan during the 2021 season.

Tiffany Cameron (31) is now a free agent and has played in the NWSL and in Cyprus, Germany, Israel, Norway and Sweden, in addition to her most recent stint in Hungary. She played collegiately at Ohio State University.

Late cuts included defender Siobhan Wilson (29) of Birmingham City, defender Sashana Campbell (32—a native of Spanish Town on the coast of Jamaica, she played collegiately in the States and then in Iceland, Poland and Israel and was on the 2019 WWC Finals side in France), defender Satara Murray (30) of Racing Louisville, defender Victoria Williams (33) of Brighton and Hove Albion and forward Shania Hayles (23) of Bristol City, both in England.

Even getting to the Finals again is commendable considering the fact that the program has been cut and disbanded by the country in 2004 and then was funded by Bob Marley's daughter ten years later, after the team had to beg to cover expenses ahead of the CONCACAF regional 2015 WWC Qualifiers—even Haiti's team gave them a few thousand dollars to help them. Jamaica was the first country from the Caribbean to qualify for the Women's World Cup. As with Haiti and Canada—the players have expressed concern with their perceived lack of support at home from their Federation. A group of players, including Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw, have expressed their "utmost disappointment" at "subpar" support from the Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) ahead of the WWC Finals. They cited inadequate planning and that they needed more resources to be successful in the tournament this summer.

The players penned an open letter on social media: "Qualifying for a second World Cup is something most never imagined or thought possible for the Reggae Girlz. At a time where we should be focused solely onto compete[ing] on the world's largest stage, we are unfortunately compelled to express our utmost disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation. On multiple occasions, we have sat down with the federation to respectfully address concerns resulting from subpar planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition, and accessibility to proper resources. We have also showed up repeatedly without receiving contractually agreed upon compensation."

They further charged the JFF for bungling the chance for friendlies because of "extreme disorganization." The federation announced a sponsorship deal for the women's team with a fast food chain on Thursday and the governing body's president, Michael Ricketts, told Nationwide News Network that it was taking the players' concerns seriously: "We want to make sure we provide as much as we can for the girls, who we certainly think will do very well at the World Cup." We will see if the JFF follows through but these issues—not just in CONCACAF but with South Africa as well which disrupted their last friendly match at home before heading for the Finals: see more in next week's column—are extremely worrisome.

Panama's roster has two players based in the U.S., two in Mexico last season, one in Colombia, one in Portugal and one in Mexico, with the rest based at home:

Goalkeepers: Yenith Bailey (Tauro), Farissa Cordoba (Nanas), Sasha Fabrega (Independiente de La Chorrera)
Defenders: Carina Baltrip Reyes (Maritimo/POR), Katherine Castillo (Tauro), Rebeca Espinosa (Sporting SM), Hilary Jaen (Jones College/USA), Wendy Natis (America de Cali/COL), Yomira Pinzon (Saprissa), Nicole de Obaldia (Herediano), Rosario Vargas (Rayo Vallecano/SPA)
Midfielders: Laurie Batista (Tauro), Emily Cedeno (Tauro), Marta Cox (Pachuca/MEX), Schiandra Gonzalez (Tauro), Erika Hernandez (Plaza Amador), Natalia Mills (Alajuelense), Carmen Montenegro (Sporting SM), Aldrith Quintero (Alhama), Deysire Salazar (Tauro)
Forwards: Lineth Cedeno (Sporting SM), Karla Riley (Cruz Azul/MEX) Riley Tanner (Washington Spirit/USA).

Yenith Bailey in goal is only 22 but has been a national team goalkeeper since 2018 and helped Panama make the Intercontinental Play-in versus Argentina for the last spot in the 2019 Finals. She is a stellar goalkeeper and has played in Colombia and Paraguay, but a solid performance could see her move to Europe, likely the Spanish League.

Prognosis:

Brazil should get to the semifinals at least and they have the team to do that and more, if they can stay healthy; plus if Marta can contribute quality minutes and a few goals from the bench, that will be a huge plus. Really for the fans, the team and head coach Pia Sundhage, anything less than a Championship will likely be perceived as a failure. France could make the semifinals again and, with the right draw, could be a finalist. Jamaica will improve over their 2019 Finals three losses in the group stage and hopefully their second consecutive Finals berth will send a message to the Jamaica Football Federation that they have to invest in this team and their local league, particularly since no Finals players are based in the home league, and not just give lip service to the idea. Even the Philippines in Group A—with their heavily American-diaspora roster—typically has a half dozen national team members playing in their local league in the country. Panama will likely lose the CONCACAF derby to Jamaica but some impressive results could see a few players move to Mexico, Spain or even the U.S.

Ivory Coast will host the 2023 CAF Women's Champions League

The CAF Executive Committee has announced Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) as the next host country of the CAF Women's Champions League for 2023. The tournament will help the country test the facilities that will be used for next year's TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations on the men's side in early 2024. Two of the eight finalists are known: AS FAR of Morocco won the title last year at home, defeating 2021 champions Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, who won the inaugural tournament in Cairo. Africa Sports d'Abidjan won the 2022-23 Ivory Coast Women's champions and should have lots of local support.

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey