After a number of nail-biting contests, miraculous goals, uncongenial injuries and outstanding individual performances, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has come to an end with a clash between Netherlands and US in the finals. The US defeated England in the first semis by 2-1 to become the first finalist. The fight for being the second finalist witnessed a strong defensive performance from both the sides over 90 minutes, but Jackie Groenen’s extra-time goal fired the Netherlands into their first Women’s World Cup final. Meanwhile, Sweden went up against England in the third-place play-off on Saturday and successfully secured a win.
The World Cup In A Nutshell
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is the eighth edition of quadrennial international football championship. France had the honour to host the championship which lasted for one month that is from June 7 to July 7 2019. A total of 24 teams from six confederations qualified for the tournament. Four nations (Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa) made their debuts in the Women’s World Cup.
The 24 teams were divided into six groups (A, B, C, D, E, F). As of Saturday, July 6, 50 of the 52 matches had been already played with a total of 141 goals scored with an average of 2.8 goals per match. The official mascot of FIFA Women’s WC 2019 is Ettie (Young Chicken) who is the daughter of Footix (Official Mascot of 1998 FIFA World Cup France.
In April, FIFA said ticket sales were “smashing records.” The opening match in the Parc de Princes and the semifinals and finals at the State de Lyon were sold out within 48 hours of going on sale. This shows the growth of enthusiasm for women’s football. It was the first time the world witnessed such a wealth of talent which compelled even the former players to wish that they could play again.
The top performers of this tournament (based on the number of goals scored) are:
1) Alex Morgan (US) – 6
2) Ellen White (England) – 6
3) Megan Rapinoe (US) – 5
4) Samantha Kerr (Australia) – 5
5) Christiane Rozeira (Brazil) – 5
6) Wendie Renard (France) – 4
Following this, the players with the most number of assists are:
1) Sherida Spitse (Netherlands) – 4
2) Amel Majri (France) – 3
3) Alex Morgan (US) – 3
4) Beth Mead (England) – 3
5) Manuela Giugliano (Italy) – 3
6) Sam Mewis (US) – 3
The graphs and tables are not enough to scale the performance of players in this tournament. All the players exhausted every bit of themselves to either score, or to defend or to tackle or dribble but the above mentioned are the ones who made the most out of the tournament. There are many unmentioned players who have performed extraordinarily well and proved to be a feast for the eyes of spectators.
Along with this, there had also been plenty of drama and controversy like pregame drama, physical play, controversial calls, penalty kicks and red cards. A total of 12 players were shown yellow cards, with Formiga from Brazil leading the list with three yellow cards. Also, four red cards were shown by the referee to Alanna Kennedy, Millie Bright, Ngozi Ebere and Nothando Vilakazi.
Unfortunately, many players were injured and couldn’t get much of a chance to cast their spell in matches. For instance, Megan Rapinoe, the star attacker of the US had a hamstring injury which kept her from playing the semi-finals. The same went for the Dutch midfielder Lieke Martens.
Final: USWNT Vs. The Lionesses
The United States played the Netherlands in the final of the 2019 Women’s World Cup on Sunday. The US were the overwhelming favourites to beat the Netherlands and retain the trophy. They won all their matches and were positioned very near to their fourth World Cup win.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, reached their first ever Women’s World Cup final, becoming the eighth different country and the fourth European nation to play in a final. A tough fight was expected, especially after their hard-fought win over Sweden in the semifinal.
The high-octane game culminated with a 2-0 win for the US: their fourth win, but the first one on European soil. Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle scored one each – the former in a penalty kick and the latter through a smooth opening in the last few minutes of the match.