Sammy Murrell: World Cup tipped upside down
"As the tournament progresses and we see a new World Champion crowned, Aotearoa can be proud of the role it played in ushering in a new era of women’s football."
Sammy Murrell is a former New Zealand Junior Football Fern from Southland who now
lives in the United States after playing and studying at Havard University. Murrell has joined The Tribune team as a columnist for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Each year that I spend in the United States, I have at least one conversation which reminds me that Americans struggle to wrap their brains around the idea of a summer Christmas. After the most recent encounter where I described barbecues and beach days in December, a friend commented: “I forget that everything is upside down in the Southern Hemisphere.”
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, is no exception to this rule. This tournament has turned the women’s football world on its head over the past few weeks, and I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m here for it.
The previous two iterations of the tournament progressed as expected. For the most part, top teams toppled their opponents in the group stage and advanced deep into the knockout rounds. The favourite took out the title. We all shrugged collectively, having had our expectations met. But not this time.
Seasons, directions, and now football. From the perspective of our Northern counterparts, everything is topsy-turvy in the Southern Hemisphere.
Major women’s football powerhouses had to book flights home after the group stage. Reigning Olympic champions Canada (currently ranked #7) bowed out of the tournament before the knockout rounds after being crushed by Australia 4-0. The Matildas went on to beat Denmark 2-0 in the Round of 16 to get through to the quarterfinals. Top-twenty ranked teams Germany (#2), Brazil (#8), China (#14), Italy (#16), and South Korea (#17) all failed to make it past the group stage.
Meanwhile, Nigeria (#40), Jamaica (#43), South Africa (#54), and Morocco (#72) all made it through to the knockout rounds. Jamaica’s success at the tournament is especially inspiring; a lack of funding from the Jamaica Football Federation made their journey to Australia and Aotearoa more difficult than most. Financial support from the Bob and Rita Marley Foundations and online crowdfunding pages helped the Reggae Girlz get Down Under to put on some spectacular performances and knock out Brazil. They’ll face Colombia in the Round of 16 on Tuesday at 8pm NZT.
Reigning world champions–the USWNT–are headed home after Sweden won by a hair on penalties in the Round of 16 (look at the winning penalty and you’ll see what I mean). The right goal post, which helped the Americans avoid an earlier exit by saving a strike from Portugal in the dying seconds of their final group stage match, had a role in their undoing: Kelley O’Hara’s penalty could have sent her team through to the quarterfinals, but her shot hit the right post.
Having hit more penalties over the bar than I care to count, I won’t comment on the quality of the misses that could have ended the game in the Americans’ favor. Just last week, I missed a penalty for the social team I play for.
The success of lower-ranked teams at this tournament is a testament to the meteoric rise of women’s football and the increasing strength of competitions across the world. Imagine how much closer the gap would be–what future FIFA Women’s World Cups could look like–if these lower-ranked teams who are surpassing expectations had the same level of funding and support from their federations as their higher-ranked (and wealthier) competitors.
Now that the favourites are out, this is anyone’s tournament. But no matter who takes the trophy home, this World Cup in our upside-down Hemisphere will hopefully mark a new and exciting chapter in international women’s football. One in which the scores get closer, the results could go either way, and the teams that have dominated for decades make way for bright new stars from all over the globe.
As the tournament progresses and we see a new World Champion crowned, Aotearoa can be proud of the role it played in ushering in a new era of women’s football.
You can read more from Sammy over on her Substack, Murrell of the Story