The 2023 Women’s World Cup kicks off in the early hours of Thursday morning, with hosts New Zealand and Australia taking on Norway and Ireland respectively.
The top-ranked US Women’s National Team is the favorite to lift the trophy for an unprecedented third straight time, but there are plenty of other competitive teams in the expanded field for this tournament.
Here are the important details to follow the coverage, and some places where you can go see the USWNT play in Philadelphia.
When are the games?
The 2-4pm time difference between the Australian and New Zealand time zones and Eastern Time means that those most committed to watching all the games live will have to spend the night entirely. For fans in the Philadelphia area, games will start at 8 pmwith matches during the night until the morning until 8:30 am
The games will be broadcast live on Fox, Fox Sports 1 and with Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo and NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
For those who need to sleep, full replays will be available on both networks’ respective apps and on any streaming service that carries the channels.
When does the United States play?
The USWNT is the favorite to win it all, but the tournament expanding to 32 teams throws up an unprecedented amount of valid contenders in the field.
First, the team has to get out of Group E, where it faces the following rivals:
- Friday July 21 vs. Vietnam at 9:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, July 26 vs. the Netherlands at 9:00 p.m.
- Tuesday August 1 vs. Portugal at 3am
The group stage of the tournament ends on August 3, and the knockout rounds begin two days later. The first potential USWNT playoff game will be on Saturday, August 5 at 10 pm or Sunday, August 6 at 5 am, with the game on August 5 closed if the team wins the pool. If the United States exits the group stage, it will face either Sweden, South Africa, Italy or Argentina from Group G.
One of the team’s talismans, Megan Rapinoe, has announced that this will be her last World Cup, so expect plenty of tributes to her and the other team veterans gracing the big stage for the last time.
Anyone with ties to the Philadelphia area?
At the school level, Penn State’s Alyssa Naeher will start in goal for USA, while Rutgers’ Casey Murphy will serve as a backup. Irish Mariasa Sheva was also a Nittany Lion, along with Costa Rican midfielder Raquel “Rocky” Rodríguez. Scarlet Knight’s Chantelle Swaby and Tiernny Wiltshire will represent Jamaica. US defender Alana Cook attended Pennington School in Mercer County.
Eagles fans will also have the support of Julie Ertz, wife of Super Bowl champion Zach.
The two Delaware Valley natives who played in the tournament: Sinead Farrelly of Haverton and Marissa Sheva of Sellersville — both will represent the Republic of Ireland.
Where can you watch the USA play?
For those who want to cheer on the USA with other fans, the American Outlaws Philly chapter will be posting at Top Tomato Bar & Pizza in Center City for the first two games of the USA group stage.
Xfinity Live! will also be stream USA games live. Gates will open at 4 pm for the Vietnam game and 3 pm for the Netherlands. Admission is free, tables are first-come, first-served, and guests must be 21 or older.
Kildares Irish Pub in West Chester said they will have the matches live within their normal hours of operation.
Did we miss your favorite place to watch soccer? Let me know at nkariuki@whyy.org
