Key Players to Follow for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
From the success of the 2019 Women’s World Cup, we are eager to see how the US Women’s Team will perform! On the roster for the upcoming matches, the team features two Colorado Natives, Sophia Smith & Lindsey Horan. Below are some key players to keep an eye on during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
In 2017, Sophia Smith was called-up to the Senior National Team but did not make her debut until 2020. Smith was in the starting lineup for all five matches for the US Women’s Team during the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. In those matches she scored twice and launched the team’s 5-0 group stage victory against Jamaica.
Her talents from the championship helped qualify the US team for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Lindsey Horan, two time Olympian, made quite an impact on the 2019 Women’s National Team. This Colorado Native has made history of being the first American female player to sign a professional contract right out of high school. In the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Horan scored in the group stages which rocketed the team to victory against both Thailand and Sweden.
For Switchbacks fans, another name to note on the US Women’s team roster is Andi Sullivan. This two time Youth’s World Cup veteran was called-up to the National Senior Team back in 2016, playing in the last four games of the year and picking up two assists against Switzerland and Romania. For the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, she appeared in the starting lineup in all four matches to help qualify the US team for the 2023 Women’s World Cup as well as the 2024 Summer Olympics. Switchbacks fans might also recognize this power player’s husband, Drew Skundrich, current midfielder and #12 for the Switchbacks.
We asked the players who they were most looking forward to watching, and who they thought would take the whole thing! Here a few of their answers!
Which match are you most looking forward to?
- Patrick Seagrist: “Any match with US in it, to watch Drew’s reaction”
- Jonas Fjeldberg: “Norway vs. Switzerland”
- Romario Williams: “France vs. Jamaica”
- Maalique Foster: “Jamaica vs. France”
- Christian Herrera: “USA vs. Mexico”
Which team do you think is the ‘underdog’ this year?
- Patrick Seagrist: Germany
- Jonas Fjeldberg: Norway
- Romario Williams: Jamaica
- Maalique Foster: Jamaica
- Christian Herrera: Mexico
Which team do you think will be champions?
- Patrick Seagrist: USA
- Jonas Fjeldberg: Norway
- Romario Williams: Brazil
- Maalique Foster: Jamaica
- Christian Herrera: Mexico
The Women’s World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand, and teams were split into groups as follows:
Group A:
New Zealand
Norway
Philippine
Switzerland
Group B:
Australia
Republic of Ireland
Nigeria
Canada
Group C:
Spain
Costa Rica
Zambia
Japan
Group D:
England
Group B Playoff Winner
Denmark
China
Group E:
USA
Vietnam
Netherlands
Group A Playoff Winner
Group F:
France
Jamaica
Brazil
Group C Playoff Winner
Group G:
Sweden
South Africa
Italy
Argentina
Group H:
Germany
Morocco
Colombia
Korea Republic
Below is the US Women’s National Team schedule for the upcoming matches!
July 21st: USA vs VIE Kickoff 7 pm MT
July 26th: USA vs NED Kickoff 7 pm MT
August 1st: POR vs USA Kickoff 1 am MT
