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The Women's World Cup group stage upsets began on the first day and culminated with the biggest of them. Germany, the two-time champions and tournament favourites, are eliminated before the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, a result that ranks as both the most stunning upset in tournament history and simply continues the theme of the greatest group stage ever played at the Women's World Cup. After all, hadn't we learnt to brace ourselves for the unexpected?
Following a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Colombia earlier in Group H, Germany's fate was sealed with a 1-1 draw against South Korea. Morocco, making their Women's World Cup debut, advanced ahead of the team who humiliated them 6-0 in the first round. The first-ever 32-team Women's World Cup and the decision to expand from 24 teams was a huge success: rather than generating a more predictable group stage, it resulted in gloriously wild, spectacular tournament game.
Germany, Canada, and Brazil are all eliminated, while Jamaica (43rd), South Africa (54th), and Morocco (72nd) go to the round of 16. The Women's World Cup group stages are no longer a predetermined outcome, and the competition only begins when the knockouts begin.
New Zealand's opening triumph against Norway set the tone, with Colombia's last-second win over Germany standing out as the tournament's high point. Furthermore, Jamaica's draw against Brazil, Nigeria's surprise triumph over Australia, and South Africa's dramatic comeback against Italy were all excellent moments from a group stage that offered the unpredictability and excitement of knockout football.
The amount of upsets and shocks during the tournament demonstrated that the advancement and growth of women's football since the last World Cup has been felt just as much throughout the world as its traditional powers. The gap to the top has narrowed: the professionalisation of top European leagues and beyond has raised standards at the biggest clubs and given greater opportunities to players from all over the world.
Several nations that lack a strong local league, like as Colombia and Jamaica, now have a nucleus of players located in Europe. It means that even if playing conditions are poor within their national teams, players like Colombia's Linda Caicedo and Real Madrid's Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria's Asisat Oshoala and Manchester City's Khadija Shaw can raise standards and expectations when they return.
The level of coaching has also increased, with clubs that are not among the traditional powers increasingly confident in erecting disciplined, defensive systems to limit their more favoured opponents' offensive skills. Goalkeeping at this World Cup has also advanced significantly, as seen by player-of-the-match performances from Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie, the Philippines' Olivia McDaniel, Ireland's Courtney Brosnan, and Jamaica's Rebecca Spencer. Strong defensive foundations have made teams more resilient, allowing for upsets.
The World Cup required this as well, and the decision to expand the field to 32 teams has paid off more than anyone anticipated. Some feared that the expansion came too soon, and that would have been the case if the seeded teams had all coasted through unchallenged, as they did in 2019. But that was not the case, as there were only a few one-sided games, with the majority of groups advancing to the knockout round, setting the stage for traditional World Cup drama.
Morocco topped the eight countries making their World Cup debuts, but the majority of the others had moments to rejoice as well. Haiti deserved more from Group D, but they sparkled against England. Ireland was also unlucky to just walk away with a point, but their efforts against Australia and Canada had an effect back home, and a homecoming parade will be held in Dublin. Portugal were one of the tournament's most strategically and technically exciting teams, coming within inches of eliminating the United States. Both the Philippines and Zambia, who were eventually disappointed, enjoyed historic victories that generated moments of national jubilation.
The challenge, and clear hope ahead of the World Cup, is how those moments stimulate greater growth and, most importantly, investment. Many of the debuting countries achieved far more than that in their first World Cup, putting up competitive performances, and they may look to how Jamaica and South Africa overcame adversity to develop from four years ago. Both Jamaica and South Africa lost their first games in France, but have already gone to the knockout stages four years later.
What makes Jamaica and South Africa's accomplishment even more impressive is the obstacles they had to overcome. Their success is entirely down to the players and the efforts of their immediate support personnel. They, like Nigeria, have advanced to the knockout stages despite, rather than because of, their respective federations.
Prior to the World Cup, Jamaican players said that the Jamaica Football Federation's lack of financial backing, planning, and communication had hampered their preparations. They made their frustrations known in an open letter to the JFF, in which they voiced their "utmost disappointment" that no training camps or warm-up games had been planned prior to the World Cup.
At the same time, Jamaica has used two different crowdsourcing efforts to assist pay their trip to Australia and New Zealand. After their historic qualification for the 2019 World Cup, which was also aided by crowdfunding campaigns led by Cedella Marley, Bob Marley's daughter, it felt like Jamaica had returned to square one, with the progress they had fought for off the pitch not being matched by meaningful change off it.
Despite the lack of support or respect offered to them, the players' answer has been to aspire higher and further. Jamaica's progress after knocking out Brazil was hailed as "undoubtedly the proudest moment in Jamaican football history" by the country's sports minister Olivia Grange. However, it should come as a tremendous humiliation to the country's federation, with Jamaica's triumph really shining a light on the country's lack of support. "We put the dispute to bed for the tournament, but the better we do, the more pressure it creates," Jamaican goalie Rebecca Spencer stated after maintaining a legendary clean sheet against Brazil. "We hope they're looking at us and doing what they should be doing."
The federations of South Africa and Nigeria are both under scrutiny. South Africa's first-ever World Cup victory against Italy in the last-16 marked a remarkable reversal after its players went on strike before the tournament, boycotting their last warm-up game against Botswana over incentive payments and player contracts.
The argument revolved on Fifa's World Cup prize money and a guarantee that it would be allocated to the players. Before the World Cup, Fifa announced an increase in total prize money to $152 million (£126 million), including a payout of £30,000 (£24,000) to each player. That is scheduled to double for the players from South Africa and Nigeria after reaching the last-16, a life-changing figure, but the prize money will only be awarded to the players by the federations; it does not ensure that they will receive it.
It generated concern for South Africa, who finally agreed with their federation a few days before the competition that their money would be released. The scenario is less certain for Nigeria, who was embroiled in its own salary dispute with the federation before to the World Cup. Randy Waldrum, Nigeria's head coach, has stated that he has not been paid in seven months and that some players have not been paid in two years. After Nigeria shocked Australia in the group stage, ex-England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright simply tweeted, "Pay them."
Some federations may believe that the success stories of the Women's World Cup demonstrate that changes in the game are producing an equitable playing field and that more financial support is unnecessary. The fact and lesson of this outstanding group stage is that if this can be accomplished despite a lack of assistance, imagine what could be accomplished if there was. With that in mind, there is no reason why any team in the world's top-50 shouldn't be capable of doing the same provided the proper foundations are laid. For the time being, the teams that have startled the World Cup and are still in the competition may continue to demonstrate why it was foolish not to support them before to their surprising triumph.
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