Australia and New Zealand didn't just host a tournament in the winter of 2023. They hosted a shift in the global axis of sports. Honestly, if you were watching the Woman World Cup 2023 from a couch in London or a bar in Sydney, you felt it. It wasn't just the record-breaking crowds or the fact that FIFA finally expanded the field to 32 teams. It was the visceral realization that the "gap" everyone kept talking about—the massive space between the USWNT and everyone else—had effectively slammed shut.
Spain won. That’s the headline. But how they won, amidst a literal internal mutiny against their federation and coach Jorge Vilda, is the kind of gritty, complicated reality that sports movies usually butcher. They played a brand of "Tiki-taka" that felt more purposeful than the men's version has in years. And they did it while fifteen of their top players were essentially on strike months before the first whistle.
The Myth of the Unbeatable USWNT
For decades, the United States dominated because they had the best funding and the best college system. Simple. But during the Woman World Cup 2023, that structural advantage evaporated. You saw it in the group stage. The Americans looked sluggish. They looked tactically stagnant under Vlatko Andonovski. When they crashed out in the Round of 16 against Sweden—by a margin of millimeters on a VAR-reviewed penalty—it wasn't a fluke. It was a reckoning.
The rest of the world caught up because European clubs finally started treating their women’s sides like professional entities rather than charity projects. Look at the rosters. These women aren't just playing; they are starring for Barcelona, Lyon, and Chelsea. When you have Keira Walsh or Aitana Bonmatí controlling a midfield, the old "run faster and kick harder" strategy used by the U.S. just doesn't work anymore.
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Colombia was the real spark for many. Linda Caicedo, a teenager who had already survived ovarian cancer, scoring against Germany? That’s not just a feel-good story; it was a tactical masterclass in counter-attacking football that left the German giants stunned and eventually dumped out in the group stages. It was chaotic. It was brilliant. It was exactly what the sport needed to prove that the old guard no longer had a permanent seat at the table.
Why the Woman World Cup 2023 Revenue Shocked Everyone
Money talks. Usually, it whispers in women's sports, but in 2023, it screamed. FIFA President Gianni Infantino claimed the tournament broke even, generating over $570 million in revenue. Whether you trust FIFA's accounting or not, the eye test didn't lie. Stadiums were packed. Over 1.9 million fans walked through the turnstiles.
But let's be real about the broadcast rights. Remember the standoff? FIFA threatened a blackout in the "Big Five" European markets because broadcasters offered peanuts compared to the men's game. Eventually, deals were struck, but the tension highlighted a massive disconnect between audience demand and corporate bravery. People wanted to watch. 11.1 million Australians tuned in for the Matildas' semi-final against England. That’s nearly half the country.
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The Matildas Effect
The host nation's run was the heartbeat of the summer. Sam Kerr, arguably the best striker on the planet, spent most of the tournament on the bench with a calf injury. Most teams would have folded. Instead, Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord became household names. When Kerr finally returned to score that absolute screamer against England in the semi-final, the roar in Stadium Australia was loud enough to shake the tectonic plates. They didn't win the trophy, but they won the culture. They forced the Australian government to pledge $200 million for women's sporting facilities. That is a tangible, brick-and-mortar legacy that outlasts any gold medal.
Tactical Evolutions and the Rise of the Midfield
If you still think women’s football is slower or less technical, you weren't paying attention to the Spain vs. England final. The tactical sophistication was staggering. Sarina Wiegman, England’s coach, is a chess master. She flipped England’s formation mid-tournament to a 3-5-2 to compensate for losing Keira Walsh to injury and Lauren James to a red card suspension. It worked, right up until they met the Spanish engine room.
Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí played a tournament that earned her the Ballon d'Or. She doesn't just pass; she dictates the emotional state of the game. If she wants the game to slow down, it slows down. If she sees a gap, the ball is there before the defender even realizes they've stepped out of position. This wasn't about athleticism. It was about IQ.
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We also saw the death of the "long ball and pray" method. Even smaller nations like Jamaica and Haiti showed incredible defensive discipline. Jamaica didn't concede a single goal in the group stage. Not one. They knocked out Brazil and sent Marta—the greatest to ever do it—into international retirement with a draw that felt like a win. It showed that coaching and organization can bridge the gap when you don't have a $100 million training center.
The Controversy That Overshadowed the Win
We have to talk about Luis Rubiales. It’s impossible to discuss the Woman World Cup 2023 without mentioning the non-consensual kiss he forced on Jenni Hermoso during the trophy ceremony. It was a grotesque display of the very systemic issues the Spanish players had been fighting against. It turned a moment of peak athletic achievement into a global conversation about consent and power dynamics in sports. The fact that the players had to fight their own federation as hard as they fought their opponents on the pitch is a testament to their mental toughness, but it’s also a tragedy. It shouldn't have been that way.
What Actually Happens Next?
The Woman World Cup 2023 wasn't a "moment." It was a milestone. If you're a brand, a fan, or a federation, you can't go back to the way things were in 2019. The expectations have shifted.
- Investment in Coaching: The success of teams like Nigeria and South Africa (Banyana Banyana) proves that tactical investment pays off. Federations need to stop hiring "placeholder" coaches and start hiring elite tacticians.
- Infrastructure Parity: If Australia can commit $200 million based on one semi-final run, other nations have no excuse. The demand for the product is proven; the supply of quality pitches and academies is where the bottleneck remains.
- The Club Game is King: The dominance of European players suggests that the growth of the WSL (England), Liga F (Spain), and the Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany) is the primary engine for international success. The NWSL in the U.S. is no longer the only destination for the world's best.
- Broadcasting Value: Media companies can no longer lowball these tournaments. The ratings are there. The 2027 World Cup in Brazil will likely see bidding wars that would have been unthinkable five years ago.
The reality of the Woman World Cup 2023 is that the sport grew up. It’s no longer "developing." It’s here. It’s profitable. It’s tactically complex. And most importantly, it’s unpredictable. Spain showed that you can be in total internal chaos and still be the best in the world if your technical foundation is strong enough. That’s a lesson every football federation in the world is currently trying to digest.
To truly capitalize on the momentum of the 2023 tournament, the focus must shift to the "boring" stuff: year-round domestic league attendance, sustainable wage growth for players outside the top 1%, and ensuring that the 32-team format continues to receive the scouting and developmental support it needs to stay competitive. The days of 13-0 blowouts are over. The era of global parity has officially begun.