Be it Colombia’s teenaged, cancer-survivor and ray of hope Linda Caicedo, Spain’s 19-year-old impact player Salma Paralluelo, co-host New Zealand’s first taste of victory or Morocco’s dream run, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was a tale of overwhelming emotions.
Spain’s success marked its re-emergence on the world map; a school of play which gave the world the tiki-taka en route the 2010 men’s World Cup triumph. However, the nation has faltered since, managing to win only two major trophies until this year.
The Spanish men marked their return with their UEFA Nations League title last month, while their women adorned the crowning jewel on Sunday, making Spain the second country after Germany to win both men’s and women’s world titles.
Culer mentality
The success of La Roja, like that of their male counterparts in 2010, lies in their Barcelona core. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas played a huge role on and off the field in bringing the side this far. Putellas’ anterior cruciate ligament injury on the eve of 2022 Women’s Euro proved disastrous for them, with the team eventually bowing out to England in the quarterfinal.
Putellas’ return from injury in the tournament was subdued, something Spain recovered from, thanks to the likes of Aitana Bonmati, tournament’s golden ball winner, stepping up. The Barcelona midfielder, likened to Andres Iniesta by Pep Guardiola, is having a tremendous season so far and is among the favourites for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Real Madrid midfielder Teresa Abelleira, arguably the best holding midfielder in the tournament, proved to be her perfect companion as Spain’s midfield terrorised opponents, forming a ‘black hole’ in the middle of the park from where retrieving the ball was virtually impossible.
Barcelona Femeni has an iron grip on the domestic competitive scene. It lost just one match and drew another on its way to clinching the domestic title this season before cruising to continental success in the Women’s Champions League.
This not only gave Spain their metronome, but also handed them the perfect weapon to neutralise opponents in Paralluelo, who head coach Jorge Vilda used as a super sub especially in the business end of the tournament.
She came on for Puttellas against Norway in the semifinal to give La Roja the lead and was adjudged player of the match. Coach Vilda admitted the plan was to use Putellas to wear out the opponents and then unleash Paralluelo’s raw pace and intensity, a tactic that paid off well, earning her a spot in the starting XI in the final.
Lionesses’ share
Finalists England have no reason to be disappointed as their heroics have given fans hope that football is getting closer and closer to ‘home’. Sarina Wiegman’s stint as coach has been nothing short of a dream.
The Dutchwoman ended England’s 56-year wait for a major trophy when she led the Lionesses to glory in the 2022 European Championship. Managing a team with heavyweights like Lucy Bronze, Ellen White and Jill Scott and feisty youngsters like Lauren Hemp was no mean feat. Her measured and majestic presence on the sidelines and tactical genius earned her the 2022 FIFA Best women’s coach award, her third after winning it in 2017 and 2020. Wiegman’s skillset is so highly rated that chatter of her being considered to replace Gareth Southgate for the men’s team gig when he decides to leave did the rounds ahead of the final.
Point to prove
FIFA brought in radical changes in the tournament format when it widened the playing pool from 24 to 32 countries, matching the number of teams in the men’s version. This move was not without its critics, with concerns of the tournament being ‘dull’ or ‘one-sided’ and established teams racing away to victories sitting as prominent footnotes. But they could not have been any more wrong as the underdogs posed tough questions throughout the tournament. New Zealand shocked Norway and registered their first victory in a World Cup while Morocco brushed aside a thrashing at the hands of Germany to make the round of 16 ahead of the latter.
Signs of the turning tides in women’s football were seen throughout the tournament. Close to 42,000 were present to watch New Zealand beat Norway, a record figure for both men’s and women’s football in the country. Australia’s semifinal against England was watched by 75,000 in the gallery while streaming figures hit 11.5 million at one point, nearly half the country’s population. Before the end of round of 16, more than 1.4 million were recorded at stadiums.
The fault lines
Spain’s entire campaign was embroiled in controversy. Months before the World Cup, a player mutiny saw 15 players taking on the federation and coach Vilda for poor training and team conditions. Only three of those, including Bonmati, were present Down Under. But Putellas, Olga Carmona and Co. managed to weather the storm and take the Spanish armada to promised land.
Spain’s win, which completed a world treble of sorts (U-17, U-20 and senior), was tainted by a barrage of criticism directed at Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales and his questionable behaviour with players in the team.
Before the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino threatened to black out broadcasting in five major European nations which was only resolved at the 11th hour. He criticised the double standard of broadcasters offering around $1 million to $10 million for the tournament while it had gone up to $200 million for the men’s tournament, however the larger conversation on getting to the bottom of that disparity never happened.
Several nations were in open dispute before and during the World Cup with their federations over pay and conditions. This ranges from runner-up England, which put aside a row over bonuses to reach the final, while Jamaica had to resort to crowdfunding to pay their bills.
FIFA’s stand is that they are committed to equality, and standing up against broadcast disparity would suggest the same. But the women’s winner gets around $110 million while the men’s champion Argentina took home around $440 million from Qatar last year. Infantino added to his list of World Cup gaffes, saying that women should “pick the right fights” to “convince us men (about) what we have to do”.
Norway’s Ballon d’Or-winner Ada Hegerberg’s response summed up the mood of the ecosystem to this positioning. “Working on a little presentation to convince men. Who’s in?,” she posted on X.
After the final, Putellas took the podium as a stage to demand for changes, especially in funding.
But at the end of the day the brave bunch, going up against institutional sexism, made the tournament a memorable affair with flared up matches throughout, and a phenomenal final.
