A debutante, giants of the past, a rising power, and a team who has had a 20 year hiatus from the World Cup make up Group C. There are plenty of question marks surrounding this group, but we’ll try to unravel it all in this preview.
Click on the country names below to see all the players on each team
Australia, Brazil, Italy, Jamaica
AUSTRALIA
Overview
There are high expectation for the number 6 ranked team in the world. Many people think Australia can go far in this World Cup and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them in the final when it’s all said and done. In 2019 they have posted a 3-2-0 record with wins over New Zealand 2-0 and South Korea 4-1. But their losses may be more indicative of how they will do against the top teams in this tournament. They lost to the United States 5-3 and on the 1st of June they were shutout by the Netherlands 3-0. The Matildas are still getting used to a coach they just got in February 2019 who has new roles and new schemes for the team. The team will need to adjust fast and hope their recent losses help them improve instead of showing what is to come.
Key Players
When you talk about Australia the first person people talk about is Samantha Kerr. Her electric gameplay, ability to get past defenders, and not to mention her shot accuracy all provide plenty of things to talk about. She is the team’s captain and they will live and die by her play. It should be noted that Kerr has scored plenty of times for her country but no goals have come in her three World Cup appearances. Another Matilda the Aussies will be looking to is Caitlin Foord. She is listed as a forward, but has the diversity in her game to play any position. Her and Kerr will be up top for their team, but look for them to change places and roles throughout the game trying and most of the time succeeding in confusing defenses.
Prediction
Australia will still be getting their feet under them in the group play, but be able to come out as the top team. Brazil will provide the biggest challenge but injuries and a young, fresh Matildas team will be able to beat them. If Australia can gain the top seed it will allow them to play the three seed from Group B. They will be able to handle whoever they play, but the quarterfinals will be more of a difficult task. They could face Canada, the Netherlands, or even Japan. All of those teams will be hard for the Matildas to beat. They will likely exit the tournament in the quarterfinals.
BRAZIL
Overview
A usual contender in top tournaments, Brazil has turned into a team on the outside looking in. They are ranked 10th in the world but have lost all five of their 2019 games. The topic surrounding Brazil is their age. They have eight players all over the age of 30, some would argue that is experience and that is key to winning a World Cup title. But age has caught up to some of them including former player of the year, Marta, who is out for their first group play game and her status for the rest of the tournament is unknown. Brazil without Marta is hard to imagine and something Brazil faithfuls are not looking forward to.
Key Players
Even if she has limited minutes, Marta is a key player for Brazil. They run their entire offense through her and she can still create scoring chances almost out of thin air. Marta is so key to this team that her missing a game or two means Brazil has to completely change their game plan, how many players have that impression on a team? A player that has defined father time, Formiga is at her record setting 7th World Cup. She has been able to elude injuries in her career, never missing a major tournament since she has been with the team all the way back to 1991.
Prediction
Brazil is going into group play banged up and they will probably leave the group the same way. Brazil has known for a while that Marta was questionable which means they had time to implement a game plan, one that we will see how effective it can be. Brazil will get out of the group, they will allow limited goals, they will just struggle to score them. If they can gather themselves fast enough and Marta can become available then they can earn 2nd place in the group. Unfortunately, that means they could have a meeting with Norway who has been impressive as of late and a broken Brazil will not be able to get past them. Brazil will continue their drought of no World Cup championships.
To see the schedule of the World Cup click: Matches
ITALY
Overview
For the first time in 20 years Italy is back in the World Cup. They are ranked 15th in the world and have had an impressive 7-1-1 to their 2019 campaign. But of their 2019 opponents only Chile and Thailand are in the World Cup and neither are in the top portion of teams in the world. Their highest rank opponent this year was Korea DPR at 11 and Italy lost to them on penalty kicks at the Cyprus Cup. Italy is a question mark with how they will do in the World Cup this year, but that might just play to their favor.
Key Players
Italy is arguably one of the nations who has benefitted from more competitive and investments to their homegrown Series A league. Barbara Bonansea plays for Juventus and Valentina Giacinti plays for AC Milan. Both have contributed greatly for their club teams. Bonansea has averaged 15 goals over the last five seasons and won four league titles in six years. She also had three goals and six assists in Italy’s eight qualifying games. The equally impressive GIacinti scored a league high 21 goals last season in the A league and six goals for Italy in her career. Italy will rely heavily on these two to get their offense going.
Prediction
They will not get one of the two top spots in the group but hey have the ability to get 3rd in the group. If they can keep Australia and Brazil at bay giving up minimum goals then they have a chance at escaping the group. But with how tough this group is, it is unlikely Italy will advance out of the group.
JAMAICA
Overview
Jamaica shows that it doesn’t matter how low you are ranked, that you didn’t even have a national team in 2014, or the fact that you have never made it to a World Cup before, qualifying is still possible. They are lowest ranked team at the World Cup at 53 and they have started 2019 with a 3-1-1 record. They were able to beat Chile twice this calendar year winning 1-0 and 3-2 and their lone loss was to Scotland with just a 3-2 score. Jamaica is proud and excited to be at the World Cup, but that does not mean they are just going to stand around and let teams pour on the goals. They are going to play proud, exciting soccer whether people expect them to do it or not.
Key Players
Never making the tournament means Jamaica does not have a teammate on the team to look to instead they get to figure it out together. No one on the team is above the age of 27 and they have two teenagers on their team and the youngest player on their team might just be the most important. 17 year old Jody Brown would be a bright young star for any federation. She was named the top young player at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship and Jamaica’s top scorer of the tournament. Jamaica is captained by the 21 year old Konya Plummer. She is the key to their back line, a strong center back that commands the team. Her team will look to her for guidance throughout the tournament.
Prediction
Most people don’t expect much from Jamaica. It’s hard to tell how they will do, historically debutantes use their first World Cup as a learning curve. But Jamaica keeps proving people wrong and has no problem carrying the title of underdog. If you want a Cinderella story then here is your team. They will have a difficult time escaping the group.