Edition 26

Women’s World Cup Headlines

90min has ranked the 10 best looking kits on show at the World Cup, as well as the 10 greatest women’s footballers of all time – most of whom are World Cup legends.

The 2023 World Cup will be Megan Rapinoe’s last. The two-time winner and United States icon will hang up her boots and retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season.

On the pitch at the World Cup, the American team will be co-captained by Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan. Horan will wear the armband when both players are on the pitch.

England’s Lucy Bronze has said the World Cup means more than the European Championship, despite the Lionesses lifting the latter trophy last year.

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall has tipped England to win the World Cup.

The Lionesses were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw in a behind closed doors friendly against Canada in their final warm-up game. Sarina Wiegman’s team have now failed to score in three successive outings and haven’t won inside 90 minutes since February.

Ireland’s behind closed doors warm-up against Colombia wound up being abandoned midway through the first half due to claims the Colombian players were overly physical.

Nike have developed the Phantom Luna boot ahead of this summer’s World Cup with female players specifically in mind, with the hope of avoiding the ACL injuries that are currently plaguing the women’s game. But Ella Toone will continue to wear Nike Phantom GX, for which she was the global face of its launch, because she already has them custom modified to her feet.

Ella Toone has also admitted she is discovering new things about herself since arriving in Australia, like starting to read more and getting up early to watch sunrise at the beach.

Beth Mead isn’t at the World Cup because of injury, but she has still made history of her own by becoming the first ever female player to get her own ‘Big Head’ figurine.

Brazil forward Nycole was cruelly forced to pull out of the World Cup because of injury just as the tournament is about to begin. The Benfica player has been replaced by OL Reign’s Angelina from the standby list.

Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita is taking charge of the opening game between New Zealand and Norway in Auckland, while Brazil’s Edina Alves will have the whistle when Australia kick things off against Ireland that later day.

Other Headlines

Chelsea are committed to play at least seven games at Stamford Bridge in 2023/24 – four in the WSL and a minimum of three in the Champions League. They have also introduced new season ticket options and differentiated between stands depending on how fans want to consume football.

Manchester United captain Katie Zelem has joined the PFA Players’ Board, seeking to use her voice and experience to represent the interests of players across the WSL.

Jill Roord has returned to the WSL in a record transfer from Wolfsburg. The former Arsenal midfielder has joined Manchester City in a big statement of intent from them after missing out on Champions League football this coming season.

Following several high profile departures, Manchester United have made Wales and former Reading centre-back Gemma Evans their first signing of the summer.

Nikita Parris has said that rival teams have started to see Manchester United differently on the pitch and the club are no longer underdogs compared to the WSL’s established giants.

Brighton have made the statement signing of former Barcelona captain Vicky Losada.

Keep track of all completed WSL summer transfers here.

Women’s football attendances in Scotland are growing, with a record 106,781 cumulative fans watching an SWPL, SWPL 2, or Sky Sports Cup game last season. The domestic record attendance for a single game was also broken three times, peaking at 15,822 for Celtic’s final day win over Hearts.

Overall, the women’s game is ‘poised for exponential growth’, according to US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone. "I think what we've seen over here in the US for a long time, and now a lot of other countries and federations and clubs are catching on to is that it makes really good business sense to invest in the women's side of the game,” she told Sky Sports.

Business Corner

Lionesses legend Karen Carney has called on more investment in women’s football and suggests the domestic game could be a ‘billion pound industry’ by 2033. She is the chair of a major review and also considers it necessary for the Women’s Championship to join the WSL in being a fully professional league. “These standards and investment are the foundations that lead us to this point. I really do think we will make it [money] back,” she told BBC Sport.

Trading and investing platform eToro will be a key sponsor of women’s football next season after agreeing partnership deals with Arsenal, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Everton. The business is seeking to grow its presence in women’s sport, particularly the WSL.

Arkema, the chemicals group that already sponsors France’s Division 1, has agreed a deal to sponsor the French women’s national team until 2025.

Allianz has launched its The Squared Ball campaign to draw attention to the financial challenges and associated uncertainties faced by women in football. To help, the Allianz Ready Coach initiative offers free, tailor-made financial training to aspiring professional female footballers.

90min Highlights

Canada full-back Jayde Riviere spoke to 90min writer Emily Keogh about her country’s chances of winning the World Cup this summer: “We've done all the dirty work to do it.”

Emily Keogh’s interview with Lionesses striker Bethany England on location in Australia covered everything from watching Grey’s Anatomy to seeing kangaroos.

Jamie Spencer chatted with former England captain Steph Houghton about how the Lionesses will spend their downtime in Australia, as well as cope with the long distance travel. She revealed that in previous years players would get together as a group to watch Love Island.

Meanwhile, Fara Williams gave her World Cup predictions in a 90min interview.

Former England defender Laura Bassett told Jamie Spencer why she is backing the Play Their Way campaign that aims to keep young girls engaged in football beyond by increasing the enjoyment they get from playing through particular ways of coaching.

90min ES has published a video interview with key Argentina player Estefania Banini.