The 2023 FIFA women’s World Cup is set to get underway shortly in Australia and New Zealand, marking the first time the FWWC has been hosted by more than one nation simultaneously. Group G consists of Sweden, South Africa, Italy, and Argentina, with all four nations having made World Cup appearances before.
Ahead of the action down under, let’s take a closer look at Group G.
Sweden
Ranked at No. 3 in the world, Sweden will be the heavy favorites to top the group and advance to the knockout round. The Swedes have never won a title, but they came agonizingly close in 2003 when they fell to Germany 2-1 in extra time in the final. Since then, they’ve finished in third place twice but will look to make a run all the way to the final this year. Keep an eye out for forward Fridolina Rolfö, who made the move from Wolfsburg to Barcelona in 2021 and has 25 goals through 78 caps for the Sweden women’s team.
South Africa
The South Africans made their women’s World Cup debut in 2019, though they made an early exit after losing all three of their group stage matches. Coming in at No. 54 in the FIFA rankings, they’re certainly the underdogs of the group but shouldn’t be written off by any means — Banyana Banyana are the current champions of the Africa Cup of Nations, taking home their first-ever title in 2022. They’ll be led by 30-year-old captain Refiloe Jane with defender Janine van Wyk already having been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Jane currently plays for Sassuolo in Italy and has made 109 caps for the South African women’s team.
Italy
The Italian side comes into the tournament loaded with talent across the field and are making a second consecutive appearance in the World Cup for the first time ever. This will be just their fourth time participating with their first three berths coming in 1991, 1999, and 2019. They made it all the way to the quarterfinals last time around in France, but will be looking to make a deeper run this year. Ranked at No. 16 in the world, they’ll be led by the likes of Cristiana Girelli in the attack. She currently plays for Juventus, having scored 61 goals through just 74 appearances since 2018. She’s also scored a staggering 53 goals through 102 caps for the Italian women’s national team, already coming in third on her side’s all-time top scorers list.
Argentina
The Argentinian women are making their fourth appearance in the Women’s World Cup and will be looking to advance past the group stage for the first time ever. Through their three previous tournaments, they’ve failed to win a single match, going 0-2-7 while being outscored 37-5 overall. However, their last appearance in 2019 saw a much better performance than their first two WWC tournaments as they logged two draws and were only outscored 4-3 in the group stage. Ranked No. 28, they’ll be led in the attack by Palmeiras striker Yamila Rodriguez, who finished as the top scorer in the 2022 Copa America with six goals.
DraftKings Sportsbook odds to win Group G
Sweden: -550
Italy: +500
Argentina: +1600
South Africa: +6500
Group G Schedule
July 23 – Sweden vs. South Africa (1 a.m. ET)
July 24 – Italy vs. Argentina (2 a.m. ET)
July 27 – Argentina vs. South Africa (8 p.m. ET)
July 29 – Sweden vs. Italy (3:30 a.m. ET)
August 2 – Argentina vs. Sweden (3 a.m. ET)
August 2 – South Africa vs. Italy (3 a.m. ET)