Group C of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was one of eight groups that formed the opening round of the tournament with the matches played from 21 to 31 July 2023.[1] The group consisted of Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan. The top two teams, Japan and Spain, advanced to the round of 16.[2]
Japan secured their place in the knockout stage with wins in all three group games without conceding, a first for the country. With six points, Spain earned more points this year than in their previous Women's World Cups combined; a total of five across two editions. Despite being eliminated, debutants Zambia secured their first and only win in their last match against faltering Costa Rica, finishing third in the group.
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Transcription
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2022[nb 1] | June 2023 | |||||||||
| C1 |  Spain |
1 | UEFA | UEFA Group B winners | 12 April 2022 | 3rd | 2019 | Round of 16 (2019) | 6 | 6 |
| C2 |  Costa Rica |
3 | CONCACAF | 2022 CONCACAF W Championship fourth place | 8 July 2022 | 2nd | 2015 | Group stage (2015) | 37 | 36 |
| C3 |  Zambia |
4 | CAF | 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations third place | 13 July 2022 | 1st | — | Debut | 81 | 77 |
| C4 |  Japan |
2 | AFC | 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup semi-finalists | 30 January 2022 | 9th | 2019 | Winners (2011) | 11 | 11 |
Notes
- ^ The rankings of October 2022 were used for seeding for the final draw.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Spain
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | Zambia
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 | |
| 4 | Costa Rica
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
In the round of 16:
- The winners of Group C, Japan, advanced to play the runners-up of Group A, Norway.
- The runners-up of Group C, Spain, advanced to play the winners of Group A, Switzerland.
Matches
All times listed are local, NZST (UTC+12).
Spain vs Costa Rica
| Spain | 3–0 | Costa Rica |
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| Report |
          Spain
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    Costa Rica
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Zambia vs Japan
    Zambia
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     Japan
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Japan vs Costa Rica
| Japan | 2–0 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Japan
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    Costa Rica
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Spain vs Zambia
Spain
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    Zambia
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Japan vs Spain
This match broke long-held FIFA records. Japan women's 23% of possession is the lowest for a winning side at the FIFA Women's World Cup since 2011. This is often compared to Japan 2-1 Spain in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group E, which Japan's 18% of possession is the lowest for a winning side at the FIFA World Cup since 1966.[3][4] Match statistics reflected Japan women was more incisive and efficient, with only 23% possession, their expected goal (xG) was 0.9 vs 0.7, shots attempted were 7 vs 10, shots on target were 5 vs 2, and goals scored were 4 vs 0.[5]
The Spanish player Aitana Bonmatí reflected "[Japan had] a low block waiting for our mistakes and attacking on the counter, where they killed us".[6] Spain's coach Jorge Vilda said he was surprised by the intensity of Japan’s pressing in the midfield.[4]
| Japan | 4–0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
Japan
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  Spain
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Costa Rica vs Zambia
| Costa Rica | 1–3 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
Herrera  47' |
Report |
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 Costa Rica
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Zambia
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Discipline
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers in the group should the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]
- first yellow card: minus 1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
- direct red card: minus 4 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Japan
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0 | ||||||||||||
| Spain
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2 | –2 | |||||||||||
| Costa Rica
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1 | 3 | –4 | ||||||||||
| Zambia
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1 | 2 | 2 | –7 | |||||||||
See also
- Costa Rica at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Japan at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Spain at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Zambia at the FIFA Women's World Cup
References
- ^ "Match schedule: FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023" (PDF). FIFA. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Regulations: FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "The lowest share of possession for a winning side at the FIFA Women". Opta Joe. 31 July 2023.
- ^ a b Cox, Michael (31 July 2023). "Japan are the best side at the World Cup so far – Spain didn't know how to cope with them". The Athletic.
- ^ "Japan teach Spain a lesson in counter-attacking football". Opta Analyst. 31 July 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Women's World Cup Daily: Matildas send Canada out; Japan cruise". ESPN. 31 July 2023.
External links
This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 19:00