Team Spain celebrates with the trophy after winning the Women’s World Cup soccer final against England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, August 20, 2023. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino, File)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-07-21T10:00:08Z<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the women\u2019s turn now. <\/p>\n
The next World Cup, the women\u2019s edition, is set for next summer in Brazil. Just as Spain won the men\u2019s trophy in the recently concluded tournament<\/a><\/span>, that nation\u2019s women were the champions three years ago. <\/p>\n Currently the top-ranked women\u2019s team in the world, Spain topped England 1-0 in the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup final in Sydney<\/a><\/span>. That squad was loaded with talent, including Ballon d\u2019Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, as well as young star Salma Paralluelo. <\/p>\n In a television interview following the men\u2019s final, Spain star Rodri paid Bonmati the ultimate compliment: \u201cI\u2019m trying to see if I can get to her level.\u201d<\/p>\n The memories of 2023 aren\u2019t so sweet for the United States, which was knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16 by Sweden<\/a><\/span>. Still, the U.S. has won four World Cup titles and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. <\/p>\n The United States will host Spain twice in October, serving as a tuneup for CONCACAF qualifying to start in late November in Texas. The friendly matches against Spain could provide a glimpse of what both teams might look like next summer. <\/p>\n \u201cWe know Spain is an amazing team, and I think we\u2019re just really looking forward to having this prep. Especially before qualifying,\u201d said U.S. midfielder Lily Yohannes. \u201cAnd yeah, I think it will be a really great opportunity for us. Playing these players, I played against them in the Champions League, and I know how great they are.\u201d <\/p>\n Qualification for the World Cup is well under way, with 14 teams already securing berths. Brazil, which has an automatic spot as host, has never won the women\u2019s tournament. <\/p>\n \u201cSome time ago the opportunities for men and women were not equal. But that\u2019s changing. This World Cup has tremendous potential to make that change truly happen,\u201d said former Brazil defender Aline Pellegrino, now executive director of legacy and stakeholder affairs for Women\u2019s World Cup in Brazil. \u201cSo there\u2019s a great deal of excitement and expectation that we\u2019ll have the best possible atmosphere in our stadiums, just as we recently saw in the two matches between the Brazilian national team and the United States. FIFA, together with the federal government and the host cities, have been working very hard to ensure that we\u2019ll have full stadiums and that everything runs as efficiently as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest question around the Brazilians is the status of veteran captain Marta, the nation\u2019s all-time leading scorer with 122 goals. Marta retired from international play following Brazil\u2019s 1-0 loss to the United States<\/a><\/span> in the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics, but returned the next year for the Copa America Femenina. She will be 41 when her nation hosts the World Cup. <\/p>\n The United States visited Brazil for a pair of matches in June, falling 2-1 in Sao Paulo before a 1-0 victory in Fortaleza. U.S. coach Emma Hayes said the team needed to embrace those \u201cmoments of chaos\u201d in a hostile environment. <\/p>\n Australia, the Philippines, Japan, North Korea, China, South Korea, Argentina, Colombia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark are among the nations that have qualified. Germany, the 2003 and 2011 world champions, are ranked No. 3 globally. <\/p>\n Brazil previously hosted both the men\u2019s World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. All eight cities that will host women\u2019s matches next year also hosted men\u2019s games in 2014: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador. <\/p>\nThe road to Brazil<\/h2>\n
Who\u2019s in so far?<\/h2>\n