FIFA WWC'23 3 on 3: Episode 6

And suddenly there were four.

1. The Colombian Surge

If Colombia hit the headlines in a rather negative way before the World Cup when Ireland called off a friendly with them after 20 minutes due to being excessively rough, they are ending it with headlines that have tones of reverence. As an England fan, playing a Colombia side that grew into the tournament game by game, collecting fans as they went along, was a nervy prospect. As a friend of mine side during a watch party for the Spain v Netherlands game, people who don’t watch international football may have slept on Colombia, but those who do know how good this side are. Fresh from scalping former World Cup winners and Euros runners up Germany, I could full well see Colombia having England in their radars.

Alas it was not to be for Colombia. Undeniably, there were a more physical side than most and it showed on the field - but they also came against teams who were themselves physical. I actually do not find much issue with this given that football is a contact sport, but that’s my personal opinion.

Picture from AP by Jessica Gratigny

The star of the side was 18-year old Real Madrid bound Linda Caicedo, who got her first cap at 14, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 15, and came back from that into professional football upon recovery. But it wasn’t just the Caicedo show, because others also became household names - Leicy Santos, Catalina Usme, Ana Maria Guzman, Mayra Ramirez.

The best thing to watch about the Colombian players was the confidence with which they took shots from outside the penalty box. Can’t make runs into the box because the opponent’s defence and midfield were all camped out there? No problem, here’s a swirling ball with a wicked curve from outside, like a beautiful Steph Curry 3-point shot, which more often than not sinks neatly into the back of the net.

As a spectator you gasp at the audacity and you gape at the ball’s trajectory as it moves before you find yourself standing up and clapping, even if it was your team they scored against. Football, as a game of moments, need more moments like that.

2. The European Domination

The semi-final lineup now looks European heavy. With Sweden and Spain in one semi-final, there will at least be one European team in the finals. The other semi-final match is between England and hosts Australia. No Asian or American representation this time, the first time ever in the competition (technically, Australia competes in the AFC championship, but it’s not really an Asian country, is it? I mean, they also compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, but you wouldn’t call them European, would you?)

A good thing? A bad thing? It depends on where you sit in terms of the dominance vs level playing field debate, I guess. More and more European countries are investing in the women’s game : both in the professional leagues (or getting to professional levels) and in their national teams. A lot can still be done - a lot still needs to be done - but investments have begun, and you start seeing the results.

England and Sweden should be no surprise - both countries would have been in at least three semi finals, England consecutively; but neither have made the finals. The fact that Spain sits up there is because their federation have finally decided to invest in their women’s team — and if only they would pull their socks up and get the toxicity of Jorge Vilda out, I think they can only do better.

What this means is that there has to be pressure on other federations to invest in the women’s game in other parts of the world. The plight of Jamaica who had to crowdfund to get to the World Cup, or Canada who, as Olympic gold medallists, had their funding cut by the federation, or Nigeria who continue to fight to be paid, is the uncomfortable undertone in this otherwise amazing spectacle for the footballing senses. Colombian players, who made it to the Round of 16 in 2015, have yet to be fully paid a good 8 years after the fact. (This thread summarises the plight of the Colombian players).

That is why the work done by the USWNT in advocating for their equal pay cannot and does not stop now that they have been successful in their fight. It continues, it needs to and it must. That’s why you can’t leave the politics off the field when it comes to women’s sports. It’s a game as much as a protest, a sporting pursuit as much as a defiant cry. When the on-field enmity is done, there’s a lot of unity that needs to be seen to off it.

3. The Shade

The first quarter-finals game came at the godawful hour of 2am (for me) which was interesting in the context of why this happened, and the shade that was thrown. Why was this game at a weird time when both teams competing were European countries?

Well because if the brackets had gone to prediction, this should have been the game the USA would have played in. They should have topped the group and made it to the quarters. Instead they came second in the group and lost to Sweden (at a game televised at 2am in the USA, and group winners Netherlands played their Round of 16 against South Africa at 2am their time).

Did the broadcasting math hurt your head there? (It annoyed a lot of both American and European fans because they had to get up at stupid o’clock to watch the games, but as a South East Asian kid bred on 3am European game kickoffs, I have to say, meh.)

Anyway, that wasn’t the shade. The real shade came from Lineth Beerensteyn, who in an interview at the pre-game presser, when asked about the US, effectively said good riddance to the USWNT — in her words, “Yes! Bye!” and called them too arrogant. That did not go down well Stateside, and friends I knew who supported the US team went into the game thinking: “I want Netherlands to lose because Lineth, but I also want Spain to lose because their boss Jorge Villa is abusive to his players.” Yes, the mechanics of who to support once you’re out can be tricky.

Turns out, though, that via the legend that is Sydney LeRoux, former USWNT forward, the Americans had the last laugh. The Netherlands lost to Spain on penalty kicks, having played the full 90 and extra time where Beerensteyn failed to convert a few chances — or make crucial passes to teammates in much better position than her to score. LeRoux, on her twitter, said: “One thing we’ve learned is wait to talk shit until after you’re on the podium with a gold medal because now… you’re bye too.”

I don’t think Beerensteyn is getting a call from a NWSL team any time soon.