The 2022 Women’s World Cup

The Women’s World Cup is a tournament held by FIFA in different parts of the world. For instance, Costa Rica hosted the 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. Similarly, the 2022 U17 Women’s World Cup was held in India in October 2022.

Lydia Abebe, an Ethiopian referee, was appointed by FIFA to officiate the U17 Women’s World Cup. Sixteen national teams participated, including Costa Rica, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Ghana, Japan, Netherlands, USA, Canada, France, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Columbia, Germany, Mexico, and New Zealand.

The tournament ended with Spain emerging as the best team. Nonetheless, the World Cup allowed young women to showcase their talent to the world through football. Besides, the best performers received significant awards and recognition.

In this article, you will learn about the two 2022 women’s world cups in football and cricket.

The 2022 FIFA U20 women’s world cup

The 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup is a global competition of women’s youth football contested every two years by national team members of FIFA. The competition follows FIFA guidelines, such as the participant’s age limit. 

The 10th edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup was held in 2022 in Costa Rica. It was to happen in 2020, but FIFA postponed it due to the Covid pandemic. It was the second time Costa Rica hosted a FIFA tournament.

As the host nation, Costa Rica played the opening match against Australia on August 10 2022, at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José (The National Stadium of Costa Rica). The game ended in a 3-1 defeat to the host nation. Hunter, Bryleeh, and Fenton all got into the score sheet to give Australia a win. Gonzales scored Costa Rica’s only goal.

On August 28th 2022, the final game of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup went down between Spain and Japan. Spain took the lead in the 12th minute of the match through Imma Gabarro, who slotted in the ball in the bottom corner.

Salma Ayingono controlled a through ball and scored Spain’s second goal in the 22nd minute. She completed her brace five minutes later through a penalty kick after the opponent’s defender caught a handball in the box. Japan managed to pull one goal back in the 47th minute through Suzu Amano.

However, Spain took the trophy from the defending champions, Japan, who won it in 2018. 

Group Stages

The 2022 FIFA U20 World Cup consisted of 16 teams divided into four groups, each having four teams.

Group A: Costa Rica, Australia, Brazil, Spain.

In group A, Spain and Brazil were unmatched, proceeding to the quarter-finals among the four teams in the group. The two groups A giants (Brazil and Spain) drew in the first match 0-0 before Spain demolished Costa Rica five nil while Brazil won two-nil against Australia. 

The host nation, Costa Rica, lost its first match to Australia. Australian women footballers dominated every sector, ending the match with superior statistics. For instance, they had a ball possession of 68%, eight shots on target, and a % pass accuracy of 81%. However, they committed more fouls and received the game’s only yellow card.

Group B: Columbia, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand.

In group B, proceedings were as follows; 

After losing to Columbia in the first match, Germany won the second match against New Zealand with a score line of 3 nil. Ria put Germany in front in the 58th minute before Sophie added the second from a penalty spot in the 64th minute. Gia scored the last goal late in the game.

In game three, Germany lost to Mexico one to nothing through Alexia Flores in the 59th minute. Germany was eliminated from the tournament at the group stages. However, their opponents proceeded as they drew the first two matches, finishing the group with five points.

Columbia women garnered five points by beating Germany and drawing in the two group games. Therefore, Columbia and Mexico moved from Group B, while Germany and New Zealand exited the competition in the early stages.

Group C: Canada, France, Nigeria, Korea Republic

In group C, Canada and France lost their first matches to South Korea and Nigeria. South Korea won 2-0 through Moon Ha-Yeon and an own goal from Brooklyn.

Nigeria also clinched a 1-0 win after Sabastine Chioma scored the goal in the 85th  minute. Nigeria and France proceeded from the group to the quarter-finals, while South Korea and Canada went home early in the tournament. 

Group D: Ghana, Japan, Netherlands, USA

After losing to Japan in the first game, the Netherlands recovered by winning 3-0 against the United States and 4 -1 against Ghana. The quarter-finals entailed action-packed games where Spain knocked out Mexico through one goal scored by Mirrari Uria in the 25th minute.

Brazil managed to get a win over Columbia by a goal to nil after Tarciane scored from the spot. The Netherlands landed a two-nil win over Nigeria, while Japan booked a spot in the semifinals after extra game time in penalties. 

The game between Japan and France had many goals as standard time ended in a 3-3 draw. The save made by Japan’s goalkeeper ensured they proceeded to the next stage. The Netherlands and Japan qualified in group D, with Ghana and the USA knocked out in the group stages.

Semifinals and finals

Spain scored two goals past the Netherlands in the semifinals to book a ticket to the finals. In the other semifinal, Japan won 2-1 against Brazil to get the other final spot. This meant that Brazil and the Netherlands battled out for the third spot. The women’s game ended in a 4-1 win against Brazil.

Ana Clara opened the scoring in the 9th minute before Rosa van Gool equalized it 12 minutes later. The second half saw three goals scored as Tarciane slotted a brace, and Gi Fernandes closed the chapter.

The much-awaited women’s World Cup finals were played on the 28th between Spain and Japan. The Spanish team scored three goals in the first half, giving them the upper hand in the competition. Japan responded with a goal in the early second half of the action-packed match.

Finally, FIFA crowned the Spanish women’s team the 2022 champions.

Coaches in the 2022 FIFA U20 World Cup 

Top Scorers

The number of goals scored in the tournament was 86 in 32 matches. The top goal scorers were;

•  Inma Gabarro (Spain) 8 goals
•  Maika Hamano (Japan) 4 goals
•  Ester Ashley (France)    3 goals
•  Esther Onyenezide (Nigeria) 3 goals. 

Standings

The 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup

The women’s cricket world cup is the sport’s oldest competition. It first took place in England in 1973. Other countries that participated in that World Cup were England, New Zealand, Australia, Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, and England. England emerged victorious in the first competition. 

However, the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup was held in New Zealand. The International Cricket Council (ICC) organized the competition to start on February 6th, 2021. However, it began on March 4th, 2022, due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, and New Zealand participated in the tournament. From round one to round seven, Australia, West Indies, England, and South Africa managed to get into the knockout stage. Australia and England came out victorious to get into the finals.

The eight teams played a total of 31 matches. Australia won by 71 runs over its opponent, England and lifted the trophy on April 3rd 2022.

Top scorers in Women’s Cricket World Cup

Here are the top scorers in the women’s cricket World Cup 2022 and their performance:

Final thoughts

Women have come out strong to participate fully in the World Cup tournaments. They showed resilience in the 2022 FIFA Under 20-world cup and the Cricket World Cup.

Given their performance, nations should give their women’s football teams the necessary resources to increase their participation in international tournaments. Not only will it bring countries together, but it will also foster international talent and prosperity.