Picture: Joe Serci / SPP

The 2023 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup group stage made a mockery of predictions. In the end, the one group that went roughly in keeping with plan was D: England completed high with most factors, adopted by Denmark on six, China on three and Haiti on zero. In each different group, there was at the very least one shock outcome.

The 2 conventional powerhouses, the USA and Germany — who, mixed, gained six of the earlier eight World Cups — did not high their group. Germany did not make it out of their group altogether, alongside Brazil, Canada and Italy. Their locations within the final 16 had been taken, towards the percentages, by Morocco, Jamaica, Nigeria and South Africa.

That is the World Cup of surprises, and it has underlined the growth to 32 groups as a optimistic factor. Of the eight fourth-seed groups, these ranked the bottom and those that certified by way of the inter-confederation playoffs, solely two went dwelling winless: Panama and Haiti. And three of the pot 4 groups haven’t gone dwelling in any respect: Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

Any fears concerning the greatest World Cup but which means a primary spherical of one-sided demolitions had been confirmed to be off the mark. Growth additionally meant eliminating finest third-placed groups qualifying for the knockout rounds, a transfer which has added actual jeopardy. In earlier variations, Brazil and Germany would have reached the subsequent stage regardless of being underwhelming.

Now, there isn’t a security web for underperformance.