England, Australia, Spain, and Sweden will battle for the 2023 WWC Championship.
Newsonline Nigeria reports that the semi-final of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
This Nigeria News platform understands that no African countries are in the Women’s World Cup at this stage of the competition.
Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco were the last African countries that were eliminated from the competition in the Round of 16 stage.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria lost 4-2 via penalty against England following a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.
Morocco was thrashed 4-0 against France, while South Africa lost 2-0 against the Netherlands.
Ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday’s semi-final fixtures, Newsonline Nigeria reports that the four countries that have made it to this stage are Sweden, Spain, Australia and England.
Spain will clash with Sweden in the first game of the semi-final fixtures on Tuesday, while Australia will tackle England in the second game on Wednesday.
Prior to the semi-final stage, Spain had defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the quarter-final encounter, while Sweden won 2-1 against Japan.
Australia won 7-6 against France via penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes, and England defeated Colombia 2-1.
Analyzing the four teams in the semi-final stage, Sports journalist, Stanley Smart told DAILY POST: “The four countries [Sweden, Spain, Australia and England] in the semi-final stage of the Women’s World Cup have all been impressive in the competition so far.
“It’s sad that no African country made it to this stage, particularly the Super Falcons of Nigeria, who put in a good fight against England in the last-16.
“Having said that, if you look at the four teams currently in the last-4, they deserved to be in this stage.
“Australia topped Group B with six points, and Spain finished in second position in Group C with six points also.
“England topped Group D with nine points, and Sweden also topped Group G with nine points.
“The four teams all went on to win their matches both in the Round of 16 and in the quarter-final. So I believe we are set to see very tough semi-final clashes.”
Smart also gave his predictions on the two countries that could reach the final of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
He said: “Well, like I said before, the semi-final games will be very tough considering the performances of the teams so far in the competition.
“England and Sweden have not lost a game in the competition, and they finished first in their respective Groups.
“Australia, who is the co-host of the competition, lost only one game against Nigeria (3-2) in the group stage, same with Spain, who lost woefully against Japan (4-0) in the group stage. But that did not take away the fact that both teams have so far had exceptional outings in the competition.”
Smart added, “Spain versus Sweden, I will go for Sweden to make it to the final because they have so far produced a hundred per cent record in the competition. They top their group with maximum points, and they look solid.”
“For Australia versus England, well, this one is a tough call to make, considering the fact that England have never lost a game in the competition so far, and the Lionesses topped their group with maximum points, just like Sweden.
“Australia are co-host, and they will have the majority support from the fans in the Stadium. Well, because of that, I see Australia edging England in the semi-final.
“So I am predicting Australia to play Sweden in the Women’s World Cup final this year,” he stated.
