The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 resumes on Saturday (on FS1 and the FOX Sports App) when Sweden and South Africa meet at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.
Sweden, ranked third in the world according to FIFA, is expected to dominate Group G. It reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in France and has been playing top-class ball lately.
On the other hand, South Africa is only participating in a World Cup for the second time after failing to win a game in 2019. Banyana Banyana may be a definite underdog, but she’s looking to make history with co-captain Refiloe Jane at the helm.
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Sweden vs South Africa
43′: Close but not close enough
Sweden took a total of eight corner kicks in the first half and although some looked like they could score points, Banyana Banyana’s defense showed a determined attempt to contain the opposition. At halftime, the teams remained tied.
31 minutes: No handball
Controversy arose over an attempted shot by Sweden, which hit the arm of a South African defender. Sweden pleaded for a handball, but after consulting VAR, the referees decided no decision would be made.
30 minutes: On goal!
South Africa burst onto the pitch singing and kept up the high energy in the first half by pressuring Sweden with multiple attacks. Jermaine Seoposenwe’s effort embodied Banyana Banyana’s half-time effort.
25′: Lay out
Every player has to sacrifice their body to help their team achieve their goals and South Africa showed their willingness early on with defensive plays like this one.
16′: From DEEP
Goalkeeper: Always stay alert. After seeing the Swedish goalkeeper leave her box, Jane decided to fire off a long shot attempt that just missed the goal.
7′: Frozen them!
Sweden had some stylistic traits all their own, including that nasty footwork that stunned a South African defender.
6′: Get your nerves out
South Africa made some useful attacking thrusts early on, but failed to complete any of their attacks with a sufficient shot on target.
FOREPLAY
Prepare the stage
The World Cup NOW team followed the game live on Twitter before kick-off.
let us feel them
The suits and songbirds were en route to South Africa when it arrived in New Zealand. Talk about flying vibes.
“This is our year”
The Swedish national team has had an extremely successful history, particularly in European competition. But he never managed to rise to World Cup glory. That’s why the Blue and Yellow believe things will be different this time.
Back in black
The South African team is determined to put up a better fight than 2019. As they say: look good, play good, and Banyana Banyana certainly has some good looking threads for this game.
Check out the full Women’s World Cup schedule here and find out how to watch every game live. The latest results can be found here.