All roads lead Down Under

<p>…as Women’s World Cup begins</p>, <p>The 2023 Women’s World Cup is now upon us and the 32 teams are ready to prove themselves Down Under, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.</p>, <p>The event holds from Thursday (today) to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.</p>, <p>United States will aim to defend their back-to-back titles, while Canada, England, Germany, Norway and France are top contenders to lift the trophy.</p>, <p>Also debutants Haiti, Portugal, Zambia, Philippines, Ireland and three others will hope to make an impression on their debut at the tournament.</p>, <p>The tournament, which kicks-off today will see co-hosts New Zealand taking on Norway at Eden Park, Auckland, seeking their first ever victory at the tournament.</p>, <p>New Zealand are making their sixth tournament appearance, while their opponents 1995 champions Norway have never missed a Women’s World Cup finals.</p>, <p>Also in Group A, the Philippines will be inspired by their recent success at the AFF Championship, while Switzerland, led by new coach, Inka Grings, will hope to avoid another humiliating group stage exit like it happened at the European Championship.</p>, <p>In Group B, which houses Nigeria, Canada, Ireland and co-hosts Australia, many believe that the Super Falcons are in the group of death, but striker Ifeoma Onumonu is confident that Randy Waldrum’s side can advance a step further than they did at the Women’s World Cup in 2019, when they fell to Germany in the Round of 16.</p>, <p>Before then, the Falcons were within whistling distance of the semi-finals before losing 4-3 to Brazil in extra time at the 1999 edition in the United States.</p>, <p>Onumonu, 29, who will be competing at her second major tournament for the Falcons in Australia, is ready to help drive Nigeria to success.</p>, <p>“I’ve never been to a World Cup so this is going to be my first big international tournament,” the Gotham FC striker told ESPN.</p>, <p>“I want to leave a mark at the World Cup. I don’t want to just go to the World Cup, I want to compete. I’m