July 15, 2023
By Fred Liggett
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Australia and New Zealand are set to host for an entire month the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup. From July 20 through the final on Sunday, Aug. 20th all eyes will be on World Cup matches being played in the two countries. The United States women’s team are the defending champions and are coached by Vlatko Andonovski who lives in Kansas City, MO. Andonovski, a former head coach of FC-Kansas City and the Kansas City Comets, will be coaching in his first World Cup after succeeding Jill Ellis who was the USA coach in 2019.
The first match for the USA is on Friday, Jul. 21st when the US play Vietnam at 8 p.m. central. There are a number of World Cup watch parties being planned for the KC metro area. One of the gathering spots will be at the new Paragon Star complex in Lee’s Summit. Fans will gather on the championship field to watch the game for free on the large stadium video board. No chairs allowed on the field but blankets are welcome and welcome to find a seat in the bleachers. The Paragon Star complex is located at 10201 View High Drive.
USA will continue play group matches on Wednesday, Jul. 26th when they play Netherlands set for 8 p.m. central time. The third and last match of group play will be early on Tuesday, Aug. 1st when USA plays Portugal at 2 a.m. central time. After that it’s win and advance for any team hoping to hoist the World Cup when it’s over.
The World Cup final is set for Sunday morning Aug. 20th at 5 a.m. central time. Training camp opened for the USA women’s team in Los Angeles two weeks ago. Some familiar faces and names for area soccer fans to root for are KC Current midfielder Debinha who will play for her native Brazil. Desiree Scott was another Current player called up to a national team but will miss playing for the cup for Canada due to injury. Future KC Current defender Stine Ballisager Pedersen who will see action for the Danish national team. Pedersen is expected to join the Current after the World Cup.
The number one ranked USA Womens soccer team entering World Cup play is expected to provide fans plenty of highlights over the month long event. The fun kicks off on Thursday, July 20th with the whole world watching.
