My First World Cup: Five World Cup debutants to look out for in Australia and New Zealand
With eight teams featuring at the Women’s World Cup for the first time at this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, there are a host of players set to make their debut on football’s grandest stage.
However, it is not only the first-time qualifiers who possess talent that is yet to be tested at this level, with regulars like the USA, England and more boosted by players who have not yet graced a World Cup.
Here, The Sports Gazette identifies five World Cup debutants who are set to shine Down Under.
Sophia Smith
Despite arriving at this tournament in search of a third-consecutive World Cup win, there is a sense of uncertainty surrounding the USWNT.
With 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe confirming she will retire from football after this World Cup, and a host of her successful team-mates now either in their late 20’s or early 30’s or missing through injury, contributions from a clutch of talented youngsters may be required to maintain US dominance Down Under.
Having only picked up a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, coach Vlatko Andonovski has selected 14 players who have never featured at a World Cup before for this tournament in an attempt to freshen things up.
There is plenty of excitement surrounding both Trinity Rodman and 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, yet forward Sophia Smith is as well placed as anyone to help the old guard secure another World Cup title.
Having been named Most Valuable Player in last season’s National Women’s Soccer League as her side the Portland Thorns won the Championship, Smith has also managed to establish herself as a regular at international level.
Although she often has to operate as a wide player with Alex Morgan starting as the central striker, Smith has still proven a significant attacking threat, finishing 2022 as the USWNT’s top goalscorer.
It is not only goals that make Smith standout. Her excellent close control and intricate dribbling is easier to appreciate when she is positioned on the flanks, and the five assists she has on top of 10 goals in the NWSL this season is evidence of the 22-year-old’s capacity to create goals as well as score them.
Having won the league’s player of the month for June not long before leaving for New Zealand, there can be little doubt that she is in fine form ahead of this World Cup.
What they say
Vlatko Andonovski, USWNT head coach:
“She is a special player and she’s certainly developing aspects of her game that maybe she wasn’t special in. For us as coaches we are happy to see that because it gives us an opportunity to create strategy in a way that can expose teams.”
Lauren James
A spate of injuries to important players has meant the England squad at this tournament is quite different to the one that won the European Championship last summer.
Lauren James would have been involved regardless, having had a successful second season at Chelsea in which she proved both her quality and her fitness, but she still makes the journey Down Under with a point to prove.
Injuries meant she was not selected for the victorious Euros campaign on home soil, but in helping Chelsea to a league and FA Cup double along with a Champions League semi-final, James has established herself as one of Europe’s most exciting attackers.
She was named player of the tournament as England won the Arnold Clark Cup earlier this year, but defining her games by accolades, goals or assists would be to do a disservice to her quality.
There is arguably not a player in the world that can dribble like James, with her combination of agility and trickery making the forward near enough unstoppable when she is at her best.
Sarina Wiegman has an embarrassment of riches in terms of attacking options to choose from, yet none possess the unpredictability and individual brilliance of James. With Fran Kirby missing with a knee problem, it is even possible that James could be utilised as an attacking midfielder to try and cure England’s recent goal-scoring woes.
What they say
Sarina Wiegman, England head coach:
“She is getting there, I think there is a lot more to come from her. But she is a big, big talent. She is very powerful on the ball and she has the speed. I just hope she keeps enjoying herself and can keep playing as good as she is now.”
Racheal Kundananji
Although it is captain Barbra Banda who is fancied to steal the headlines for Zambia at their first-ever Women’s World Cup, fellow attacker Racheal Kundananji is just as likely to cause problems for the Copper Queens Group C opponents.
Kundananji finished the domestic season as the second-highest scorer in Spain’s improving Liga F after netting 25 goals in her debut campaign at Real Madrid. A particular highlight was a brace in a 2-1 victory against a Barcelona side that would go on to win the league and Champions League double.
The 23-year-old, like Banda, was not allowed to play in last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations because of gender verification rules that only apply to the Confederation of African Football, meaning she will be looking to make up for missed time at this World Cup.
From her starting position on the left wing, Kundananji is a constant threat to defences with her intelligent movement and willingness to run in behind. An expert finisher herself, the way in which she dovetails with Banda not only creates more opportunities for the centre forward but elevates the attacking threat of the whole team.
Having been tipped as a contender to win African Women’s Footballer of the Year if this World Cup goes well, Kundananji’s stated ambition of one day signing for a European heavyweight like Chelsea could well come to fruition in tandem.
She has scored in all three of Zambia’s pre-tournament warm-up matches so far, including a goal in a shock 3-2 win against two-time World Champions Germany. Such form on the back of a stellar club season could well power the debutants beyond the group stages in Australia and New Zealand.
What they say
Racheal Kundananji:
“I think I have improved a lot in all areas. Not many believed I could do this, but they are surprised and wondering where I came from. My target is to use all the chances I will get with the team.”
Pernille Harder
By far the oldest player on this list at 30, it is quite remarkable that someone as talented as Pernille Harder has not graced a World Cup before.
Denmark last qualified for a World Cup in 2007, two years before Harder made her international debut as a 16-year-old. She scored a hat-trick in a 15-0 win against Georgia in that game and has rarely looked back since.
Harder has won the domestic league title in eight consecutive seasons across spells with Linkopings, Wolfsburg and Chelsea, scoring eye-watering numbers of goals in the process and also forming impressive attacking partnerships with the likes of Stina Blackstenius and Sam Kerr along the way.
Her international career has been more mixed. Despite winning Danish player of the year six times in a row between 2015 and 2020, and captaining the team to the final of Euro 2017, Harder has never quite managed to lead her country to a World Cup until now.
Painful play-off defeats to Sweden and the Netherlands have surely now been put to bed as the Danes won all of their qualifiers this time around even though their captain was absent through injury for some of the campaign.
She returned to steer Chelsea to a league and cup double in May and now looks well set to form a deadly attacking force with Signe Bruun at this World Cup.
What they say
Emma Hayes, Chelsea head coach:
“Her standards day in, day out should be what every young person looks up to. She takes responsibility, she’s accountable and she’s there when it matters.”
Melchie Dumornay
The process of qualifying for a World Cup is never defined by a single player and what they provide for a team, but few individuals contributed more to their team making it to Australia and New Zealand than Melchie Dumornay.
Haiti’s standout individual scored both goals in the Caribbean side’s crucial victory over Chile in the inter-confederation play-off, and she has been attracting glances of admiration from some of the world’s best club sides for several years despite being just 19.
Winner of the 2022 NXGN award for best teenage player in the world, Dumornay has recently signed for record Champions League winners Lyon after two successful seasons in France with Reims, and her fine form has carried on to the international stage.
After helping Haiti become the first Caribbean team to reach an under-20 World Cup at the age of 14, Dumornay was named young player of the tournament at the 2022 CONCACAF Championship – helping to earn a place in the inter-confederation play-offs.
Capable of scoring spectacular goals and a powerful ball carrier, Dumornay is likely to be vital to Haiti’s chances of causing teams problems at the World Cup.
Although they face a daunting opening group fixture against reigning European Champions England, Dumornay has the ability to shine against any side in the world – this tournament could be the perfect platform to prove it.
What they say
Nicolas Delepine, Haiti head coach:
“Having Melchie is key. She gives us the X factor. When there’s not much at all between teams, you’re looking for her to do something. It’s a pleasure [to work with Melchie], not just in matches but every day because she’s an outstanding person as well as a great player.”
