Posted by

Aaron Nielsen ,

January 9, 2015 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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This time of year women's soccer is mostly under the radar, but hopefully as we come closer to the 2015 World Cup in Canada this June the tournament will get the world coverage it deserves compared to what we will see in Canadian press and regularly on RedNation Online. I follow the women's game on a fairly regular basis, mostly because of the development of new Professional and Semi-Professional leagues around the world. Originally it with the United States professional league (WUSA), which was played from 2001-2003, and the Women's version of the German Bundesliga. I collect information and statistics as I currently do for men's, both professional and developmental leagues.



Countries such as Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan and Finland have had women’s top level soccer for a number of years. They play a traditional pyramid development system with a first division of independent female clubs and clubs connected to local sporting club, including the Men's soccer team. The goal of these leagues is not to generate money but to provide playing and development opportunities for players. However, with the growth of women's soccer, in general these leagues have also grown and become more professional.



This growth has also seen new leagues develop across Europe, again with a combination of independent female academies and teams connected to more prominent men’s teams. In England's WAFSL, traditionally Arsenal has been the strongest team, although clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Birmingham City have been challenging the female Gunners for top spot. Barcelona’s club dominates the league in Spain. While in France Juvisy, an independent women's team with great success, is now being challenged by Lyon and Paris St-Germain.



Lyon has also become a powerhouse in in the Women's version of the European's Champions League, which follows a similar format to the Men's and provides further competitions for the participating teams. This is where a team like 2013-2014 German Champions and European Champions League winners VFL Wolfsburg played 40 games at a high level this past season. This is one of the reasons, in my opinion, it's important for Americans and Canadians to support Women's league soccer. Despite the college system being a great developer, it’s the continual competition in high level games that will improve the overall quality of the players.



The NWSL has provided some options for American, Canadian and Mexican players in preparation for the World Cup next summer and I predict that like the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the 2015 Women's World Cup will be a tournament that CONCACAF can shine at, including Canada who were given a very favorable draw as hosts. Based on my awareness of women players around the world and recent World Cup 2015 draw, below is what I'm calling the earliest prediction.



I will allow myself to self-edit as we come closer to the tournament, although I don't think I'll make many changes from this prediction.



Group A Prediction: 1st. Canada, 2nd. China, 3rd. Netherlands, 4th. New Zealand



This is not the easiest group Canada could have been given but one Canada should be favorites in and should win. China are state run team, meaning that the players play together for much of the year although they haven't had a ability to play pro soccer elsewhere and also don't have the resources they once did when they hosted the tournament in 2007. Netherlands are a rising country and are led by one of the top prospects in Women's Soccer in Vivianne Miedema, who is a player to watch. New Zealand made the tournament by beating countries such as Tonga 16-0 and Cook Islands 11-0, with experience in US College, European professional soccer and Australia Women's League, this should make them a competitive team



Group B Prediction: 1st. Germany, 2nd. Norway, 3rd. Cote D'Ivoire, 4th. Thailand



An easy group to predict in my opinion, with Cote D'Ivoire and Thailand being two of the weakest countries in the tournament. Norway’s players are mostly local, although their top players Caroline Hanson and Nora Berge do play in Germany, while 19 year old Ada Hegerberg plays with Lyon in France. Germany has a number of stars in the Women's game including captain Celia Sasic and Wolfsburg player Alexandra Popp. They have lost some key veterans to retirement in Inka Griggs and Brigit Prinz, but should still be a tournament favorite.



Group C Prediction: 1st. Japan, 2nd. Switzerland, 3rd. Cameroon, 4th. Ecuador



Cameroon and Ecuador are developing countries in the Women's game and shouldn't trouble Japan or Switzerland. Many of the Swiss players play in Germany, while veteran and orchestrator of much of the their offense Lara Dickenmann plays with Lyon. FC Basel are also following the men's side and developing a strong local team. Japan has a league, although many of the top national players also play elsewhere. The national team will be the most experienced team in the tournament including most players who won the 2011 tournament in Germany.



Group D Prediction: 1st. United States, 2nd. Sweden, 3rd. Australia, 4th. Nigeria



This is the group of death for the 2015 World Cup and you feel sorry for such a tough draw for both Australia, who have developed their own league in connection to the Austrialan A-League, and Nigeria who are by far the strongest country in Africa. To me the game between USA and Sweden will be the game of the group stage, with the traditional league development of Sweden vs US struggle in developing a pro league.



Group E Prediction: 1st. Brazil, 2nd. Spain, 3rd. South Korea, 4th. Costa Rica



I expect both Brazil and Spain to advance from this group, although the game between the two countries will be very interesting with Brazil losing some of their momentum in the Women's game while Spain is on its way up. The Spanish women's league has been improving yearly, although their top players Losada and Sonia played in the NWSL, while the club captain Verónica Boquete plays in Germany. All of Brazil’s players now play in Brazil so they are a bit of an unknown, although forward Cristiane could be an outside pick for the World Cup 2015 top goal scorer.



Group F Prediction: 1st. France, 2nd. Mexico, 3rd. England, 4th. Colombia



As mentioned, there are now three very competitive club teams in France, which means all of the French players play in that league and they are also led by five players: Laura Georges, Élodie Thomis, Louisa Nécib, Élise Bussaglia and Gaëtane Thiney, with over 100 international games so they could be a darkhorse to win the whole tournament. Mexico, with its connection to American soccer, has drastically improved, while despite the launch of FAWSL, England are an outsider to me with Kelly Smith as the only star and she is 36 years old.



Round of 16 Winners: China, United States, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, Canada



I expect most of the favorites to win the first round of the knockout group with the only real surprise Mexico beating Norway. The game of the group will be Brazil vs Sweden and interesting the knockout groupings is set up similar to the 2002 U19 World Cup which saw Brazil, Germany, United States and Canada make the final four.



Round of 8: United States over China, Germany over France, Japan over Sweden, Canada over Mexico



By the draw Canada gets the easiest game, which shows the importance of winning their group because finishing second means they will play United States in this round. The other four countries have the three European nations with the strongest leagues in the World and 2011 World Cup winners Japan.



Semifinals: United States over Germany, Canada over Japan



I have the right to go with my heart here and think momentum will take Canada into the finals in an inspiring Olympic-esque performance by Christine Sinclair. To be honest, my head says the final should be Japan and Germany, although I think being hosts and having huge support in Edmonton for Canada and in Montreal for United States will make these games a coin toss.



Finals: United States over Canada



My final pick would be Germany over Japan based purely on quality of players, although United States and Canada would have plenty of stories and determination to take the finals and create a great ending for the tournament. It is hard for me to honestly think that Canada would have the quality to get by both Japan and then Germany or United States in the finals. For this article I'll pick USA as my 2015 World Cup winners, although by this point sitting in my seat at Olympic Stadium my heart and pride will certainly be with the Red and White.