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With the 2023 Women's World Cup in the history books, soccer fans looked beyond 2023, with three specific years at the forefront of their imaginations: 2026, 2027 and 2030.
In July 2026, the Men's World Cup returns with more teams and more games. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will share 104 games among 48 teams in 16 cities — including Houston and Arlington. It will be the first World Cup with so many teams.
In 2022, the men's tournament was held in Qatar, and Houston Public Media reported that officials from Houston visited the stadiums there to gain insight into how to host World Cup games. It will host between five to eight games and host a 37-day FIFA fanfest. Recent estimates from the Harris County Sports Authority predicted the city could see a $1.3 billion economic impact, HPM added.
KERA also reported that Dallas officials also traveled to Qatar to learn from their hosting experiences. Monica Paul with the Dallas Sports Commission was among them. She estimated that the Men's World Cup games could each have a $400 million impact on the area's economy, not including the final game itself.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Host Cities have been revealed 🙌🌎
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2022
Which city are you hoping to catch a game at? pic.twitter.com/OzLRUXEP4R
KERA and the Fort Worth Report explained that concerns over how to efficiently transport thousands of soccer fans in Dallas to the Arlington stadiums are among the biggest logistical hurdles.
"We will need to provide transportation for those that have credentials, the broadcasters that may be in town," Paul explained. "Any spectator that has a ticket on game day, we'll need to provide transportation out to the stadium."
She said the recent WrestleMania event offered insight into how to improve the transportation networks. Football and baseball games in 2024 will also help identify opportunities to streamline the infrastructure.
Building on the excitement generated over the 2022 and 2023 tournaments, the presence of the 2026 Men's World Cup in North America is expected to further intensify homegrown enthusiasm for soccer, in a nation and state that still mostly loves baseball and American football.
How that enthusiasm will translate into a successful men's U.S. soccer team remains to be seen.
Related coverage
- Associated Press: After World Cup, US men recede to background for 3 1/2 years
- Associated Press: FIFA targets $11 billion in revenue through 2026 World Cup
- Associated Press: Infantino gives FIFA wish list of new and revamped event
- Associated Press: The next World Cup will jump to 48 teams. Is bigger better?
- The Athletic: FIFA consider introducing group-stage penalty shootouts at 2026 World Cup
2027 Women's World Cup
The Women's World Cup returns in 2027.
Fans will ask themselves if the U.S. team learned from its mistakes in 2023 and improved team cohesion and coordination. They will also wonder how the Americans perform against other women's teams that have generally and steadily improved and built on their own triumphs and failures from the 2023 tournament.
Bids to host the 2027 games are due in December. The Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Brazil, the U.S., Mexico, and Germany are among the early contenders.
FIFA will announce the winner in May 2024.
2030 Men's World Cup
In October 2023, FIFA announced the 2030 men's games will be held in six nations — Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina — to celebrate the World Cup's 100th anniversary.
Most of the matches will be held in Europe and North Africa, while the South American nations will each host three matches.
In 1930, the first World Cup game was held in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Related coverage
NPR also reported that Saudi Arabia hopes to host the Men's World Cup in 2034.
The supreme Spanish victory
Spain defeated England 1-0 in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday, Aug. 20. It was the first World Cup victory for the Spanish team. It was also the first European team to win the women's championship since 2007.
An English victory in the final game also would've made history in the annals of the Women's World Cup. The England and Spain teams had never made it to the final game before.
England faced off against Spain after defeating host nation Australia 3-1. Spain made it to the final by first defeating Sweden 2-1.
Sweden then defeated Australia 2-0, coming in third place at the international tournament after Spain and England.
Victory shadowed by misogyny
But the new victory on Aug. 20 was eclipsed by an old problem in sports and in Spain. As the Spanish team celebrated and received their medals, Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish soccer federation, grabbed player Jenni Hermoso and forcibly kissed her on the mouth.
The sexual assault was broadcast and shared countless times around the world, and his misogynistic and humiliating act robbed Hermoso and her teammates of their historic triumph.
"I did not like it," Hermoso said on social media. She called the kiss an "out-of-place act without any consent on my part. ... Simply put, I was not respected.”
Subsequent weeks and months saw Spanish women rally around the team, sparking the #SeAcabo (it's over) movement, similar to the #MeToo movements in the U.S. and around the globe. The entire Spanish team said they would not play again until Rubiales was gone, and other players joined their strike.
Rubiales at first refused to concede that he did anything wrong and gave the kind of kiss he would give to one of his daughters. He considered himself a victim of "false feminists" and vowed to not resign his post. He later offered a reluctant apology: "“Surely I was wrong, I have to admit. It was without bad faith at a time of maximum effusiveness."
Other Spanish men, including Jorge Vilda, the coach of the Spanish women's team, and Luis de la Fuente, the coach of the Spanish men's team, supported him. The Spanish soccer federation threatened to sue anyone who protested.
Three weeks after the sexual assault, Vilda was fired and replaced with his assistant coach, Montse Tome -- the first woman to lead the women's team.
De La Fuente's players criticized his support of Rubiales, and he also apologized.
Jenni Hermoso files sexual assault complaint against Luis Rubiales https://t.co/aYUEHXgW2X
— Post Sports (@PostSports) September 6, 2023
On Sept. 5, Hermoso formally accused Rubiales of sexual assault. The Associated Press reported that under a sexual consent law passed in 2022, "Rubiales could face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty. The new law eliminated the difference between 'sexual harassment' and 'sexual assault,' sanctioning any unconsented sexual act."
On Sept. 10, Rubiales resigned his position as federation president. A Spanish judge issued a restraining order against him, requiring him to stay at least 656 feet away from Hermoso. The judge will also determine when Rubilaes goes on trial. NPR added that a separate investigation by Spain's Sport Administrative Court could ban Rubiales from holding future positions.
The long-overdue conversations about gender equality, cultural mores and respect are slowly coursing through Spain's sports worlds and throughout Spanish society.
The incident was endemic of a male-dominated and sexist Spanish soccer world (and soccer world in general) that perceives women's soccer as inferior to men's soccer. Women players consistently received less pay than male players, received transportation and lodgings of less quality than the men and have endured widespread sexism and sexual harassment.
Rubiales' sexual assault has sent shockwaves through long established misogynistic cultural norms. But what emerges to replace it is still unclear, as is the question of how much better it will be for Spain's women.
Related coverage
- The Washington Post: An unwanted kiss reflects gender inequalities — in sports and beyond
- The Guardian: ‘It’s over’: World Cup kiss becomes Spanish football’s #MeToo moment
- The Guardian: #MeToo exposed the abuse of women in Spain. It took football and #SeAcabó to spark a revolution
- Politico: Spain football chief says sorry for kissing World Cup winner on the lips
- The Guardian: A revolution 40 years in the making -- how the Spanish women’s team fought back
- The Guardian: Dear Luis Rubiales -- Sportswomen are not dolls to be kissed, touched and patronised
- Associated Press: Women’s World Cup brings attention to abuse in soccer
- Associated Press: Union representing World Cup champion kissed by Spanish soccer head demands act not ‘go unpunished’
More on the 2023 games
- The Guardian: Between the World Cup and Barbie, we’re finally having an honest discussion about girlhood
- The Atlantic: Women’s Soccer Won the World Cup
- The Guardian: With all eyes on the Women’s World Cup, it’s time to stop focusing on players’ sexuality
- The Washington Post: This is the gayest World Cup ever (and no one’s batting an eyelid)
- The Guardian: ‘A feminist symbol’: how the humble ponytail scored a summer winner
- The Washington Post: World Cup players covered 8,753 miles Down Under. Here’s who ran the most.
- The New York Times: A World Away From the World Cup, Soccer With a Different Goal
- The New York Times: A New Era of Soccer Moms Navigates a Rapidly Changing Game
- The Guardian: How long until we see this thrilling spectacle not as ‘women’s sport’, but simply ‘sport’?
- The Guardian: Then, now, forever on top of their game: the rise of women's football
- The New York Times: The Gaps Get Smaller as the World Cup Gets Larger
- The Washington Post: Who says women’s soccer players don’t dive?
- National Geographic: Soccer pioneers recall the first Women’s World Cup
- The Athletic: Inside the world of female esports: ‘It’s a scary space for women’
- The Guardian: Naarm, Gadigal, Tāmaki Makaurau — Indigenous place names in the spotlight at Women’s World Cup
- The New Yorker: The Thrill on the Ground at the Women’s World Cup
- The New Yorker: The Injury That Has Upended the Women’s World Cup
- Scientific American: How Dangerous Are Soccer Concussions? They May Cause Lasting Damage
- The Athletic: Physicality in Women’s World Cup matches shows how quickly the game has moved on
- The New Yorker: The World Cup and the Frustrating, Inspiring State of Women’s Soccer
- The Washington Post: Walking soccer, a British import, has many American players cheering
- Scientific American: Sexist Science in Soccer Harms Women in an Epic Own Goal
- The Washington Post: The World Cup’s signature moment played out above a graveyard
Key @USWNT stars inspired by Andy Warhol. 🎨🇺🇸#FIFAWWC | #BeyondGreatness pic.twitter.com/l4Zk3eLYxx
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) July 26, 2023
BACKGROUND
What is the Women's World Cup?
The FIFA Women's World Cup is the global soccer championship that brings together teams representing dozens of nations — 32 nations in 2023, including the United States — to compete for the FIFA World Cup trophy.
FIFA stands for "Fédération Internationale de Football Association," which is the international association that manages the games.
Like the men's games, the Women's World Cup is held every four years. The Americans have won this trophy four times, including their 2019 faceoff with the Netherlands. But in 2023, Sweden narrowly defeated the U.S. during their Round of 16 matchup.
The Women's World Cup was established in 1991 as a 12-team tournament. By 2023, that number had almost tripled — a reflection of the massive growth and popularity of women's soccer around the world and particularly in Texas.
The women's tournament came about seven months after Argentina won the heart-stopping 2022 Men's World Cup.
What happened to the U.S. team?
One of the tournament's most dramatic storylines — the journey of the U.S. team toward another World Cup trophy — turned tragic on Sunday, Aug. 6. Victory over Vietnam, a tie against the Netherlands, and a scoreless match against Portugal ended in sadness when Sweden defeated the U.S. in penalty kicks, 5-4.
The U.S. team advanced to the Round of 16 under darkening clouds of doubt over its leadership, over the team's cohesion and over its capability to fend off and defeat teams that are generally better than the last Women's World Cup.
The Texas Standard spoke to Linda Hamilton, a member of the 1991 World Cup-winning U.S. national team and a coach at Southwestern University, about the team's performance. She said she was grateful the U.S. advanced at all. Sunday's game seemed at first to dispel some of those concerns as the U.S. players took shot after relentless shot, shocking at times even the commentators, and eliciting collective gasps of thrill or horror from the audience in the packed Melbourne stadium.
But the U.S. attacks were too often uncoordinated, and the Swedish defense was too strong to break through. The stalemate continued into extra time and ended in a shootout. After that defeat, the U.S. was sent home.
PAST GAMES AND ANALYSIS
Thursday, July 20
New Zealand 1 — Norway 0
Australia 1 — Republic of Ireland 0
Nigeria 0 — Canada 0
Related coverage:
- NPR: Co-host New Zealand stuns Norway to open the Women's World Cup
- The Guardian: G’day World Cup -- why Australia can’t wait for the action to start
- The Guardian: ‘Anything can happen’: Ireland plot Women’s World Cup upset ahead of Matildas clash
- The Guardian: Matildas take aim at Fifa over prize money in video released days before World Cup kickoff
- The Guardian: Lydia Williams: ‘People put athletes on pedestals sometimes … but we’re just humans’
- The Guardian: Gaps in the record reveal the winding road of women’s football in Australia
Friday, July 21
Philippines 0 — Switzerland 2
Spain 3 — Costa Rica 0
United States 3 — Vietnam 0
Related coverage
- NPR: The U.S. defeats Vietnam 3-0 to open its 2023 Women's World Cup
- The Washington Post: The USWNT has owned the World Cup. Its rivals are catching up
- PBS NewsHour: U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team on preparing for a competitive World Cup tournament
- The Guardian: Can an injury-ravaged USWNT mount a serious World Cup challenge?
- The Guardian: Sophia Smith: USA’s next torch carrier with a World Cup ‘legacy’ to preserve
- The Guardian: The USWNT enter the World Cup loved, despised and still influential
- Jezebel: Megan Rapinoe Calls Out Former Tennis Star Martina Navratilova for Anti-Trans Comments
- The New York Times Magazine: She’s Got the Hardest Job in Soccer. Can She Keep Winning?
- NPR: U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe will retire at the end of the season
- The Washington Post: The U.S. World Cup roster mixes veteran leadership and youthful verve
- The Athletic: United States 2023 Women’s World Cup squad — Every player on the roster analyzed
Saturday, July 22
Zambia 0 — Japan 5
England 1 — Haiti 0
Denmark 1 — China 0
Related coverage
- The Guardian: Call Me a Lioness: Melanie C, Self Esteem and more record song for Women’s World Cup
- The Guardian: ‘It is frustrating’: Lucy Bronze hits out at impasse over Lionesses’ bonuses
- The Guardian: Jordan Nobbs: ‘I was in a dark place but now I’m waking with the butterfly feeling’
- The Guardian: Zambia women’s football team head coach accused of sexual misconduct
Sunday, July 23
Sweden 2 — South Africa 1
Netherlands 1 — Portugal 0
France 0 — Jamaica 0
Monday, July 24
Italy 1 — Argentina 0
Germany 6 — Morocco 0
Brazil 4 — Panama 0
Colombia 2 — South Korea 0
Related coverage
- Associated Press: Morocco’s historic Women’s World Cup debut inspires girls even if some in the Arab world ignore it
Tuesday, July 25
New Zealand 0 — Philippines 1
Switzerland 0 — Norway 0
Related coverage
- San Antonio Express-News: Incoming Trinity University freshman Malea Cesar represents Philippines at World Cup
Wednesday, July 26
Japan 2 — Costa Rica 0
Spain 5 — Zambia 0
Canada 2 — Republic of Ireland 0
United States 1 — Netherlands 1
Related coverage
- The New York Times: Flash of Anger Led to a Moment of Brilliance for U.S.
- Reuters: From fan to contender, US teen Thompson relishes World Cup stage
- The New York Times: Why U.S. Players Will Get the Most Prize Money, Even if They Lose
- The Guardian: The great, transformative Megan Rapinoe prepares to go out on her own terms
- The Athletic: USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe: My Game in My Words
- The Washington Post: Megan Rapinoe’s incandescent career changed more than women’s soccer
Thursday, July 27
Portugal 2 — Vietnam 0
Australia 2 — Nigeria 3
Argentina 2 — South Africa 2
Related coverage
- Reuters: Nigeria shock hosts Australia 3-2 at Women's World Cup
- The New York Times: Australia’s New Queen
Friday, July 28
England 1 — Denmark 0
China 1 — Haiti 0
Related coverage
Saturday, July 29
Sweden 5 — Italy 0
France 2 — Brazil 1
Panama 0 — Jamaica 1
South Korea 0 — Morocco 1
Related coverage
- The Washington Post: Morocco women make a meaningful World Cup debut, even in a loss
- The New York Times: The Morocco Women’s Team Has Already Won
- Reuters: Brazil's hat-trick hero Borges exceeds her wildest dreams on World Cup debut
Sunday, July 30
Germany 1 — Colombia 2
Norway 6 — Philippines 0
Switzerland 0 — New Zealand 0
Related coverage
- The New York Times: From Norway, a Voice Unafraid to Call Out FIFA From the Inside
Monday, July 31
Japan 4 — Spain 0
Costa Rica 1 — Zambia 3
Republic of Ireland 0 — Nigeria 0
Canada 0 — Australia 4
Tuesday, Aug. 1
Vietnam 0 — Netherlands 7
Portugal 0 — United States 0
China 1 — England 6
Haiti 0 — Denmark 2
Related coverage
- The Guardian: ‘It’s a very proud moment’: British Muslim women cheer hijab at World Cup
- NPR: The U.S. ties Portugal 0-0 to advance to the knockout round at Women's World Cup
- The New York Times: Lily Parr, Dominant British Soccer Player
- The Atlantic: The Two Players Who Tell the Story of U.S. Women’s Soccer
Wednesday, Aug. 2
Argentina 0 — Sweden 2
South Africa 3 — Italy 2
Panama 3 — France 6
Jamaica 0 — Brazil 0
Related coverage
- The Athletic: As the World Cup welcomes its first hijabi player, France’s ban raises fears of alienation
Thursday, Aug. 3
Morocco 1 — Colombia 0
South Korea 1 — Germany 1
"Entertainment isn't always free-flowing football. It can be a fiesta of elbows & angst, where it seems like it’s going to kick off because of unscrupulous methods."
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) August 12, 2023
Officials are trying harder than ever to clamp down on time wasting, but is the game is better for its dark arts?
Round of 16
Saturday, Aug. 5
Switzerland 1 — Spain 5
Japan 3 — Norway 1
Netherlands 2 — South Africa 0
Sunday, Aug. 6
Sweden 0 (5) — United States 0 (4)
Related coverage
- The Washington Post: Twila Kilgore named interim USWNT coach amid World Cup fallout
- The Guardian: ‘They have a really big mouth’: Dutch forward delights in US World Cup exit
- The Guardian: Megan Rapinoe: penalty miss in World Cup shootout loss was ‘dark comedy’
- The Atlantic: Megan Rapinoe answers the critics
- Associated Press: Megan Rapinoe leaves her final Women’s World Cup with pride after a long career
- The Ringer: The USWNT Faced a New Kind of Uncertainty in the 2023 World Cup and Lost
- The New York Times: For Megan Rapinoe, an Ending Not Even She Could Have Imagined
- The Washington Post: The new face of U.S. women’s soccer is stunned disbelief
- The Washington Post: U.S. Soccer supports working moms. Are you watching, America?
- The Atlantic: The End of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Dominance
- The Washington Post: For USWNT Coach Vlatko Andonovski, it’s the World Cup final or nothing
- The Washington Post: The U.S. women’s national team is a bunch of bookworms. Here’s what they’re reading.
Monday, Aug. 7
England 0 (4) — Nigeria 0 (2)
Australia 2 — Denmark 0
Related coverage
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Colombia 1 — Jamaica 0
France 4 — Morocco 0
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Aug. 10
Spain 2 — Netherlands 1
Friday, Aug. 11
Sweden 2 — Japan 1
Related coverage
Saturday, Aug. 12
Australia 0 (7) — France 0 (6)
England 2 — Colombia 1
Related coverage
- The Guardian: Decades in the making: the Lionesses’ epic journey to the World Cup final
- The New Yorker: This World Cup Left Its Mark on Australia
- The Atlantic: I’m Supporting Colombia Now
Semifinals
Tuesday, Aug. 15
Spain 2 — Sweden 1
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Australia 1 — England 3
Related coverage
Match for third place
Saturday, Aug. 19
Sweden 2 — Australia 0
Related coverage
- The Guardian: ‘Our phones began to blow up’: Matildas’ World Cup success is translating into off-field opportunities
- The Washington Post: The Matildas, the soccer team and song, are national treasures in Australia
Final
Sunday, Aug. 20
Spain 1 — England 0
Related coverage
- The Washington Post: Spain’s women’s team is finally being heard after years of being ignored
- The Guardian: ‘A win will change everything’… World Cup victory for Spain would kick out sexism, say fans
- The Washington Post: The ‘genius’ coach who has guided England to a World Cup final
- The Washington Post: Spain and England played quality soccer. That should be enough.
- The New York Times: For Spain, a World Cup Title Built on Talent, Not Harmony
- The Washington Post: Spain, bold and brilliant on the pitch, tops England in World Cup final
- The Guardian: Spain celebrate but Olga Carmona’s tragedy mars their World Cup triumph
- The Guardian: ‘She’s brilliant’: Mary Earps inspires girls to pick up goalkeeper gloves
MORE RESOURCES
Coverage from NPR and The Texas Newsroom
- The Texas Standard: U.S. women’s soccer team sets sights on Sweden after disappointing draw against Portugal
- The Texas Standard: U.S. women’s soccer team needs to focus on consistency as World Cup progresses, Hall of Famer says
- NPR: It's not your imagination. Teams at the Women's World Cup are playing longer games
- NPR: The Women's World Cup expanded to 32 teams this year. Has the quality suffered?
- NPR: As the Women's World Cup gets underway, a look at the history of the sports bra
- The Texas Standard: U.S. women’s team is gunning for their third cup in a row after winning in 2015 and 2019
- Morning Edition: Soccer is a popular youth sport. Why does the pro game still fall short in the U.S.?
Guides / FAQs
- The Guardian: The best podcasts for the Women's World Cup
The Offisde | The Far Post | The Guardian’s Women’s Football Weekly | After the Whistle | The Athletic Women’s Football Podcast: World Cup edition - The Athletic: 2023 Women’s World Cup scouting guide
WATCHING THE GAMES
The Texas Standard explained that viewers may stream the games "on Fox and FS1 in English and on Telemundo and NBC’s Peacock streaming service in Spanish."
Below are some of the businesses that have hosted watch parties.
- Cottage Irish Pub: 3810 Broadway
- Slackers Sports Bar: 126 West Rector Dr., #136
- Smoke BBQ + Skybar: 501 East Crockett St.
- Chicken N Pickle: 5215 UTSA Blvd.
- The Lucky Duck SATX: 810 North Alamo St.
- Roadmap Brewing Co.: 723 North Alamo
- Dave & Busters: Check location
- The Growler Exchange: 4130 Broadway St #2
- The Hangar Bar & Grill: 8203 Broadway
- Europa Restaurant & Bar: 8811 Fredericksburg Rd.
- Stout House TPC: 22810 US Highway 281, Ste 103
- Trisha's Social Sips / Wheatley Heights Sports Complex: 200 Noblewood
Jerry Clayton, Brian Kirkpatrick, Jackie Velez, Marian Navarro, KUT's Corey Smith, KERA's Pablo Arauz Peña and Kailey Broussard, the Fort Worth Report's Sandra Sadek, the Texas Standard's Gabrielle Muñoz and Sarah Asch, and Houston Public Media's Rob Salinas Jr. contributed to this report.
