Women’s World Cup Knockout Rosters See England’s WSL on Top

Apr 07, 2024

The 2023 Women’s World Cup group stage served up its share of surprise upsets, which led to three teams in the FIFA top 10 rankings not moving into the next round. Germany—the two-time World Cup champs—failed to advance to the knockout stage for the first time in Women’s World Cup history, while South American powerhouse Brazil and reigning Olympic champion Canada were also ousted. Instead, teams such as Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz and World Cup debutant Morocco advanced to the Round of 16 after a first round filled with more parity than in years past.

But the newfound competitive balance isn’t necessarily a product of progress being made at the national level. There are still national governing bodies represented in Australia and New Zealand that significantly lack investment in their women’s teams. For example, the Jamaican Football Federation (which didn’t pay its players after their 2019 World Cup appearance) stands accused of not paying players on time or providing sufficient financial support for this year’s World Cup team. The Moroccan women’s team is still “at the beginning of the road” in closing the salary gaps between men and women, Khadija Illa, president of the national women’s soccer league in Morocco, told The Associated Press.

Instead, the on-field product at this year’s World Cup is arguably the result of the growth of domestic leagues across the globe, particularly in Europe.

The club teams many of these players call home throughout the year appear to have become strong enough to make up for deficiencies at the national level by providing plenty of opportunities for competitive professional development. Ten Jamaican players, for example, train in the U.S. between the NWSL and NCAA, while the rest of the squad is rostered in Europe—where the women’s game has seen an influx of investment over the last four years. As a result, leagues such as England’s Women’s Super League and Spain’s Liga F have found themselves more widely represented in this summer’s World Cup than in years past. Led by England’s Women’s Super League, here’s how club leagues stack up in the World Cup’s round of 16:

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In the first Women's World Cup with an expanded 32-team field, England’s top women’s soccer league dethroned the U.S.-based NWSL as the league with the most players in the competition; 94 WSL players were rostered on national teams at the start of the tournament. In the 2019 World Cup, there were 50 players from the WSL compared to the NWSL’s 58 players.

Going into the knockout rounds, there are 70 WSL representatives left across the 16 remaining contenders.

The British league’s growth came on the back of a landmark three-year television deal with the U.K.’s Sky Sports and BBC signed in 2021, leading to record-breaking revenue. Attendance followed, jumping 173% during the 2023 season—boosted by the Lionesses’ success at the 2022 Euros—as the WSL quickly became one of the most competitive women’s soccer leagues in the world.

With the legacy that clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have as a result of their history in the men’s game, many have long speculated that a touch more investment in their women’s sides would be all it would take for the WSL to surpass the NWSL as the best domestic league in the women’s game. That financial commitment, some of which has begun in recent years, may soon be more rapidly forthcoming. In July, an independent review panel outlined a path to expedited growth for the WSL that hinges on substantial investments in the league.

Spain’s top-flight league, Liga F, has 51 players still representing their countries in the knockout stage. At the beginning of the tournament, 72 Liga F players were in the competition. While more than half of the 51 players from the league are on the Spanish national team, players from Norway to Nigeria play for the league’s top teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The league, founded in 1988, has undergone several changes in format and name since its inception before being granted official professional status from the Spanish Football Federation in 2020. It has been operating with 16 teams since the 2021-22 season and signed a five-year broadcast deal with streamer DAZN that same year that runs through 2027. Maria Delgado, head of communication for the league, said the media pact and commercial partnerships together have brought in about $80 million (€72 million) so far—but the league is growing.

“Players want to come and play here from all around the world because they trust the league, they can earn a decent living in Liga F,” Delgado said. “They see their idols, like Alexia [Putellas], and they want to come and play here. Before a girl could not even dream of becoming a professional soccer player. They had to find another job to play soccer, but now it is a career, they have salaries.”

Thirty-seven players from the French professional soccer league Division 1 Féminine’s will be rostered during the knockout stage, including Norway's Ada Hegerberg, the Olympique Lyonnais Féminin star who is arguably the best player in the world. (Though she missed Norway's final group-stage match with an injury, and her status for the Round of 16 is uncertain.) OL is one of 12 teams in D1, the oldest women’s professional soccer league in the world. It is also ranked the best women's league in Europe according to UEFA 2019–20 Women's Association club coefficients.

Paris Saint-Germain is the D1 team that sent the most players to the World Cup this year but OL has 10 players still competing for the top prize in Australia and New Zealand. OL recently became the first team to have an American owner: Michele Kang, the owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, acquired a controlling stake in the club, creating the first-ever multi-club structure in women’s soccer.

Nearly half of the 61 NWSL players competing for the World Cup Down Under were eliminated in the group stage, leaving just 36 representatives to carry the league’s legacy—most of whom (22) are concentrated on the U.S. women’s national team. Only one player on the USWNT is not rostered domestically: captain Lindsay Horan, who plays for France’s OL. Outside of Team USA, there are just 14 other NWSL players competing for nine teams remaining in the tournament.

Of the remaining contenders, Nigeria’s roster has the second-most NWSL players behind the U.S. with three, followed by two players apiece playing for Japan, Australia, Jamaica and Denmark.

At the start of the tournament, 16 countries had players on their roster from the NWSL, representing all of the league’s clubs, which commissioner Jessica Berman said was a “testament to the caliber of talent that calls our league home,” in an op-ed for Sportico.

“We want to emphasize that our league is where the world’s top talents hone their skills and showcase their abilities week in and week out,” Berman wrote.

Despite the investment from individuals and institutions, including private equity firm Sixth Street, since the last World Cup from broadcasters, sponsors and owners alike, the NWSL may find that status challenged. This summer’s tournament might be proof of that already.