The goal: A World Cup three-peat

Thirty-two teams. Two host countries. $30,000 for each player. A two-time defending champion team for the United States. These are some of the firsts that set this summer's women's World Cup tournament apart as players from around the world assemble for the greatest global competition in soccer.

👋 Hi there. I'm Nicole Fallert, and welcome to Your Week, a column just for Paste BN subscribers like you. This week, I caught up with Paste BN Sports columnist Nancy Armour ahead of her trip to Australia and New Zealand to cover the U.S. Women's National Team's return for victory.

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Returning victors, a number of firsts

The start of the World Cup on Thursday will mark the first time two countries, Australia and New Zealand, are hosting the women's tournament. It's also the first time the women's competition has been held in the Southern Hemisphere and consists of a never-before-seen roster with 32 teams. The United States enters the tournament looking for a three-peat to become the first of any team to win triple World Cups. 

But among this array of firsts, the bigger takeaway is the growing importance of women's soccer in a sport dominated by the men's game.

"The larger significance is this is the first World Cup since FIFA and federation officials really recognized the worth of the women’s game," Armour said. The U.S. women's national team will receive the same amount of prize money the men’s team earned for its World Cup in Qatar last fall and earn the same in appearance fees. FIFA is paying players directly, at least $30,000 each.

"The travel, accommodations and preparation are required to be the same as they were for the men’s World Cup. Players have talked about how much better they can be when they’re treated like the elite athletes they are, and it’ll be interesting to see the impact that has in Australia and New Zealand," she said.

Armour will be Paste BN's reporter on the ground in both host countries, publishing daily stories and features on the team. Look out for live blogs for every USWNT game and "playing cards" to introduce you to each member of the team with fun facts and stats. You can already dive into World Cup coverage with this keepsake special print section with an illustrated cover and poster pullout.

If you're new to the tournament, Armour suggested a few things to look for. For example, eight teams are making their World Cup debut: Haiti, Ireland, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia.

"In tournaments past, these debutantes might have been woefully overmatched," she said, "but the game has progressed so significantly that an upset from one or more of them won’t be a surprise."

Also keep an eye out for a few famous faces returning to the pitch, including Megan Rapinoe, who will make this tournament her career final. But Armour says the fun will be greeting 12 USWNT newcomers who will be playing in their first major international tournament.

A big factor in the growth in women's professional soccer involves Title IX, which requires equity across a broad range of areas in academics and athletics, she said. The legislation turned 50 last year, and Armour has reported extensively on the legacy of the law for women's athletics. She said strides in the U.S. have spurred individual players' growth, leading to a "knock-on effect" across international teams.

"One thing I think people don’t realize is that while Title IX has been hugely beneficial to the USWNT – it created a talent pool that remains unmatched anywhere else in the world – it’s also helped other countries improve," she said. "Look at almost any team’s roster and you’ll find at least one player, and usually more, who either played in the United States growing up or came here to play in college."

Read more World Cup 2023 coverage:

• 'You can feel the intensity': Naomi Girma shares what it's like to break into the USWNT.
• 'I'm going to be special': Sophia Smith is the next face of the USWNT. And she knows it.
• USWNT set the standard in battling for equal pay. Now it's Canada's turn to fight.
• Different name, bigger fields. How the World Cup has changed since the first tournament in 1991.
• Women of the Year: ‘Leaving it better for the next generation’: US women’s soccer team on winning fight for equal pay

💬 Curious about the U.S. Women’s National Team and the 2023 World Cup? Armour will host an AMA on Reddit at 4 p.m. ET Sunday in r/ussoccer to answer your questions. 

Thank you

I can't wait to gather some friends and tune into the World Cup for the next few weeks. I hope you're enjoying these summer days and finding moments of rest and restoration. As always, I'll see you all next week with more highlights from our newsroom made possible by your support.

Thank you,

Nicole