The Women’s World Cup kicks off Thursday with the opening games of host teams New Zealand and Australia. The favorite is the team from the USA.

Down Under the soccer fever is on: 32 teams are fighting for the World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand. The Women’s World Cup kicks off on Thursday, and this year there are 32 nations participating, more than ever before.

The favorites are the women from the USA, who are aiming for a third consecutive World Cup title.

The issue of equal treatment is a sensitive one. The world governing body FIFA has offered prize money totaling 98 million euros. That is around three times more than at the last World Cup in 2019, but significantly less than the almost 400 million euros paid to the men at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022.

In sporting terms, the German national team led by national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is one of the favorites alongside European champions England.

In the opening game, New Zealand will face Norway in Auckland. Soccer fever has already broken out in the other host country, Australia. The first match of the so-called Matildas against Ireland will be watched by more than 80,000 fans in the sold-out former Olympic Stadium in Sydney.