The 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup is making history with its largest lineup yet, featuring 32 teams. The tournament is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand with eight countries making their debut.

Since the very first matches back in 1991, when only 12 national teams took part, the FIFA Women’s World Cup has become a mega event in the world of sports. Held every four years, it brings together the finest female football athletes from around the globe. Interestingly, out of all the competing nations, only four have managed to clinch the championship title: Germany, Japan, Norway, and the US. 

In honour of this massive global event, here is a short guide to the tournament as well as a few incredible sports-themed online slots in the UK to keep your casino games going while the women battle it out on the football pitch. 

When and where?

Mark your calendars for an exciting start to the tournament on 20 July 2023 at Auckland’s Eden Park. Co-host New Zealand will take on Norway in the opening group-stage match, scheduled bright and early at 3 a.m. Eastern time. The tournament will culminate in an epic final on 20 August 2023 at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, with kick-off at 6 a.m. Eastern time.

Who is competing?

Following intense confederation tournaments and inter-continental qualifier playoffs, which concluded in February 2023, the top teams from every region earned their coveted spots in the tournament. The hosts received automatic qualification.

Several countries will be making their debut in the Women’s World Cup. Competing for the first time are Haiti, Morocco, Panama, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam, and Zambia. This is also the first-ever appearance for the Philippines in a men’s or women’s FIFA World Cup tournament.

Here is a full list of the 32 countries competing in the 2023 World Cup: 

1. Argentina 
2. Australia
3. Brazil
4. Canada
5. China
6. Colombia
7. Costa Rica
8. Denmark
9. England
10. France
11. Germany
12. Haiti
13. Italy
14. Jamaica
15. Japan
16. Morocco
17. Netherlands
18. New Zealand
19. Nigeria
20. Norway
21. Panama
22. Philippines
23. Portugal
24. Republic of Ireland
25. South Africa
26. South Korea
27. Spain
28. Sweden
29. Switzerland
30. United States
31. Vietnam
32. Zambia

Format of the competition

The tournament consists of two stages: the group stage and the knockout stage. 

Group stage

In the group stage, teams are divided into eight groups of four, where they compete in a round-robin tournament. Each team plays three matches against the other teams in their group. To ensure fairness, the last round of matches for each group is scheduled simultaneously. The top two teams from each group then progress to the knockout stage. 

Groups

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Groups.

Knockout stage

The knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup is an intense single-elimination tournament where teams face off in decisive one-off matches. If necessary, extra time and penalty shootouts are utilised to determine the winners. The knockout stage commences with the round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, a match for third place involving the losing semi-finalists, and ultimately culminates in the highly-anticipated final.

Football-themed slots

In support of the women battling it out in New Zealand and Australia, superfans can take on some of these thrilling football-themed slots online and pit their own skills against the machines. 

Home and Away

Home and Away is an exciting football-themed slot game available at The Phone Casino. This unique game breaks away from traditional paylines and reels. Instead of paylines, you’ll find a command bar at the bottom of the screen to choose your wager. 

To kick off your gameplay in Home and Away, select your desired bet values per game from options like €0.01, €0.05, €0.10, €0.15, €0.20, €0.30, and €0.40. You can also choose the number of game scores to reveal, ranging from 6 to 15. Set your preferences by using the + and – signs.

Matching the six displayed scores triggers a win for each matched score. If you successfully match all six scores simultaneously, you activate the coveted Match 6 Prize at the top. Each score can represent a home win, away win, or draw, and home and away wins are both collected. Fill up the bars on either side of the grid to trigger a bonus round.

The theoretical average return to player (RTP) for Home and Away is up to 95%.

Golden Boot

Golden Boot is a thrilling football-themed slot game with a bit of a twist. Customise your stake amount according to your preference, with options ranging from €0.01 to €0.05 per ball. Choose the number of balls you want to play with and get ready to kick off the action. For more convenient gameplay, the AutoShoot option allows rounds to play automatically.

Golden Boot is not your typical slot game, but rather a familiar arcade experience. Select your country from the 32 available options and test your skills by swiping sideways for a banana kick or swiping up for a straight shoot. 

There are two types of balls: Normal and golden balls. The normal balls reward players with up to 10x the stake, while the golden balls award an impressive 500x the bet. Keep an eye out for the free bonus ball, which appears when a loss occurs, lighting up in LED colours to grant additional free bonus opportunities.

The game’s theoretical average return to player (RTP) is up to 94%. 

Striker Goes Wild

Striker Goes Wild Jackpot Slot by Eyecon is an online slot machine featuring five reels and 25 paylines and the promise of tons of fun.

On the reels, you’ll find a range of football-themed symbols, including strikers, golden cups, goalposts, whistles, football shoes, gloves, and the usual high-ranking cards. Keep an eye out for the striker symbol, which appears on the middle three reels. When it lands in three different positions, you’ll unlock the Striker Goes Wild feature, where your key player attempts to score goals to boost your winnings.

The ball acts as the wild symbol, substituting for other symbols except the striker to create winning combinations. The golden trophy symbol offers the highest payout, while the ref’s whistle and goal symbol are also important symbols to watch for.

The wild symbol appears during the Striker Goes Wild feature, which is triggered by landing three scatter striker symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4. During this feature, all symbols transform into ball symbols, and goals are calculated based on the lines and bet per line of the activating spin.

Take advantage of the Gamble feature after winning a spin to potentially double your payouts. Choose the correct option up to five times, and each correct choice will increase your winnings. Striker Goes Wild Jackpot Slot also features three jackpots: Maxi, Mega, and Mini. These progressive jackpots increase with each bet placed, offering the chance to win spectacular amounts.

The theoretical average return to player (RTP) is up to 90%.

Get more than football at The Phone Casino

If you want to play online slots when you’re not glued to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, register with The Phone Casino, the UK’s best online casino. In addition to these fantastic football-themed slot games, The Phone Casino brings you some of the best slots online and a whole lot more.