2023 Women's World Cup Power Rankings: USWNT start out on top, Germany in the mix, Brazil rising

United States women's national team stay as the favorites but Germany are close behind

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is officially in full swing, as for the first time the competition is being cohosted in the southern hemisphere in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament has been expanded to 32 participating nations with eight debutant teams. This year's tournament has been billed as the most competitive to date, but there have been some small surprises along the way, including a scoreless draw between France and Jamaica.

We ranked our top contenders ahead of the World Cup, so let's see where they've landed a matchday one:

Rank	Team	Analysis
1.	USWNT	Sophia Smith has tossed her hat into the Golden Boot and Golden Ball race with her two goals and one assist in the USWNT's 3-0 against Vietnam. This could be her World Cup.
2.	Germany	The team is without young phenom Lena Oberdorf due to a thigh strain, but it did not matter. Their six-goal blowout on matchday one is the biggest so far in the entire cup.
3.	England	The Lionesses were unable to capitalize on their opportunities against Haiti but managed to pick up a narrow win despite the lopsided shot total. Playing with fire early.
4.	Spain	World's best Alexia Putellas is still working her way back into form and played roughly 15 minutes during Spain's 3-0 win against Costa Rica. When she's fully back, watch out.
5.	Sweden	They're the only team in the group stage to fail to score first and win. Strong teams find a way, and ultimately Fridolina Rolfo was the catalyst to a comeback win.
6.	Brazil	Brazil put Group F on notice with their opening game performance. Ary Borges pulled off the first hat trick of the tournament and provided an assist to go along with her breakout game against Panama. This team is full of style.
7.	France	Head coach Herve Renard may be a master motivator, but he had zero ideas on how to break down Jamaica on matchday one. France struggled, and if they do it again, they are going to risk an early elimination.
8.	Netherlands	The squad didn't quite rack up the goals against Portugal, but they still got a win to keep them in contention to advance from the group. They may not have Vivianne Miedema, but if they stay lethal on set pieces, they'll give the opposition trouble.
9.	Australia	The cohosts played an inspired opening match against Ireland and picked up a win without their most famous player, Sam Kerr. She'll also be unavailable for the second group match due to a calf issue, but they'll have confidence knowing they can get wins without her.
10.	Japan	Nadeshiko put the entire tournament on notice with the first lopsided score line of the group stage. A five-goal onslaught against Zambia means they're direct rivals to Spain to finish Group C in first place.
11.	Canada	The Canadians didn't have many answers against Nigeria and didn't look very lethal in front of goal. Christine Sinclair, the world's all-team leading goal scorer, couldn't convert a penalty and their elite outside back Ashley Lawrence sustained a pretty gnarly tackle on her ankle.
12.	Switzerland	Held the Philippines to zero shots on target, and placed themselves in a strong position to exit the group.
13.	Italy	Played an even game against Argentina but did enough to secure the win. If they time their runs better they'll be a problem in front of goal.
14.	New Zealand	The co-hosts picked up a historic victory against Norway to begin the tournament. If they stay inspired  and keep finding Hannah Wilkinson in the box they'll continue to make history this tournament, though they've already made their lives harder after losing to the Philippines to kick off matchday 2.
15.	Colombia	Linda Caicedo is the real deal and Colombia is an absolute dark horse ready to break out the gate after a solid win against South Korea.
16.	Denmark	It took the Danes all 90 minutes to finally get the breakthrough goal against China. They'll need to find more offense if they want to best England and Haiti.
17.	Jamaica	Manager Lorne Donaldson had the Reggae Girlz prepared to tackle France and they picked up their first ever World Cup point. But a late game foul by Bunny Shaw led to a second yellow, and the star striker will miss the next match.
18.	Nigeria	The Super Falcons picked up a big point against Canada in a tough Group B match. They weren't able to find the back of the net, but it wasn't for lack of chances, and better hold up play could change things up for them.
19.	Norway	Looked completely caught off guard while facing New Zealand and lack of tactical adjustments were no where to be found. Tough opening match for a team with so much talent on the roster. A draw against Switzerland as matchday two began doesn't make their tournament any easier.
20.	Haiti	Took the game to England but was unable to find that elusive goal. Can absolutely upset China if they aren't too hindered by the loss of Jennyfer Limage after she sustained an ACL injury during the game.
21.	South Korea	Stuggled to establish themselves against Colombia. They will need a better response against Morocco.
22.	China	Despite looking rusty in their opening group game against Denmark, the steel roses just missed out a point in the dying minutes of the match. Getting Wang Shuang involved earlier might be the difference maker.
23.	South Africa	A promising start eventually slipped away in the rain against Sweden. If Thembi Kgatlana keeps up her strong form the team may still have an upset in their path.
24.	Argentina	Promising play by the Argentinians just wasn't enough to secure a draw against Italy. Estefania Banini had strong performances, and will be a key figure in playmaking down the stretch.
25.	Portugal	The debutants played the Netherlands close, but didn't offer much in the attack. They'll need to produce more than one shot on target to pick up their first ever World Cup points.
26.	Ireland	The Girls in Green had a chance to take the game to Australia with star striker Sam Kerr unavailable. They weren't able to seize the opportunity, and the group won't get any easier for them.
27.	Phillippines	The Filipinas will need to tap into their own ability to make history moving forward. They needed to find Sarina Bolden more and did just that to take down cohost New Zealand after dropping game one against Switzerland. Can they seal the deal on matchday three and clinch a shocking knockout stage berth?
28.	Costa Rica	Las Ticas struggled against Spain, but managed the game better in the second half. They need to figure out how to have a better 90 minute performance.
29.	Vietnam	Zero shots and zero attempts on target against the United States isn't a great way to start off the group stage. They'll have an opportunity against fellow debutants Portugal to turn things around.
30.	Panama	They struggled against a motivated Brazil squad. There was a spark from Riley Tanner off the bench, but the team will need to dig deep moving forward.
31.	Zambia	Feels like a series of unfortunate events have caught up to Zambia at the worst time. A short memory will be key to move on from their lopsided loss against Japan.
32.	Morocco	A tough task to take on tournament contenders Germany. Showed admirable signs of life despite the six goal loss.