The third and final fixture of Matchday 2 is Spain vs Costa Rica. After an eventful first day at the FIFA Women's World Cups, we move on to the second day where we will be witnessing two fairly inexperienced teams trying to fight it out in their opening game of the tournament. So here's the preview of the match where we provide you with necessary information about the fixture.

Read also : FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 : Philippines vs Switzerland Match preview 

Spain vs Costa Rica

Match Details

Date : 21/07/2023 (Friday, July 21)

Venue : Wellington Regional stadium (Sky Stadium), Wellington, New Zealand 

Time : GMT - 7:30 pm

IST - 1:00 am

Live streaming : Fancode and DD sports

Read also : Australia vs Republic of Ireland FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Highlights | Australia started their campaign with a 1-0 narrow victory over the debutants, Ireland

Match Preview

In the fifth match of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Spain is gonna be taking on Costa Rica, at the Wembley regional stadium. It will be only Spain's third ever World Cup appearance while Costa Rica, not being able to qualify in the 2019 World Cup, will be ready to feature for the second time in the tournament.

After being eliminated in the Round of 16, four years ago by a strong USA side, Spain will be looking to make things right this time around and play the kind of football people know them for. With the kind of team they've got and with Alexia Putellas's return to the national side Spain will be hoping to go deep in this World Cup.

The only thing the Spanish fans should worry about is the internal dispute between the players and the coach in the camp. They're coming into to this tournament with winning 8 consecutive matches and will be looking to carry on with this form.

On the other hand, Costa Rica seems to find it difficult to score against this Spanish side. They've not been managed to win 8 of their last 11 matches. It would take quite a change in fortune and game play to set things staright for the European side and get back to winning ways.

The last time these two teams met, was in the 2015 World Cup, in the same group, Group C. There was no winner in that game as a result both the teams had to satisfy themselves with an 1-1 draw. Both the teams went out in the group stages that time around but it looks highly unlikely to happen this time, atleast with Spain.

Spain vs Costa Rica possible lineups

Spain Women possible starting lineup:
Misa; Batlle, Codina, Ivana, Carmona; Bonmati, Abelleira, Putellas; Paralluelo, Caldentey, Hermoso

Costa Rica Women possible starting lineup:
Solera; Guillen, Benavides, F. Villalobos, Del Campo; G Villalobos, Alvarado, Rodriguez, Granados, Chinchilla; Herrera

The All India Football Federation has released the tentative schedule for the 2024-25 edition of Indian Women's League. Scheduled to be kicked off on 10 January 2025, IWL 2024-25 is going to be the eighth edition of the premier division of women's football league in India. 

8 teams are set to participate in the IWL 2024-25, 6 teams from last season, and two teams that achieved their promotion to the IWL from the IWL 2.

From Complete fixtures to the participating teams, here is everything you need to know about the upcoming edition of the Indian Women's League for the 2024-25 season. 

Teams to participate in the IWL 2024-25

6 out of the 7 participating teams from last season will feature in this edition, as Sports Odisha withdrew themselves from the tournament. The two promoted teams from the IWL 2, Sreebhumi Football Club and Nita Football Academy are the new inclusions this season.  

• Odisha FC Women 

• Gokulam Kerala FC

• Kickstart FC

• Sethu FC

• HOPS FC

• East Bengal FC

• Sreebhumi Football Club

• Nita Football Academy 

Teams to watch this season

1. Odisha FC Women 

Odisha FC Women have already created history as they became the first-ever Indian Club to play in a Champions League group game. They started their AFC WCL preliminary stage campaign against Singapore's Lion City Sailors with a 4-1 victory over them. Coach Crispin Chhetri and his team etched themselves in history by being the first-ever Indian team to qualify for the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 victory against Jordan's top-flight Champions, Etihad Club. 

However, the journey for Odisha FC Women in the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 ended up in quite a nightmare as they got knocked out from the group stage after losing all three group games and conceding 24 goals in total! Odisha FC Women faced the worst defeat in their history in the very first game of the WCL as the defending Asian Champions, Urawa Reds Ladies crushed Odisha by 17-0. 

Read Also | Odisha FC crowned IWL 2023-24 Champions after a near-perfect season

But it will be a different story in the IWL because Odisha FC Women will take the field as the defending champions. They finished at the top of the IWL 2023-24 table, winning 10 games out of 12 and collecting 31 points to be crowned Champions.

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 👑@OdishaFCW are crowned Indian Women’s League Champions after a fantastic season filled with dominant performances! 🤩🙌🏻#IWL 🏆 #ShePower 👧 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/acyvchFglI

— I-League (@ILeague_aiff) March 24, 2024

Odisha FC Women scored a total of 31 goals in the tournament while conceding only 4. The Indian Champions will be one of the teams to watch as they will give their all to resist every calamity to defend and retain their title. 

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup Dream

2. Gokulam Kerala FC 

Gokulam Kerala FC is the most successful Women's football club in Indian football with 3 IWL titles won in 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2022-23. They were also the runner-up last season with 29 points in 12 matches. Gokulam Women won 9 out of the 12 games and scored a staggering 33 goals in total. 

Thankful to the almighty ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0uVBrskHAi

— Fazila Ikwaput (@FazilaIkwaput) March 26, 2024

Gokulam missed out on the Championship by just two points and they will bounce back stronger this season. Gokulam's Forward Fazila Ikwaput became the highest goalscorer of the IWL 2024-25 with 13 goals, and this Ugandan international will again be donning Gokulam's shirt. 

Hemam Shilky Devi will again lead Gokulam's defence who was officially named the Best Defender of last season. Soumya Guguloth and Sandhiya Ranganathan who scored 7 and 6 goals last season respectively will again play for the title this season. 

Read Also | IWL 2023-24 Exclusive: India's top-tier women's football tournament on grounds without a single grass

Previous Winners 

Complete Fixtures 

After creating history by winning two out of two games in the preliminary round to qualify for the group stage, Odisha FC Women faced a humiliating 0-17 thrashing in their AFC Women's Champions League Group stage debut against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Vietnam on 6th October 2024. 

A horrifying start for Odisha FC Women

Urawa Reds Ladies completely outplayed the Indian Club right from the beginning of the game to the very last minute. Yu Endo started the goals galore for Urawa in the 5th minute of the game, and Yuzuho Shiokoshi produced a first-half hat-trick that led the Japanese Side to have an 8-0 lead at half-time.

Odisha FC had no answer against the 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship winners as Miki Ito scored 4 goals in the second half. The horror ended for Odisha FC with a scoreline of 17-0 against them when the final whistle was blown. 

Urawa Reds Ladies registered a total of 56 shots throughout the game and 29 of them were on target, whereas Odisha FC Women had only 1 shot but it was on target. Odisha FC could complete 196 passes only, with a 47% pass accuracy. Urawa Reds also dominated the game with 77% ball possession to create history in the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024. 

Odisha FC missed their key striker Pyari Xaxa for the game who suffered a minor accident prior to their flight to Vietnam. Another striker, Grace Haunhar was also absent from the squad for a 5-match-ban handed by AFC for a red card in Odisha's match against Etihad Club in the preliminary stage. 

Defeat. pic.twitter.com/k4fcoVFNkl

— Odisha FC Women (@OdishaFCW) October 6, 2024

Odisha FC's Pathway to the AFC WCL 2024

Odisha FC Women qualified for the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024 preliminary stage as they were the champions of the Indian Women's League 2023-24. 

Read Also | Odisha FC crowned IWL 2023-24 Champions after a near-perfect season

The Indian Champions started their AFC WCL preliminary stage campaign as they humbled Singapore's Lion City Sailors with a 4-1 victory over them. 

Odisha FC created history by being the first-ever Indian team to qualify for the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 victory against Jordan's Etihad Club. 

📑 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒! The girls have done it. They have done it. 👏🔥🇮🇳#OFCW qualifies for the Group Stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League. 🏆#odishAFC #OFCWomen | #AWCL #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/xqBR5k3xpv

— Odisha FC Women (@OdishaFCW) August 31, 2024

What's up next

Odisha FC Women will resume their group stage journey in the tournament on 9th October 2024 by taking on the Vietnamese side Ho Chi Minh City Women's Football Club.

Later, they will face the Taiwanese outfit Taichung Blue Whale FC in their final game of the group stage scheduled on 12th October 2024.

Odisha FC have secured their place in the group stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024/25 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Etihad Club of Jordan in their final Group B match. Jennifer Kankam Yeboah scored a stunning brace for the Indian club in the match on Saturday.

It was a must-win match for Odisha FC Women to become the first Indian club to qualify for the AFC Women's Champions League 2024/25.

Read Also | Historic Win for Odisha FC in their debut at the AFC Women's Champions League 2024

Half time: Odisha 1 - 0 Eithad

The match was a thrilling encounter from the start, with both teams creating early chances. Odisha's Jennifer Kankam Yeboah opened the scoring in the 27th minute after a defensive error by Etihad.

Just before halftime, both teams were reduced to 10 players following an altercation between Albtoush and Grace.

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup dream

Full time: Odisha 2 - 1 Eithad

In the second half, Etihad fought back and equalized through Maysa Jbarah in the 57th minute. However, Odisha responded quickly, with Yeboah scoring her second goal of the match in the 71st minute to seal the victory for her side.

📑 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒! The girls have done it. They have done it. 👏🔥🇮🇳#OFCW qualifies for the Group Stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League. 🏆#odishAFC #OFCWomen | #AWCL #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/xqBR5k3xpv

— Odisha FC Women (@OdishaFCW) August 31, 2024

With the win, Odisha FC finishes top of Group B with a perfect six points and will now compete in Group C against Urawa Red Diamond Ladies, Ho Chi Minh City FC, and Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football.

AFC Women's Champions League Groups

After a thrilling 4-1 win against Singapore's Lion City Sailors in the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 preliminary stage opener, the Odisha FC Women are gearing up for their final match of the preliminary stage against Jordan's Etihad Club on 31st August 2024, at 9:30 PM IST.

With an impressive win in the first match, the Odisha FC Women team showed remarkable resilience, particularly in the second half, where they scored three goals. Lynda Kom stood out with a brace, supported by strong performances from Pyari Xaxa, Grace and newly recruited defender Ibrahim Maryam.

Read Also | Historic Win for Odisha FC in their debut at the AFC Women's Champions League 2024

On the other hand, Etihad Club has strong momentum, having secured a dominant 5-0 victory over Lion City Sailors. Maysa Jbarah was the star of the show, netting four goals to lead her team to a comprehensive win. Etihad Club will be a formidable opponent with the advantage of playing on home ground and in front of their local supporters.

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup dream

The stakes are high, as the winner of this match will advance to the group stage of the AFC Women's Champions League. Head Coach, Crispin Chettri’s team will be eager to secure their spot and continue their journey in the prestigious tournament.

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A post shared by AFC Women’s Football (@afcwomensfootball)

Odisha FC Women created history by winning their debut game at the AFC Women's Champions League 2024 in Amman, Jordan, defeating Singapore's Lion City Sailors by 4-1. Linda Kom scored a stunning brace for the Indian club to create history.

In a tightly contested start to the game, Odisha FC Women took the lead in the 20th minute at the Prince Mohammad Stadium, Jordan with an own goal from Neha's well-taken corner. While Odisha should have scored more with the number of chances they got, it was Lion City Sailors who equalised in the 40th minute with a stunning shot across the goal. The first half finished with a scoreline of 1-1. 

Read Also: Odisha FC crowned IWL 2023-24 Champions after a near perfect season

Odisha FC Women came out all guns blazing in the second half and Lynda Kom scored two goals in quick succession (54, 57). With a comfortable 3-1 lead, coach Crispin took Pyari Xaxa off in the 63rd minute as she was struggling with some pain in her ankle.

Read Also | Exclusive: Here's how Football giving hope to "Mini-Brazil of India" 

Lion City Sailors kept trying but OFC's newly recruited Ibhrahim Maryam was solid at centre-back and was a solid rock for the team in the back. In the 88th minute, Sailors let in another own goal and OFC won the game comfortably with a score of 4-1 in the end.

Read Also | Exclusive Shreya Hooda: Best Goalkeeper in IWL & NFC, National team and the World Cup Dream

Odisha FC will be playing the local Jordanian team, Etihad Club, in their next game in the preliminary stage on 31st Aug 2024. The winner of the group will qualify for the Group stage of the first-ever AFC Women's Champions League. 

Disclaimer: The content is an edited version of a press release.