This article is part of the Guardian’s Women’s World Cup 2023 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 20 July.
Overview
With the expansion of the tournament to accommodate 32 teams, China found their path to qualification smoothed considerably thanks to the availability of at least five places in the Asian Football Confederation (especially with Australia qualifying as hosts). After triumphing 3-1 over Vietnam in the quarter-final of the 2022 AFC Asian Cup, the Steel Roses secured their place.