As the Women’s World Cup reaches day five, fans are set to finally get a chance to see the great Marta feature for Brazil in what will be her sixth World Cup.
Brazil plays Panama in Group F, while Italy takes on Argentina and Germany plays debutant Morocco.
How to watch
In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo is providing Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
Italy vs. Argentina starts at 2 a.m. ET, Germany vs. Morocco kicks off at 4:30 a.m. ET and Brazil takes on Panama at 7 a.m. ET.
Brazil vs. Panama
The build-up to this game has revolved around the magical Marta.
Only former Brazil legend Formiga, who has played in seven, has starred in more Women’s World Cups than Brazil’s talismanic No. 10.
Marta will also be looking to become the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments. Alongside Marta, Cristiano Ronaldo and Christine Sinclair have also scored in five World Cups – Sinclair missing the opportunity to score in her sixth during Canada’s opener.
If Marta were to add to her record tally of World Cup goals, she would also become the oldest player to score in the competition.
“We want to win this trophy – particularly for Marta,” Brazil’s Kerolin told reporters. “She deserves it, because of everything she’s done in the game and because of the person she is. It’s hard to put into words the kind of person she is.”
Panama has won just one of its last five games coming into the World Cup. In a group with France, Brazil and Jamaica, first-timer Panama will have its work cut out to record a first World Cup victory.
Germany vs. Morocco
Germany, one of the tournament favorites, kicks off its campaign against Morocco.
Germany came agonizingly close to winning Euro 2022, losing to England in the final, and will be hoping to go one better in its latest efforts to win silverware.
Alexandra Popp, who missed the Euro 2022 final through injury, will once again be key to Germany’s fortunes.
The striker has scored 62 goals in her 128 games for the national side and will be looking to add to this tally against Panama.
As well as Popp, Germany will rely heavily on her Wolfsburg teammate Lena Oberdorf. The incredibly talented midfielder is a driving force in the middle of the park.
The Atlas Lionesses will be looking to channel the success of their male counterparts at the 2022 World Cup. The men’s team reached the semifinals in Qatar.
However, Morocco is winless and scoreless in five, a cause for concern when taking on a team like Germany.
Italy vs. Argentina
Argentina will be hoping for a first Women’s World Cup win. In nine previous World Cup games, Argentina has lost seven and drawn two.
Like Argentina, Italy has qualified for a fourth World Cup but has fared better than its opponents in previous editions.
Italy reached the quarterfinals in 2019 and will hope to use that experience to progress to the knockout stages this year.
