Player to watch
France possess perhaps the group’s most accomplished natural talent in Louisa Necib, whose Algerian descent and creative brilliance have led to comparisons with Zinedine Zidane throughout her career. England would benefit from similar ingenuity and perhaps they have found it in the form of Jordan Nobbs, who seems to have been starring in Arsenal Ladies’ team forever but, at 22, is six years younger than Necib. Nobbs broke into England’s senior setup after Euro 2013 – even captaining the team against Canada in March – and is well on the way to confirming the potential that Arsenal spotted when signing her from Sunderland at 17. A central midfielder whose runs are timed with canniness beyond her years, Nobbs has outstanding energy levels and poses a serious goalscoring threat from near and far. If England can involve her as much as possible, she could well steal the thunder of more experienced opponents – and might even do so for another two or three World Cups.
Commentator’s kit
The modern Mexican women’s team was first established after a San Diego-based businessman saw the Women’s World Cup mentioned in an in-flight magazine in 1997 – and set the wheels in motion for Cuellar’s first squad to be created. Colombia’s main threat will be Yoreli Rincon, a 21-year-old midfielder who was named player of the tournament at the Copa América and already has 48 caps. She scored five times in qualifying and now plays her club football in Italy with Champions League regulars ASD Torres. The France coach, Philippe Bergeroo, who is 61 like Cuellar, once managed the PSG men’s side and has been involved with World Cup teams before: he was a back-up goalkeeper in France’s 1986 squad in Mexico and was then part of the coaching staff for their triumphant campaign in 1998. Jordan Nobbs’ father, Keith, was a player for Hartlepool in the lower divisions during the 1980s.
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