Women's World Cup Group C teams, breakdown: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup brings together some of the greatest athletes in the world to represent 32 countries.

The teams are divided into eight groups. In the first round, the four teams in each group will compete against each other, and only two teams from each group will advance to the next round.

MORE: How to watch the World Cup, time zone math, and more questions answered

Here's a look at the teams in Group C.

Marbella , Spain - 17 February 2023; A general view of the OCEAUNZ football, the official match ball of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, before a behind closed doors training match between Republic of Ireland and Germany at Marbella Football Centre i

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Spain

Ranked 6th in the world by FIFA heading into the World Cup Spain is nicknamed "La Roja". The team has faced issues off the pitch including pay disputes, training, and players not going with boycotts. La Roja's debuted in 2015 in their first World Cup. Other issues include an ACL injury with their star player and quality captain Alexia Putellas. There is a lot of talk the 2023 powerhouse Spain team could win after finishing in the Round of 16 in 2019, their best results in the World Cup so far.

Costa Rica

Ranked 36th in the world by FIFA heading into the World Cup. The team is nicknamed "Las Ticas". This is the team’s second World Cup appearance after making their debut appearance in 201 but not qualifying for 2019. The team captain Raquel "Rocky" Rodríguez, of the Portland Thorns, scored her country’s first goal in the World Cup finals, in a 1-1 draw with Spain in 2015. Rodríguez also won the National Women’s Soccer League Rookie of the Year award.

Zambia

Ranked 77th in the world by FIFA heading into the World Cup. They are nicknamed the "Copper Queens". This is the team's first World Cup appearance. Zambia is the 7th African team to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the lowest-ranked team. They are unpredictable coming into the World Cup, but the players are athletic, quick, and play every game like it’s do or die. They have a valuable player in Barbara Banda who made her mark after becoming the first woman footballer in Olympic history to score back-to-back hat tricks and the first to score two hat tricks in the Olympics against the Netherlands and China.

Japan

Ranked 11th in the world by FIFA heading into the World Cup. They’re nicknamed the "Blue Samurai". Japan is in its rebuilding stage after being runner-up in 2015 and winning the World Cup in 2011. The team is very good technically and has younger players. Overall, Japan is maybe not at a peak but they are tough with their World Cup expectations uncertain as they are captained by Saki Kumagai. The rest of the world has caught up to the team. They’ve had a tougher run this year after beating Canada earlier in 2023 in the SheBelieves Cup. Flashy midfielder Jun Endo from Angel City FC is one to watch.