Sarina Wiegman, the England head coach, has told her players to wrap up any transfer deals before they travel to Australia for the World Cup or wait to do so until after they return home to minimise distractions as they bid for a first world title Down Under.

Wiegman is understood to have initially made the request in a meeting with the team during April’s international camp and the players are all believed to be fully on board with the decision, because they all want to focus on the World Cup. The head coach does not want players to be impacted by transfer speculation while they are away at the tournament.

After the end of the World Cup on August 20, there is then a further three weeks until the Women’s Super League transfer deadline on September 14.

When is the 2023 Women’s World Cup?

The 2023 Women’s World Cup will take place from July 20 to August 20, 2023, in the southern hemisphere’s winter.

Where is it?

The tournament will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, who beat Colombia to win the vote. Venues include those which will be well known to rugby fans, such as Eden Park (Auckland), Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane), and Stadium Australia (Sydney).

Australia’s first match has been moved to a larger venue in Sydney because of “significant interest in tickets”. The 83,000-capacity Stadium Australia – the biggest stadium being used across the World Cup, and the venue for August 20’s final – will now stage Australia’s opening Group B meeting with the Republic of Ireland.

What are the fixtures?

Thursday, July 20

• New Zealand vs Norway, Group A, Eden Park, Auckland, 7pm local time/8am UK time/3am EST (BBC)
• Australia vs Ireland, Group B, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 8pm/11am/6am (ITV)

Friday, July 21

• Nigeria vs Canada, Group B, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 12.30pm/3.30am/10.30am Thu, Jul 20 (BBC)
• Philippines vs Switzerland, Group A, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, 5pm/6am/1am (ITV)
• Spain vs Costa Rica, Group C, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am (BBC)

Saturday, July 22

• USA vs Vietnam, Group E, Eden Park, Auckland, 1pm/2am/9pm Fri, Jul 21 (BBC)
• Zambia vs Japan, Group C, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 7pm/8am/3am (BBC)
• England vs Haiti, Group D, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 7.30pm/10.30am/5.30am (ITV)
• Denmark vs China, Group D, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, 8pm/1pm/8am (BBC)

Sunday, July 23

• Sweden vs South Africa, Group G, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 5pm/6am/1am (BBC)
• Netherlands vs Portugal, Group E, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am (BBC)
• France vs Jamaica, Group F, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, 8pm/11am/6am (ITV)

Monday, July 24

• Italy vs Argentina, Group G, Eden Park, Auckland, 6pm/7am/2am (ITV)
• Germany vs Morocco, Group H, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 6.30pm/9.30am/4.30am (ITV)
• Brazil vs Panama, Group F, Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, 8.30pm/noon/7am (ITV)

Tuesday, July 25

• Colombia vs South Korea, Group H, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, noon/3am/10pm Mon, Jul 24 (BBC)
• New Zealand vs Philippines, Group A, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 5.30pm/6.30am/1.30am (ITV)
• Switzerland vs Norway, Group A, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 8pm/9am/4am (ITV)

Wednesday, July 26

• Japan vs Costa Rica, Group C, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, 5pm/6am/1am (ITV)
• Spain vs Zambia, Group C, Eden Park, Auckland, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am (BBC)
• Canada vs Ireland, Group B, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, 8pm/1pm/8am (ITV)

Thursday, July 27

• USA vs Netherlands, Group E, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 1pm/2am/9pm Wed, Jul 26 (BBC)
• Portugal vs Vietnam, Group E, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am (ITV)
• Australia vs Nigeria, Group B, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 8pm/11am/6am (BBC)

Friday, July 28

• Argentina vs South Africa, Group G, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, noon/1am/8pm Thu, Jul 27 (ITV)
• England vs Denmark, Group D, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, 6.30am/9.30am/4.30am (BBC)
• China vs Haiti, Group D, Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, 8.30pm/noon/7am (ITV)

Saturday, July 29

• Sweden vs Italy, Group G, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am (BBC)
• France vs Brazil, Group F, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 8pm/11am/6am (BBC)
• Panama vs Jamaica, Group F, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, 8.30pm/1.30pm/8.30am (ITV)

Sunday, July 30

• South Korea vs Morocco, Group H, Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, 2pm/5.30am/00.30am (BBC)
• Norway vs Philippines, Group A, Eden Park, Auckland, 7pm/8am/3am (ITV)
• Switzerland vs New Zealand, Group A, Dunedin, 7pm/8am/3am (BBC)
• Germany vs Colombia, Group H, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, 7.30pm/10.30am/5.30am (BBC)

Monday, July 31

• Costa Rica vs Zambia, Group C, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 7pm/8am/3am (ITV)
• Japan vs Spain, Group C, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 7pm/8am/3am (ITV)
• Canada vs Australia, Group B, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 8pm/11am/6am (BBC)
• Ireland vs Nigeria, Group B, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 8pm/11am/6am (BBC)

Tuesday, August 1

• Portugal vs USA, Group E, Eden Park, Auckland, 7pm/8am/3am (ITV)
• Vietnam vs Netherlands, Group E, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, 7pm/8am/3am (ITV)
• Haiti vs Denmark, Group D, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, 7pm/noon/7am (ITV)
• China vs England, Group D, Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, 8.30pm/noon/7am (ITV)

Wednesday, August 2

• South Africa vs Italy, Group G, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 7pm/8am/3am (BBC)
• Argentina v Sweden, Group G, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 7pm/8am/3am (BBC)
• Panama vs France, Group F, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, 8pm/11am/6am (ITV)
• Jamaica vs Brazil, Group F, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 8pm/11am/6am (ITV)

Thursday, August 3

• South Korea vs Germany, Group H, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 8pm/11am/6am (BBC)
• Morocco vs Colombia, Group H, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, 6pm/11am/6am (BBC)

Saturday, August 5

• Round of 16: Winner A v Runner-up C, Eden Park, Auckland, 5pm/6am/1am
• Round of 16: Winner C v Runner-up A, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 8pm/9am/4am

Sunday, August 6

• Round of 16: Winner E v Runner-Up G, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, 6pm/3am/10pm Sat, Aug 5
• Round of 16: Winner G v Runner-up E, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 7pm/10am/5am

Monday 7 August

• Round of 16: Winner D v Runner-up B, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 5.30pm/8.30am/3.30am
• Round of 16: Winner B v Runner-up D, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 8.30pm/11.30am/6.30am

Tuesday, August 8

• Round of 16: Winner H v Runner-up F, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, 6pm/9am/4am
• Round of 16: Winner F v Runner-up H, Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, 8.30pm/noon/7am

Friday, August 11

• Quarter-final 1, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, 1pm/2am/9pm Thu, Aug 10
• Quarter-final 2, Eden Park, Auckland, 7.30pm/8.30am/3.30am

Saturday, August 12

• Quarter-final 3, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 5pm/8am/3am
• Quarter-final 4, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 8.30pm/11.30am/6.30am

Tuesday, August 15

• Semi-final 1, Eden Park, Auckland, 8pm/9am/4am

Wednesday, August 16

• Semi-final 2, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 8pm/11am/6am

Saturday, August 19

• Third-place play-off, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, 6pm/9am/4am

Sunday, August 20

• Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 8pm/11am/6am (ITV & BBC)

What are the groups?

• Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
• Group B: Australia, Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
• Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
• Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, China
• Group E: United States, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Portugal
• Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama
• Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
• Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea

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