June 24, 2026, officially marks one year until the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ kicks off in Brazil. The opening match won’t happen until next summer, but the story of the tournament is already taking shape.
Elle Duncan knows how important that story is to fans. Before joining Netflix, she spent nearly a decade at ESPN, anchoring SportsCenter and covering women’s college basketball, the WNBA, and hosting College GameDay. Duncan is also a lifelong women’s sports fan, and she understands why the FIFA Women’s World Cup is about more than the final score. It’s about legacy, pressure, and heartbreak. It’s also about breakout stars, national identity, and a deep belief in your team.
A longtime women’s sports fan and broadcaster, Elle Duncan says the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 storylines are already beginning to take shape — from the USWNT’s new era to Marta’s possible last dance on home soil.
That’s why, one year out, Duncan says this is exactly the time to start paying attention.
For Duncan, the runway matters because the tournament’s biggest storylines won’t appear overnight. They’ll build through qualification, roster decisions, and expectations. Rivalries and injuries as well as player returns will be important to watch.
“There’s so much that’s still to be decided before the draw,” Duncan tells Tudum. “We have a soccer audience right now drafting off of the men’s World Cup. As we pivot and shift to the women, now’s the time to really start paying attention so you can watch the storylines develop in real time. By the time you get to next June, you’ll really understand intimately what it took for all these teams to get there.”
So what should fans be watching between now and the draw? For Duncan, the road to Brazil starts with the teams, players, and pressure points — long before the first whistle.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes looks on before a SheBelieves Cup match in Harrison, New Jersey, on March 7, 2026. Hired to usher the program into its next era, Hayes enters the road to Brazil with one of the biggest jobs in world soccer: evolving a team long defined by dominance into one built to win all over again.
For decades, the US Women’s National Team was the gold standard in women’s soccer. But with qualification still ahead, the road to 2027 begins with the team entering a new cycle — one without many of the legends who defined its most dominant chapter.
“There’s no more Megan Rapinoe, there’s no more Alex Morgan, there’s no more Becky Sauerbrunn or Julie Ertz,” Duncan says. “The legends who defined [that] era are gone.”
That makes this tournament less about defending the past and more about proving future value.
“I think for the first time in decades, the USWNT isn’t trying to defend a dynasty — it’s trying to build a new one. They’re not the hunted anymore. They’re not the standard-bearer anymore. They’re the hunter.”
Duncan says that evolution is also tied to coach Emma Hayes, who took over the USWNT with the mandate to move the program forward.
“When they brought Emma Hayes in, it was not because things were going poorly. It was because good was not enough anymore,” Duncan says. “She was brought in to evolve the program.”
This is not a team trying to preserve a myth. It’s a team trying to write the next one.
Trinity Rodman during a friendly between the United States and Brazil in São Paulo on June 6, 2026. One of the most electric attacking players in the sport, Rodman enters the road to Brazil as both a familiar face of the USWNT’s next generation and one of the players who could define what comes next.
The team’s new era will not be defined by who is gone but by who steps forward. For Duncan, that starts with Trinity Rodman.
“Every great US Women’s National Team, every era of these prolific teams has a face,” Duncan says. “And this year, I think that face could become Trinity Rodman.”
“I think she’s ready for superstar status,” Duncan says. “She’s already one of the most recognizable players in the sport. She’s one of the most dangerous attackers in the world.”
Duncan is also watching the return of “Triple Espresso” — Rodman, Sophia Wilson, and Mallory Swanson — whose chemistry helped define the USWNT’s Olympic run.
“We already know what Triple Espresso did at the Olympics,” Duncan says. “I’m so excited for Trinity and Sophia and Mallory to get back together.”
The next USWNT chapter may also belong to the players still introducing themselves to a global audience, such as Alyssa Thompson.
“If Trinity Rodman is the face of the US Women’s National Team moving forward, Alyssa Thompson can use the World Cup as an introduction,” Duncan says. “I do think there’s always a breakout star, and that could be her.”
And then there’s Naomi Girma, the defender Duncan sees as central to the team’s title hopes. Not every defining player announces herself with a goal. Some do it by making sure the other team never gets the chance.
“She’s not the one getting the goal,” Duncan says. “She’s not Triple Espresso, but she might be the reason the US believes it can actually win this entire thing. We love the ones who score, but it’s the people like Naomi who do the dirty work who are ultimately going to be the separator in this.”
After a 1-0 win over England in Sydney, Spain lifted the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy for the first time in 2023 — a breakthrough moment that reshaped the conversation around the next era of women’s soccer.
If the USWNT is chasing a new era, Spain may already be defining one. In 2023, Spain won its first FIFA Women’s World Cup title, beating England 1–0 in the final in Sydney with a first-half goal from Olga Carmona. English goalkeeper Mary Earps saved a second-half penalty from Jennifer Hermoso, but Spain held on. The Spanish team turned a breakthrough tournament into a statement that the balance of power in women’s soccer had shifted.
And while the full 2027 field is still taking shape, Duncan says one possible matchup already feels like it could define the next chapter of the sport.
“I think it’s Spain versus England,” Duncan says. “I think it’s a new sort of heavyweight rivalry — a global rivalry — that drives these types of tournaments.”
That makes Spain’s road to a potential title defense more momentous. The reigning champions are not just trying to win again — they’re trying to prove this is their era.
“Spain, of course, wins the World Cup, England wins the Euros, and every single time they meet, it just feels different,” Duncan says. “So I’m really excited [to see if] this is going to be the defining rivalry of this era. Obviously, winning back-to-back World Cups would mean that Spain isn’t just incredibly talented — it’s actually a dynasty.”
Germany players celebrate in Cologne after qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 with a win over Norway on June 5, 2026. A two-time World Cup champion, Germany enters the road to Brazil with history behind it — and something to prove after a surprising early exit in 2023.
If Spain represents the new standard and the USWNT represents a changing of the guard, Germany is a reminder that even the sport’s most established powers can find themselves with something to prove.
Germany has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup twice, but its 2023 tournament ended early — it was the first time the team had ever failed to reach the knockout round. For Duncan, that makes Germany one of the most interesting traditional contenders to watch on the road to Brazil.
“I think the thing that intrigues me the most about Germany is that they’re always one of those teams that you sort of automatically pencil in to the conversation,” Duncan says. “[They’re like a] powerhouse, right? But they had a shocking group-stage exit at the [last] World Cup.”
Germany is also moving into a new chapter without Alexandra Popp, the longtime captain and one of the team’s defining players.
“Alexandra Popp is gone,” Duncan notes. “She was the face of their team, the leader of that team. For Germany, it’s never a question of whether they’re talented because we know they are. It’s also how they overcome losing one of the sport’s most decorated jerseys.”
That combination — history, disappointment, and transition — is exactly what makes Germany dangerous. A powerhouse with something to prove is still a powerhouse.
“I think Germany actually responds really well to being embarrassed,” Duncan says. “So I’m interested to see how they respond in this World Cup. But yeah, it feels like they’re a bit of a sleeping giant.”
Marta enters the pitch for Brazil during a friendly against the United States in Fortaleza on June 9, 2026. As the road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 begins, the possibility of one more tournament run on home soil gives Brazil — and one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen — one of its most emotional storylines.
Every World Cup has a heartbeat. Duncan thinks 2027’s could be Marta.
Brazil has already qualified as host, meaning the tournament will unfold on home soil for one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen — if she makes the roster. Marta is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time annual Best FIFA Women’s Player. She holds one of the most staggering records in the sport: 17 World Cup goals, the most by any woman in history. But for all she has done, Marta has never won the World Cup.
That’s what makes the possibility of one more run in Brazil feel so powerful. It’s not just a farewell tour. It’s the chance for a player who helped define the modern women’s game to chase that win — in the country where soccer is part of the national identity.
“I think every World Cup needs that emotional storyline, and there would not be a bigger one than seeing Marta on that stage — if she makes the team one final time,” Duncan says.
“The whole football world is going to be watching to see if she can finally get this title in Brazil,” Duncan adds. “It’s the emotional pull of this entire thing: ‘What can Marta do in her last dance?’”
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw celebrates after Jamaica’s scoreless draw against Brazil at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Melbourne. The result sent the Reggae Girlz to the knockout stage for the first time — and as the tournament heads to Brazil in 2027, it remains a reminder of what becomes possible when an underdog refuses to play like one.
Jamaica has not yet qualified, but Duncan is already watching the team. At the 2023 tournament, the Reggae Girlz made history by becoming the first Caribbean nation to reach the knockout stage — and they did it after a 0–0 draw that eliminated Brazil.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m all in on Team Jamaica,” says Duncan.
What makes Jamaica compelling is not just what happens on the field. It’s how improbable the team’s rise has been. The women’s national team has had to survive long gaps in institutional backing, including being disbanded after the federation stopped funding it in 2008. It then revived years later with help from Cedella Marley, Bob Marley’s daughter, who became a key ambassador and fundraiser for the team. In the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup, players and supporters turned to crowdfunding to help cover expenses.
“What I respect so much about Jamaica is that when everybody else is preparing for their opponent, they essentially have to fight within their own house,” Duncan says.
Their 2023 run seemed bigger than a typical underdog story. Jamaica didn’t just advance out of a group with France and Brazil — they did it while carrying the weight of a program that has repeatedly had to prove it deserved to exist.
Now, with striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw leading the way, Duncan says Jamaica could be dangerous if they make the field.
“If they’ve got Bunny on their side, they’ve got an opportunity.”
Performers take the stage during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 logo launch in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 25, 2026. Brazil will host the tournament for the first time, bringing the Women’s World Cup to South America for the first time — and setting the stage for what Elle Duncan calls a country ready to turn the month into “one long soccer festival.”
Brazil is hosting the Women’s World Cup for the first time, and the tournament will also be the first Women’s World Cup ever staged in South America. For Duncan, that context adds another layer.
“They’re basically just turning the entire country into one long soccer festival,” she says. “And I think it’s going to be amazing.”
Brazil is not just a setting. It is one of the central characters of this tournament.
“Soccer isn’t [just] popular in Brazil,” Duncan says. “It’s literally a part of their identity. It’s going to be a country that breathes soccer.”
The setting seems perfect: Marta’s possible final run, Brazil as host, and a tournament ready to turn women’s soccer’s global momentum into a full-scale cultural moment.
“What better place for Netflix’s inaugural World Cup to be than in Brazil?” Duncan asks. “I think it’s going to have the potential to be one of the best sports environments that we’ve ever seen.”
Before the tournament begins, the draw may be the most important storytelling moment. It determines who lands in which group, which contenders could collide early, and which underdogs might suddenly see a path.
“You don’t win the World Cup with the draw, but you can absolutely make your road a whole lot easier depending on who you get in your group,” Duncan says. “For the favorites, the draw really shapes the journey. But for the underdogs, it can actually shape the dream.”
Once the groups are set, Duncan says the conversation changes. The maybes become matchups. The story stops floating above the tournament and starts attaching itself to actual teams, opponents, and stakes.
“There’s so much speculation, but the cool thing with them doing the draw a proper six months before the tournament starts is that’s really where the storylines stop being theoretical.”
One year out, the Women’s World Cup is still taking shape. And if Duncan is right, the road to Brazil is going to be just as compelling as the tournament itself.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 kicks off on June 24, 2027 in Brazil, with all matches streaming live on Netflix in the United States and Canada. Until then, explore “Your World Cup Warm-Up Watchlist” on the Netflix homepage, a dedicated row featuring stories from beyond the pitch.
