Those who follow the major modalities of world sport should be faced with a more typical 2023 than the previous two years, which had delayed Olympics (Tokyo-2020, which took place in 2021 due to Covid-19) and the men’s World Cup out of season, at the end of 2022.
That’s because, apart from the Women’s Football World Cup, scheduled to start on July 20, there are no major events beyond the usual calendar of competitions in the main sports.
The women’s World Cup should have a Brazilian team that mixes veterans like Marta, 36 (she will be 37 years old at the Cup), and Tamires, 35, but also young athletes, called up for recent friendlies, like Lauren, 20, from Madrid-ESP, and Geyse, 24, from Barcelona-ESP. It will be the first World Cup for the women’s team under the command of Sweden’s Pia Sundhage, who will still make the squad for the tournament.
The Americans, four-time champions and winners of the last two World Cups, defend their throne at the 2023 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The final is scheduled for the 20th of August in Sydney, Australia.
Check at the end of the text the dates of the main sports in 2023 and read more about other highlights to follow next year.
Young protagonists in European football
In men’s football, Messi’s Argentina victory in Qatar featured Mbappé, 24, a consolidated star who, even with the runner-up spot in the Cup, showed he was ready to inherit the post of best player on the planet and lead Paris Saint-Germain to the expected title of the Champions League.
On the other side of the English Channel, however, the French will have as a rival for the European Cup the English Manchester City, also without the conquest in the curriculum, but with a fast team, well assembled by Pep Guardiola and with the Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, 22 , in front —in addition to one of the highlights of the World Cup, Argentine Julián Álvarez, 22.
From the southern front will come another great opponent of the French: current champions Real Madrid, with the best player in the world, Karim Benzema, and Brazilians Vinicius Jr., 22, and Rodrygo, 21.
In Brazil
In Brazil, the also current national champion, Palmeiras, will have another year for striker Endrick, 16. Sold to Real Madrid —a transaction whose value could reach R$ 407.7 million— the jewel from Palmeiras was the revelation of this year’s Brazilian Nationals and remains at the São Paulo club until he turned 18.
Other teams reinforce their rosters for the season, which will see the return of national champions to Série A, such as Vasco, Cruzeiro and Bahia. The three adopted the SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol, sanctioned as law at the end of 2021) as a management model, and return to the elite of the sport with new expectations, management and investments.
Flamengo, in turn, with a strong squad, will defend its Copa do Brasil and Copa Libertadores titles, in addition to playing in the Club World Cup, when it can meet Real Madrid, champion of the Champions League, in the final.
Alcaraz tennis number 1
Between 2021 and 2022, the world of tennis saw the spectacular rise of Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old Spaniard who starts 2023 as the number 1 in the world ranking, while the trio that dominated the sport in the last two decades begins to say goodbye to the courts .
Roger Federer, 41, retired in September, and Rafael Nadal, 36, and Novak Djokovic, 35, while still at the top of the rankings, are expected to bid farewells in the coming years. In the female category, 2023 will also not have Serena Williams, 41, who said goodbye to the courts in 2022.
Balanced season in American basketball
Also in the NBA, the US basketball league, the season that started in 2022 invades 2023 with new and veteran stars reaching impressive numbers in several teams and making the championship one of the most disputed in recent years.
Among the many highlights are Ja Morant, 23, and Luka Doncic, 23, young men who already command their teams, with great numbers, since last season (Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, respectively). This Tuesday (27), Doncic had another spectacular performance, entitled to a draw in the last bid to force overtime and then beat the Knicks, with 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists scored – something unprecedented in league history.
At the Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron James, 37, has everything to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabar as the greatest scorer in NBA history. According to the league’s official website count this Wednesday (28), the mark of 38,387 points was 601 to be surpassed by Lebron.
With an average of around 30 points per game in 56 games played last season, the star needs 20 more games to break the record if the average is maintained – a team plays 82 games in the regular season, which has not yet reached half.
Verstappen tries the tri
In Formula 1, Dutchman Max Verstappen is looking for his third consecutive championship, after winning the duel with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in 2021 in the last race, and winning a more comfortable title in 2022, four races in advance.
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