There are three matches up for decision on the fourth day of action at the Women's World Cup, but two of Sunday's encounters are shaping up as major mismatches, with France likely to outclass Jamaica and Sweden set to swat away the challenge of South Africa.
Sandwiched between those two fixtures is the clash of the Netherlands and Portugal, which promises to be a more competitive match, albeit one that the Dutch will expect to win.
Live on RTÉ Player
Sweden are determined to shake off a run of near-misses at major tournaments and are comfortable with their status as a top contender as they begin their quest for the title against South Africa.
Ranked third in the world, Sweden are traditionally a superpower in the women's game but their only triumph at a major tournament came at the 1984 European Championship.
Sweden reached last year's Euro semi-finals, lost the Olympic gold to Canada on penalties at 2020 Tokyo Games and were third at the 2019 World Cup.
Their best finish at the global showpiece was in 2003, when they were runners-up.
"Sweden is always a contender, I would say," Kosovare Asllani told reporters on Saturday. "It's not only because we are very highly ranked in world rankings, because at the end of the day that doesn't matter at all.
"But it's the way that we approach matches and tournaments, more and more players that got experience from tournaments and were more comfortable being a favourite in a sense like we've been before as well.
"Primarily, the way in which we approach this as a team, we have plenty of players with excellent qualities. Right now, I'm just dying to get out there and show people what we've been practising in the past couple of weeks."
Asllani will captain Sweden in their Group G opener in Wellington on Sunday, coach Peter Gerhardsson said.
Regular skipper Caroline Seger trained on Saturday but will start against South Africa on the bench, Gerhardsson said. The 38-year-old midfielder was included 23-player squad despite a lengthy struggle to overcome a stubborn calf problem.
"I love taking responsibility on the pitch and enjoy being involved both on and off it," Asllani said. "I think we have an incredible number of players who have leadership qualities.
"So for us it's never really been a question of who wears the captain's armband. We complement each other."
Live on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player
The Netherlands have put aside their training-pitch troubles to concentrate on their opening match against debutants Portugal on Sunday.
Coach Andries Jonker blasted FIFA on Wednesday, calling the global federation "amateurish" for the poor pitch his squad were given for training.
"We played nine against nine, on a field of 70 meters by 50 meters. That was the maximum," Jonker said on Saturday. "That's the end of that now. I don't want to dwell on it anymore. It's about the match. We're going to play football now."
The Dutch beat Portugal 3-2 in the group stages of last year's European Championship.
Team captain Sherida Spitse echoed her coach, saying their training troubles are behind them and they were focused on getting their campaign off to a good start.
"Enough has been said about the pitch," Spitse said at Saturday's press conference. "We are flexible as a group and have handled it well. We did it with the resources we have. Today we can train well. It's not too bad for us."
Jonker's side are missing their record scorer Vivianne Miedema, who is among the long list of players sidelined with torn ACLs. Miedema injured hers playing for Arsenal in December.
The Netherlands meet reigning champions United States on 27 July, but Jonker said his squad cannot look past Sunday's opener.
"This is our most important match of the group stage. We've been talking about this since 19 June, the first day of preparation. We have to win," he said. "That makes it much easier for us."
The Dutch play Vietnam on 1 August in their final group game.
Portugal, who recently held European champions England to a 0-0 draw, face Vietnam on 27 July, then the USA on 1 August.
Live on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player
France have been dealt an early blow in their quest for a maiden title as winger Selma Bacha and defender Elisa de Almeida were ruled out of their opening game against Jamaica.
Bacha was injured in France's 1-0 defeat by World Cup co-hosts Australia in a warm-up game, falling awkwardly in stoppage time before being carried off on a stretcher with an ankle injury.
De Almeida did not train on Saturday, with French media reporting that she had suffered a calf injury.
"After an injury 48 hours ago (De Almeida) can't put her foot down. It was complicated for her today, and she will not be able to start tomorrow," coach Herve Renard said.
"Selma is getting better and better. We were a bit afraid, I'm not going to lie, though we're happy that she's smiling again that she's in a good shape.
"We're not going to take a risk with her tomorrow. The competition is still a long one. We have enough players that are ready to start this first game."
Renard added that Bacha would be fit to face Brazil in France's second group match.
France's defence will come up against Khadija Shaw, who has been in fine form for Manchester City in recent months, scoring 31 goals in 30 games across all competitions for the Women's Super League side last season.
France and Olympique Lyonnais captain Wendie Renard said she was aware of the threat posed by Shaw, having crossed paths with the Jamaican striker during her spell at French side Bordeaux.
"I met her in the French league. She's capable of keeping the ball in order to allow her defence to go forward. And she's a very good striker. We know what to expect, we analyse everything on video," the defender said.
"But it won't be just her. There's a quite a lot of other players around her that play very well. She's the captain of the team. She's the best. It will be for us collectively, to work together. And to work very hard in defence.
"We know we know what to expect in this game. Tomorrow, we're going to have to step up."
France reached the semi-finals of last year's Euros, losing to Germany. They reached the quarter-finals at the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
Watch every game from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup live on RTÉ, with comprehensive coverage of the Republic of Ireland across television, radio and digital
