Ahead of the most anticipated game of the Women’s World Cup 2023 group stage — a repeat of the 2019 final between the U.S. and the Netherlands — came perhaps the most significant pre-match press conference statement, courtesy of Dutch manager Andries Jonker.

“The intensity in European football really has grown the last couple of years, as well as the fitness,” he began. “In the past, the American women were a lot fitter than the rest of the world, but I really think those days are over. If you look at the Champions League nowadays, you see the same level of intensity.”

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It was a bold statement, the classic ‘pin this up on the dressing room wall’ kind of thing that might have fired up the USWNT. But the game itself didn’t disprove the theory. For a start, it was often very physical — and shortly before her goal, Lindsey Horan seemed to think her Lyon team-mate Danielle van de Donk had been overly physical. Clearly, it wasn’t too much for the Netherlands. They coped well with Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, the reigning champions’ explosive wide duo.

But this isn’t about that individual game; the physicality has been the main theme of the World Cup so far. Watching the matches, it’s been obvious the women’s game has changed significantly, even from four years ago. Previously, the matches were slow, featuring few genuinely powerful footballers. And the players from the more established nations sometimes found it simple to brush aside the weaker sides.

But things are changing. In the aftermath of South Korea’s 2-0 loss to Colombia on Tuesday, for example, manager Colin Bell was frank about where his side lost the game — they just weren’t physical enough. “I think (these days) every team has players with power with a real physical strength, and speed, and speed of thought. And I think, at times, we were just a little bit intimidated,” he said.

“That’s the point I’m trying to make, and people need to start listening in South Korea. We need more intensity. We need more intensity in training and a higher intensity in matches. And the players need to be coming to the table with a much higher physicality and condition.”

It was a biting assessment of his players’ physical capabilities. And it was interesting to hear Bell’s reasoning for handing a debut to 16-year-old Casey Phair, the youngest player in World Cup history, born in Korea but raised in New Jersey. “We need strong, fast players with physicality,” he said. We’re looking for those type of players. And Casey can give us that energy and that power.”

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The emphasis on physicality has been a common theme of players’ and managers’ impressions of the opening round of this World Cup. Intriguingly, lots of those asked suggested the increased level of physicality was more apparent from the underdogs, helping them to compete and to keep scorelines relatively close.

“From what we’ve seen so far, it could be the most physical World Cup — and the one in which everything is most balanced physically,” said Spain manager Jorge Vilda. “Teams are working better and have more resources, which leads to closer results. That’s the future, more equality in physical terms. Football will be the winner.”

This was a common theme. “The whole physical part of the game has improved,” said Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius, in the aftermath of Sweden’s nervy come-from-behind 2-1 win over South Africa.

“I think it’s not just about the physical duels, but teams now have a lot of speed. It gives an extra dimension to the games. Teams are getting better at defending, which makes it difficult for teams to score against any opposition. There have been a couple of games where there have been a lot of goals, like the Germany game (against Morocco, a 6-0 win), for example. But aside from that, numbers have been kept down.”

Her team-mate Filippa Angeldahl said something similar. “It has become more physical, and you can see how (women’s) football has developed, and how these smaller nations also perform well. There are many factors — in some cases it’s about attitude.”

England, like the USWNT, were another side who, once upon a time, might have had a physical advantage over opponents with little experience at this level. But Haiti, as well as boasting skilful individuals in attack, were also more than ready for the physical challenge. Their centre-backs weren’t intimidated by Alessia Russo. Their full-backs weren’t outmuscled in one-against-one duels. Their power on the break was hugely impressive.

“It’s tough,” said midfielder Keira Walsh, who found herself up against the dangerous Melchie Dumornay, who both marked her and then charged past her at turnovers. “People are expecting teams like Haiti to be easy, and they are not. The games have been different, and it’s been 1-0 or 2-0. Haiti were probably one of the toughest teams I’ve played against in terms of speed on the counter-attack. You will see that more in the tournament as well. The teams that people are not expecting too much from, they have really improved.

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“If you look at the investment and facilities (compared to) what we had four or five years ago… the training that younger girls are having now, they are in the gym a lot more, which isn’t something we really had when we were younger. So naturally it is going to progress and you’re seeing that come to fruition in this tournament.”

But the question is whether the physical component of the game might dominate too much. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but one enjoyable thing about women’s football, historically, is that the technical players have been afforded space to demonstrate their creative abilities. There’s a danger they might be pressed out of the game, especially because the officiating in women’s football is curiously lenient when it comes to penalising physical challenges.

This isn’t just an issue for women’s football. At the start of the last Premier League campaign, the main focus was on ‘lighter-touch’ refereeing. In the long term, that means physical players enjoy it more, and technical players find it tougher. By the second half of the campaign, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola — who once seemed to think his sole mission in football was to promote technical play — was loading up on centre-backs like he was Tony Pulis. That’s probably not a coincidence, and nor is it a coincidence that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is spending pre-season promising that “when we want a game to become more physical, we have the options to be very, very physical”.

But, back in the women’s game, maybe the balance between technical play and physical play has been maintained — it’s simply that the women’s game is progressing in every aspect. Ahead of England’s meeting with Denmark in Sydney, both managers were keen to point out that the physical improvement is just one component that has improved.

“I think everything in women’s football has increased, in terms of the quality of football,” said Denmark manager Lars Sondergaard. “When you see the Euros last year, the high-intensity running, the sprinting, the one-against-one, the duels… it’s getting tougher. You also see the teams are getting more even, even those not ranked so high, they are also very good now. Which means it’s going to be more physical and the tempo is getting higher. There’s been an immense development in that part of the game.”

England manager Sarina Wiegman said something similar. “I think the total game increases all the time. You can talk about it being physical, but we should say ‘football-physical’. I think the demands on the game are higher, that means the intensity of the game gets higher too, and when you’re in possession it’s about decision-making, doing the right thing, being tight on the ball, and that’s what you see in this tournament so far. It’s absolutely physical, that’s because players are fitter, but they’re more capable on the ball too.”

That improved physical level in women’s football, though, bas been particularly striking at this tournament. Once upon a time, the big nations blasted the minnows off the park, and produced scorelines that invited ridicule. At World Cup 2023, they are finding it much tougher, in a very literal sense.

(Top photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)