Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023: D’Arcy Waldegrave - Here’s to the losers

Japan's Maika Hamano is dejected after defeat to Sweden in the quarter-final match at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport

OPINION

Full respect to the losers.

Without the phalanx of runners-up, we would never have been treated to the wonders of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

The losers are the beating heart of competition.

The fallen, the gallant, the overwhelming majority of athletes are those who don’t take a trip to the rarified air reserved only for the triumphant.

The peak is the championship. The desired destiny of the chosen few who persevere through selection, training and injury is standing on the summit. The apex reserved for the very best.

For the rest, the masses, there’s only defeat.

At the end of this World Cup, there will be plenty of them. Scores and scores of people. Players, coaches, support staff and fans.

All came to our shores with the highest of hopes, extraordinary self-belief and the reverie of conquest.

As of midnight on Sunday, only one team will experience the unadulterated joy of ascending their sporting Sagarmatha, or Everest as the colonising empire called her.

Scattered along the route to the holy grail of women’s football, the souls of the fallen are forgotten as the deeds of the victors are lauded.

The glory of summiting should never be minimised, but it’s the thousands who committed their time, energy and unfailing desire to their failed conquest that gives the World Cup such gravitas to the vanquisher.

The pain on the faces of the teams will always reflect the commitment that fell short, the humbling misery of failure.

In this tournament, the gracious behaviour and attitude of the athletes who must taste the astringency of second place is to be celebrated. The histrionics are at a minimum, the ability of these players to stand tall and accept their fate is aspirational. They will learn so much more about who they are, why they play and where they must lift by harnessing and holding defeat.

Failure, of course, is a relative term. To get to the World Cup, to be involved in one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, represents huge success in the first place. To bow out in the big dance is not shameful, it’s just inevitable for all but one.

There is still disappointment to be swallowed in this event - still the gut-wrenching reality of falling short. For one team to stand above all, all must be present.

Sport is the ultimate exercise in character building, from the swarm of kids chasing a ball at primary school to pinnacle events. Flourishing whatever the result might be is one of the key tenets of the sporting experience.

Respect to the losers - without you, the tournament is nothing.