Surprised nobody's made a thread for this yet, but the 2011 Women's World Cup kicked off on Sunday with a French win over Nigeria.
The women's game doesn't receive the coverage it deserves, but maybe this tournament can change it. Germany, the hosts and hot favourites, are spearheaded by the legendary Birgit Prinz (and I mean legendary: 128 goals in 213 apps for the national team alone) and got their campaign off to a solid start against Canada, winning 2-1 courtesy of Kerstin Garefrekes and Celia Okoyino da Mbabi, with Christine Sinclair bagging a consolation for Canada with a well-taken freekick.
Brazil, as in the men's game, remain a veritable threat, with a talented squad marshalled by modern great Marta, a pacey forward with a scarcely believable scoring record (and I mean scarcely believable: 76 goals in 69 apps for the national team, 169 goals in 166 apps domestically).
There are plenty of other contenders though: the USA are solid as ever, and have arguably the finest 'keeper in the world in Hope Solo. England also harbour hopes, with talisman Kelly Smith one of the best players in the world, and other dark horses like Japan, Nigeria and Mexico all potential challengers.
Dots&Crosses will attempt to follow the English team (and I mean attempt: last time I tried to follow the national team in any capacity I got bored after one game) in their journey, which incidentally got off to an iffy start against Mexico, with Fara Williams' headed opener cancelled out by a magnificent individual effort from long range by Monica Ocampo.
So. Fixtures, matches, favourites, questionable refereeing decisions, Sepp Blatter's questionable approach to women's football - discuss it all here.