The first women’s World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere and with an expanded 32 teams promises great excitement after the group stages were drawn.
The United States will face their 2019 final opponents the Netherlands in a group that also includes Vietnam. Whoever wins the qualifying playoffs out of Portugal, Thailand or Cameroon will complete the group.
Euro 2022 winners England face Denmark, China, and the winner of a playoff among Senegal, Haiti and Chile.
Germany, who have won the World Cup twice and finished runners-up at the Euros this summer, will play in Australia, like England, and face Morocco, Columbia and South Korea.
“We’re looking forward to having three very different teams that will give us different challenges. But we want to solve them, so we are preparing for it from now one,” head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said afterwards.
Captain Alexandra Popp told Sportschau she was “very happy” about the draw, adding: “We have the pressure of clearly being the favorite to top the group.”
For Joti Chatzialexiou, managing director of all Germany’s football teams, added that there was “no room for a slip up in the group stages” and that the goal was “to win the group and go as far as possible in the knockouts.”
Group B looks the most intriguing, with co-host Australia up against Olympic champions Canada, first-time qualifiers Ireland and Nigeria.
Other highlights include Group G with Sweden, South Africa, Italy and Argentina, and Brazil and France both in Group F
New Zealand will play former champions Norway in the opening game in Auckland on July 20, with the final set to be played in Sydney on August 20.
jh/mkg (dpa, SID)
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