The draw has been made for the tournament’s group stage, with hosts Australia and New Zealand receiving favorable placements and Jamaica receiving yet another difficult one. The most notable outcome of the 2023 Women’s World Cup group stage draw was a rematch of the 2019 championship game, with the United States women’s national team paired with the Netherlands and a tasty-looking group of death consisting of France, Brazil, and Jamaica.
The competition brought us a little bit closer to the biggest tournament ever, which will take place next summer in Australia and New Zealand and will include 32 teams for the first time. The play-off event in February is still needed to clinch three of those berths, but once the groups were determined, the 10 countries now have more information about the positions they are vying for.
The Performing Side:
USWNT: When the Netherlands was the U.S. women’s national team’s first opponent in the draw on Saturday, there may have been concerns from American supporters that the group could prove to be quite difficult. Despite the presence of their rivals from the 2019 Women’s World Cup final, Vlatko Andonovski’s team then secured a debutante, in Vietnam, and a play-off winner to fill out a very nice pool.
They should also receive a nice knockout round run if they win the group. They would face the winner or runner-up of Group A, considered the weakest group in the competition, in the quarterfinals. In the round of 16, they would face the runner-up of Group G, where Sweden shouldn’t face much competition for first place.
England: England would have soon lost rather than won from this draw if a stronger team from Pot 2 had been assigned to their group on Saturday because it would have made their pool one of the toughest of the eight. However, China was dealt to the European champions before a challenging Denmark emerged from Pot 3. The Asian nation is not without quality, as was demonstrated earlier this year when they won the Asian Cup, but their defense is undoubtedly chaotic.
The Lionesses will also benefit from being the only team in Group D that won’t have to undertake the demanding trek to Perth. In the knockout rounds, Sarina Wiegman’s team will likely face the tournament hosts, Australia, and then Germany in the quarterfinals. However, it would be unrealistic to anticipate an easy ride during those World Cup stages. They will believe they can defeat anyone after this past summer and their recent victory over the USWNT.
Australia: Given that neither country would have been in Pot A without having the privilege of serving as hosts, it was always going to be the case that both Australia and New Zealand would profit from this draw. New Zealand, which has participated in five World Cup competitions but has never advanced past the group stage, outperformed its neighbors, earning possibly the most challenging group of the eight.
It’s not a group of death, but rather one in which it’s challenging to identify which squad is strong enough to be considered a serious contender for first place. Norway would typically be the favorite, with Switzerland and the Philippines rounding up the first pool, but the Scandinavian country had a particularly difficult summer in Europe. Although Australia’s draw is more difficult, they will still be regarded as the second-strongest team in Group B because they dodged an especially difficult situation.
The Spoilers Side:
Jamaica: Following its selection for the “group of death” in 2019, Jamaica was dealt that destiny once more for 2023. In their second World Cup campaign, The Reggae Girlz will take on France, a team that reached the semifinals of the Euros this past summer, as well as Brazil once more. There is little question about Jamaica’s team’s talent, which is led by Manchester City attacker Bunny Shaw, but it will be difficult to place in the top two.
It won’t help that they are one of the teams who must travel far west to Perth for their second game, a city that is about 2,000 miles from Sydney, where their first game will be played. If they make it to the knockout rounds, the draw doesn’t get any easier because Germany would advance to the next round if they finished second.
The Republic of Ireland: The Republic of Ireland made history this month by qualifying for their first-ever international women’s event, and the draw made clear just how significant qualifying for a World Cup is. The tournament’s only other African country to compete in every edition, Nigeria, is in the group with Olympic gold medalists Canada, hosts Australia, and the debutantes. On the one hand, there are several ways for them to escape from it.
From Katie McCabe of Arsenal to Denise O’Sullivan, one of the most esteemed midfielders in the NWSL, the premier league in the United States, Ireland has shown their talent during the qualification process. There won’t be any simple victories in it, though. Every game will be a significant challenge. If they place in the top two, which they can do, then they will play either England or Denmark in the following round. Whatever transpires, the Girls in Green’s inaugural World Cup will be a star-studded occasion.
Play-off Winners: It was always going to be difficult for anyone in Pot 4 to obtain a favorable draw, but none of the groups in which the play-off champions were put seemed like they may be on the scene of a major upset.
The USWNT and the Netherlands, who played in 2019 final, will be the opponents of the play-off A winners. The European champions, England, will be the opponent of the play-off B winners. The play-off C winners will join France, Brazil, and Jamaica in the so-called group of death. Six of the ten teams in the play-off round are nations hoping to qualify for their first World Cup, therefore these are thrilling but intimidating draws for those nations.
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