TODAY the draw was made for the sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be played between 26 June and 17 July next year in Germany.
There were plans to expand the number of nations in the finals from 16 to 24. These plans were later scrapped when it became apparent that there would be too many sitting ducks if you will. Germany beat Argentina 11-0 in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup and it was the fear of even higher scorelines that made FIFA keep the number of finalists at 16.
The 16 countries that will battle it out in Germany are:
|
Zone |
Country |
Key Info |
|
AFC (Asia) |
Australia |
Asian Champions |
|
Japan |
Ranked 5th in the World |
|
|
North Korea |
Ranked 6th in the World |
|
|
CAF (Africa) |
Equatorial Guinea |
Making Debut |
|
Nigeria |
African Champions |
|
|
CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) |
Canada |
North American Champions |
|
Mexico |
Ranked 22nd in World |
|
|
U.S.A. |
1991 and 1999 World Champions, Ranked 1st in the World |
|
|
CONMEBOL (South America) |
Brazil |
South American Champions |
|
Colombia |
Making Debut |
|
|
OFC (Oceania) |
New Zealand |
Oceania Champions |
|
UEFA (Europe) |
England |
Ranked 10th in the World |
|
France |
Ranked 8th in the World |
|
|
Germany |
Hosts, Double Reigning World Champions, won six of last seven European Championships |
|
|
Norway |
1995 World Champions |
|
|
Sweden |
Ranked 4th in the World |
Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and U.S.A. have appeared in every women’s World Cup since its debut in 1991. Conversely, this is the first time that China have failed to appear.
The groups were drawn as follows (World Rank show as (x))…
|
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
|
Germany (Hosts and Double Reigning Champions) (2) |
Japan (5) |
U.S.A. (1) |
Brazil (3) |
|
Canada (9) |
New Zealand (23) |
North Korea (6) |
Australia (12) |
|
Nigeria (27) |
Mexico (22) |
Colombia (32) |
Norway (7) |
|
France (8) |
England (10) |
Sweden (4) |
Equatorial Guinea (62) |
England should be able to make it into the Quarter-Finals but then we could quite easily come up against Germany yet again. 
The Group of Death has to be Group C, with Colombia as the whipping girls. Leaving aside the current relationship between the U.S.A. and North Korea, we have the top, fourth and sixth ranked teams in the world in the same group!
Hold onto your hats everybody because this could get interesting.
