France against Brazil, Jamaica and a play-off
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The French women’s football team inherits from a rather lenient group in the 2023 World Cup draws
, the first round of which is scheduled for July 20 to August 3, 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. Wendie Renard’s Bleues have been placed in a group that includes Brazil, as well as Jamaica and a play-off whose identity is still unknown. They are therefore in a different picture from that of the United States, their executioner in the quarter-finals of the 2019 edition on home soil, which ensures that they do not face the reigning double world champions before the eventual final on August 20 in Sydney.
They avoid Americans
Nine months before the tournament in the southern hemisphere, the horizon cleared during a happy ceremony for the Blues, lucky during the draw made at the Aotea Center in Auckland. The semi-finalists of the last Euro have an appointment on July 23 in Sydney against Jamaica. They will then head to Brisbane to face the Brazilians six days later, before returning to Sydney on August 2 to meet a play-off (among Taiwan, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and Panama) whose identity will be known in February.
Corinne Deacon’s team will set up their base camp in Australia, where they will play all of their tournament matches, with the hope of reaching the first final in its history, on August 20 in Sydney. On the way to Stadium Australia, Les Bleues will not cross paths with the United States, double reigning world champions who had broken their title dream in 2019 at home. Megan Rapinoe’s « Team USA » is poured into another part of the table (in group E, see below).
The French, fifth in the Fifa rankings, benefited from a seeded status which sheltered them in the first round from any shock against the United States, the English freshly titled at the European Championship, or even the Germany, Spain, Sweden and the two host countries.
« This group will not be easy, with Brazil and Jamaica. » – Corinne Deacon, coach of the French women’s football team
« This group will not be easy, with Brazil and Jamaica. Like the thirty-two qualified, we will have important teams to play before hoping to qualify for the round of 16 » reacted Corinne Deacon, the coach of the Blue. « We will play Jamaica first, we will have to start the competition well already. The first place should be decided between Brazil and us, but we must not underestimate Jamaica and the country which will join us in February. »
France-Brazil as in 2019
A bad pick was not to be excluded among the members of hat 2. But they dodged the Canadian Olympic champions, Norway of Ada Hegerberg, Japan crowned in 2011 and the Netherlands of Vivianne Miedema. Instead, they fell to Brazil, a team that has never beaten them. This will awaken the memory of the 2019 World Cup, an unbreathable round of 16 in Le Havre won 2-1 in extra time thanks to a goal from Amandine Henry.
In hat 3, Pernille Harder’s Denmark had to be avoided and the tricolors inherited Jamaica, which will give rise to an unprecedented confrontation in Australia. The Jamaican selection includes Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw, who passed through Bordeaux. For its part, New Zealand fell on Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland. Australia will meet the Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and especially Canada. In Group E, there will be a repeat of the 2019 final between the United States and the Netherlands. The pool will be completed by Vietnam and a play-off.
The ninth Women’s World Cup will be unprecedented in more than one round: the first with thirty-two teams, the first in the southern hemisphere and the first to be co-organized by two countries. After the audience success of the 2019 edition in France, Fifa hopes to transform the test in Oceania.
The composition of the eight groups
Group A
- Teams: New Zealand (hosts), Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
- Host cities: Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton in New Zealand
Group B
- Teams: Australia (hosts), Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
- Host cities: Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in Australia.
Group C
- Teams: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
- Host cities: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand
Group D
- Teams: England, play-off, Denmark, China
- Host cities: Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney in Australia
Group E
- Teams: United States (defending champions), Vietnam, Netherlands, play-off
- Host cities: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand
Group F
- Teams: France, Jamaica, Brazil, play-off
- Host cities: Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney in Australia
Group G
- Teams: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
- Host cities: Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington in New Zealand
Group H
- Teams: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea
- Host cities: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia
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