ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for following!

The six groups are all set. Here they are.

Group A: France, South Korea, Norway, Nigeria

Group B: Germany, China, Spain, South Africa

Group C: Australia, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica

Group D: England, Scotland, Argentina, Japan

Group E: Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, Netherlands

Group F: United States, Thailand, Chile, Sweden

Thanks for following. This is Aaron Bellamy signing off. Check back shortly at VAVEL.com for articles about the upcoming Women's World Cup in France! I'll be providing coverage from France for the knockout round this summer.

Groups E and F don't look competitive

For both Groups E and F, there is a massive difference in talent between the top two teams and the bottom two.

Canada and Netherlands are equally talented in Group E, but Cameroon and New Zealand are long-shots to really challenge them.

The United States needs to worry about Sweden, who they historically have trouble with, but Chile and Thailand don't provide much of a challenge.

Groups A and B highlight the tournament

With three teams in the top-14 in the world and the best team in Africa, Group A is very difficult to predict.

Group B is similarly difficult, but the fourth team (South Africa) doesn't have the same pedigree as Germany, China, and Spain.

Chile is the final country drawn

That means that the United States will face off against Thailand, Chile, and Sweden.

Cameroon goes to Group E

Cameroon has a real shot of making it out of Group E. 

Jamaica gets a tough draw

It was always going to be a long shot for Jamaica to make it out of the Group Stage, but Australia, Italy, and Brazil are very stiff competition.

Argentina cannot go to Group C

Instead, they go to Group D, where they will face England, Scotland, and Japan. They could have been in worse shape. Group D is definitely better for them.

South Africa falls to Group B

South Africa will have a difficult World Cup debut with Germany, China, and Spain.

Nigeria goes into Group A

There are no weak teams in Group A. Definitely a tough challenge for the hosts.

Thailand, therefore, goes into Group F

This is the weakest team in Pot Three. Sweden and United States should be rejoicing.

New Zealand drops into Group E

One of the less-strong Pot Three teams goes with Canada and Netherlands. They take the E3 spot.

Scotland goes to Group D

England and Japan will have Kim Little and Scotland in their group. Amazing that the two teams from Great Britain are together.

China will go into Group B

China PR fills in Group B, and goes into the B2 slot.

Italy is drawn, our first skip

Italy must go into Group C, since B already has two European teams. Italy takes the C2 spot.

South Korea goes into Group A

Korea Republic will play in the opening match against France on June 7th.

Sweden is in Group F

Wow, Sweden drops into Group F with the United States. There's a big rivalry there. They will play in the last round of the group stage with Sweden going into F4.

Netherlands join Canada in Group E

Those two teams are pretty equally rated. It should be a great match as the Netherlands are drawn into the fourth spot.

Japan draws into Group D

Only the Netherlands and Sweden remain. Those were the two teams that the USA didn't want to face.

Japan goes down into the fourth spot in the group.

Brazil goes into Group C

This means that Group C will have to include either Scotland or Italy. Amazingly, Brazil is also drawn into the third spot in the group.

Spain goes into Group B

With Germany and Spain in Group B, no more European teams can be drawn into that group. They are also drawn into the third position.

Norway goes into Group A

This means that no more European teams can be drawn into Group A. Norway is drawn into the A3 position.

The United States are drawn into Group F

Group F is now the group that nobody wants to be drawn into. 

Canada is drawn

The Group E leader is Canda. The only one left is the United States.

England is fourth

England draws into Group D. They are looking to make their first World Cup final.

Australia is third

The Australians are drawn into Group C! 

Germany is B1!

Germany is drawn second, and goes into the B1 position.

France is drawn!

The red ball contains France! They are drawn into Group A. No surprise there.

The red ball

If you're not familiar with World Cup draws, that red ball in Pot One holds the host nation's name. They will be ceremonially drawn into Group A, and their opening match will be the only one played on the first day of the tournament (June 7th).

The four new teams

This World Cup will feature four debutantes. Scotland, Chile, South Africa, and Jamaica will all be making their first trip to the Women's World Cup in France this summer. The highest ranked of those teams is Scotland, who was drawn into Pot Three. The other three are in Pot Four.

Carli Lloyd presents the 2015 trophy

Lloyd's hat-trick performance at the 2015 World Cup final pushed the United States over Japan in a 5-2 victory. She isn't the same player that she was then, and it seems like she has been relegated to a substitute role for 2019. She keeps making comments about wanting to break back into the starting roster, but she has been working well as a substitute for the USWNT lately.

The second act

The second act of the Opening Ceremony involves male and female acrobats playing with a soccer ball and dancing. It's pretty clear that they are trying to present an equality message, but it'll be more telling if they try to bring the same message to the 2022 Men's World Cup. My instinct is that they won't.

France is presenting the World Cup now

A very Parisian opening. Ballet dancers are covering up strategic parts of a screen to draw iconic images from each of the host cities. It's a very beautiful display. 

You can watch all of the action on FS2 if you're interested!

The United States of America, as the best team in the world, will sit in Pot One and will head one of the other five groups. The other teams in Pot One are France, Germany, England, Canada, and Australia. Those teams cannot be drawn into the same group as the USWNT.
 

Getting ready for the draw

Welcome to one of the biggest events in women's soccer! In just one hour the 24 teams that qualified for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France will be drawn into six different groups and learn their schedules for the biggest tournament in soccer. The host, France, will be drawn into the first spot in Group A, but the fates of the other 23 teams are yet to be determined. My name is Aaron Bellamy, and I will provide you with LIVE updates as the teams are drawn and the field is set. You'll also get an analysis of the relative difficulty of different groups based on recent records from each of the teams involved. It should be a great time, so stay tuned as the 2019 Women's World Cup field is set!

VAVEL Logo
About the author