AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Holders and
four-time champions the US will face the Netherlands in the group phase of next
year’s
FIFA Women’s World Cup in a repeat of the 2019 final.
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Megan Rapinoe’s US team will also meet debutants
Vietnam and a play-off winner at the finals in Australia and New Zealand,
following the draw in Auckland on Saturday.
European champions England, the pre-tournament
favorites together with the Americans, will play China, Denmark, and one of
Senegal, Haiti, or Chile.
Led by veteran forward Rapinoe, the US are top of
the FIFA rankings and going for a third crown in a row, having beaten the Dutch
2–0 in the 2019 final.
Germany, Sweden, France, and Spain will also be
sides to watch out for when the World Cup is staged at 10 stadiums in New
Zealand and Australia from July 20 to August 20, 2023.
The opening match will be co-hosts New Zealand
against former champions Norway in Auckland.
With 32 teams — divided into eight groups of four —
it will be the largest FIFA Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in
1991.
The US will meet minnows Vietnam to start their
campaign, then up next will be the Dutch. Their other game will be against
Portugal, Cameroon, or Thailand.
“We’re excited about the match-ups. It’s a pretty
tough group, but at the same time it’s going to be good games, especially
against Holland,” said US coach
Vlatko Andonovski.
“The Dutch are very good, they have always been one
of the top teams, they won the previous Euro and got into the final of the last
World Cup,” Andonovski said. “I expect a huge challenge for us.”
Andries Jonker, the Netherlands coach, called the
clash with the Americans “huge for them and us, it’s a really big challenge”.
“If you want to win this trophy, you have to beat
them,” he added.
American two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd led
the draw with former England striker Ian Wright among those helping out at a
ceremony attended by about 800 people at Auckland’s Aotea Centre.
The ceremony, with England coach Sarina Wiegman and
New Zealand Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern among the guests, opened with a nod
to New Zealand and Australia’s Indigenous culture.
Ardern calls the 2023 World Cup “the world’s largest
women’s sporting event ever”.
Beforehand, FIFA president Gianni Infantino
criticized television broadcasters who have offered “100 times less” to screen
the Women’s World Cup compared to the men’s.
Global interest in the World Cup is anticipated to
be at an all-time high, with women’s football enjoying a surge in popularity in
some countries.
The Women’s Euros final in July between hosts
England and rivals Germany at Wembley drew 87,192 spectators, a record for both
a men’s or women’s European championship.
Chloe Kelly scored in extra-time to give England a
breathless 2–1 victory in front of a sell-out crowd and their first major title
in women’s football.
Wiegman’s side backed that up with a 2–1 win over a
young US team, in front of another bumper crowd at Wembley Stadium, earlier
this month.
The US then lost to Spain in another friendly.
While women’s football is booming in countries such
as England, and is already well-established in France, some nations are only
just getting started.
The Philippines, Morocco, Republic of Ireland,
Vietnam, and Zambia will all be competing at the Women’s World Cup for the
first time.
A play-off tournament in February will decide who
takes the remaining three spots of the 32.
Australia and New Zealand will host one semi-final each,
with the August 20 final at the 83,000-capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney.
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