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Anthony Nlebem.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team the Super Falcons have been handed a tricky draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup that will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The draw in Auckland on Saturday 22 October 22 placed Nigeria in Group B with joint-hosts Australia, Canada and debutant the Republic of Ireland.
Joint hosts New Zealand will battle Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland in Group A.
Nigeria, alongside USA, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Japan are the only seven countries to have featured in all previous editions of the Women’s World Cup, between China in 1991 and France in 2019.
The Super Falcons were on a tour of Canada six months ago, where they played two matches against Olympic champions Canada, losing one narrowly and drawing the other.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be played between July 20 and August 20 in Australia and New Zealand with the opening match and opening ceremony played in Auckland, New Zealand and the final taking place at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
There are 32 teams taking part in the tournament, an increase from the 24 that played in the last World Cup in France in 2019.
Five of the 32 teams will be making their maiden appearance on the world stage – Morocco, the Philippines, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia.
Full Draw
Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Group D: England, Playoff winner B, Denmark, China
Group E: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Play-off winner A
Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Play-off winner C
Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, Korea Republic
More details later…