An expanded 32-team Women’s World Cup means that, for the first time, countries are divided into eight groups, with the top two going through to the round of 16.
Given those eight additional places, it is perhaps not surprising there are eight teams making their World Cup debuts, meaning there is expected to be some disparity between debutants and the more established nations in the early matches.
But the top-ranked sides might not have it all their own way. Zambia, the lowest-ranked country in the tournament, recently stunned second-ranked Germany in a friendly, while Haiti have only lost by a single goal to Nigeria and South Korea in recent months.
Co-hosts Australia are among the favourites, but they find themselves in this year’s Group of Death alongside Nigeria, Canada and the Republic of Ireland, so will they even make it to the knockout stages?
Group F contains a heavyweight clash, with France coming up against Brazil, while Group E offers a repeat of the 2019 final between the U.S. and the Netherlands.
The World Cup groups have been drawn as follows — and you can get the lowdown below with our bumper guides…
Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B: Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Republic of Ireland
Group C: Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, Zambia
Group D:…
