2019 Women’s World Cup | Teams, fixtures, dates

    2019 Women’s World Cup | Teams, fixtures, dates

    The 2019 Women’s World Cup pits together 24 women’s national teams of the member associations of the Federation Internationale de Football Association. The showpiece tournament in France starts on June 7 and finished on July 7. France will host the tournament for the first time in the history of the World Cup finals, with games being planned for nine cities across France. The tournament hosts take on Korea Republic at Parc des Princes in the opening game of the tournament, whilst Groupama Stadium in Lyon will host the title game.

    Host Nation

    France were among five countries which indicated interest in hosting the 2019 Women’s World Cup finals. The likes of England, Korea Republic, New Zealand and South Africa were determined to host the major tournament and in October 2014 the list was cut to two. France and South Korea were the countries which made official bids for hosting the 2019 World Cup, with the nations submitting their documents before October 31, 2014.

    Nonetheless, France eventually won the bid to host both U-20 Women’s World Cup and Women’s World Cup. As a result, France became the fourth country to host both women’s and men’s World Cup finals. The Western Europe country hosted Men’s World Cup finals on two occasions (1938, 1998).

    Qualifiers

    Slot allocation for the 2019 Women’s World Cup finals was approved on 13-14 October, 2016, with the slots for each football confederation being unchanged from those of the 2015 tournament. There was only one exception as slot for the host nation has been moved from CONCACAF (Canada) to UEFA (France).

    AFC (Asia): 5 slots

    CAF (Africa): 3 slots

    CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean): 3 slots

    CONMEBOL (South America): 2 slots

    OFC (Oceania): 1 slot

    UEFA (Europa): 8 slots

    Tournament hosts: 1 slot

    CONCACAF-CONMEBOL play-offs: 1 slot

    2019 Women’s World Cup finals started on April 3, 2017 and ended on December 1, 2018.

    Qualified nations

    A total of 24 teams will participate at the upcoming tournament in France. Rankings are shown in parenthesis.

    AFC: Australia (6), China PR (16), Japan (7), South Korea (14), Thailand (34)

    CAF: Cameroon (46), Nigeria (38), South Africa

    CONCACAF: Canada (5), Jamaica (53), USA (1)

    CONMEBOL: Argentina (37), Brazil (10), Chile (39)

    OFC: New Zealand (19)

    UEFA: England (3), France (hosts) (4), Germany (2), Italy (15), Netherlands (8), Norway (12), Scotland (20), Spain (13), Sweden (9)

    The likes of Jamaica, Scotland and South Africa qualified for the Women’s World Cup finals for the first time ever, whereas Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and USA will participate at the World Cup for the eighth time.

    Cities and Venues

    A number of modern stadiums were reconstructed for the 2018 Men’s World Cup finals in France and those venues will be used for the upcoming tournament for women. Twelve cities were candidates to host the 2019 Women’s World Cup games, with 9 stadiums eventually being chosen. The likes of Stade Marcel-Picot, Stade de la Beaujoire and Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps were cut from the list.

    2019 World Cup games will be played on 9 stadiums in France:

    Groupama Stadium, Lyon

    Groupama Stadium is the home of French side Olympique Lyon. The venue was opened on January 9, 2012, with the capacity of 59,186.

    Parc des Princes, Paris (48,583)

    Parc des Princes is one of the most beautiful stadiums of Paris. PSG’s home ground can hold up to 48,583 spectators and it was opened on June 4, 1972.

    Allianz Riviera, Nice

    Opened in September, 2013, Allianz Riviera is the home of Ligue 1 side Nice. The capacity of the venue is 35, 624, but it can hold up to 44,624 people during the concerts.

    Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier

    Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, Stade de la Mosson has a capacity of 32,900 nowadays. Ligue 1 side Montpellier welcome their rivals at the venue which was opened back in January, 1972.

    Roazhon Park, Rennes

    Roazhon Park was opened back in 1912 under the name of Stade de la Route de Lorient. Nowadays the venue is the home ground of Ligue 1 side Rennes, with the capacity of 29,164.

    Stade Oceane, Le Havre

    Stade Oceane is one of the newest stadiums in France. The venue was opened on July 12, 2012 and it has the capacity of 25,178. Ligue 2 side Le Havre play their home games at Stade Oceane.

    Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes

    Stade du Hainaut is a multi-use venue in Valenciennes. The stadium was opened on July 26, 2011, with the capacity of 25,172. The stadium can hold up to 40,000 spectators during the concerts.

    Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims

    Stade Auguste-Delaune is the home ground of Ligue 1 team Reims. The capacity of the stadium is 21, 127 and the construction cost €60 million. Stade Auguste-Delaune was opened on June 2, 1935.

    Stade des Alpes, Grenoble

    Opened on February 15, 2008, Stade des Alpes is one of most beautiful stadiums in France. Grenoble welcome their rivals at Stade des Alpes, the venue which can hold up to 20,068 fans.

    Some of these stadiums were used the 2016 Men’s European Championship: Parc Olympique in Lyon, Allianz Riviera in Nice, and Parc des Princes in Paris. PSG’s home ground hosted games at both 1998 and 1938 Men’s World Cup. Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier was used at the 1998 tournament.

    As previously mentioned, the opening game of the 2019 Women’s World Cup will be played at Parc des Princes in Paris, whilst both semi-finals and final of the tournament will be hosted by Groupama Stadium in Lyon.

    Officials

    27 referees and 48 assistant referees were elected for the 2019 World Cup finals. VAR technology will be used for the first time in the history of the World Cup.

    Referees/Support Referees

    Kate Jacewicz (Australia)

    Qin Liang (China)

    Casey Reibelt (Australia)

    Ri Hyang-ok (North Korea)

    Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)

    Lidya Tafesse Abebe (Ethiopia)

    Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)

    Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

    Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (Canada)

    Melissa Borjas (Honduras)

    Carol Chenard (Canada)

    Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

    Lucila Venegas (Mexico)

    Edina Alves Batista (Brazil)

    Maria Carvajal (Chile)

    Laura Fortunato (Argentina)

    Claudia Umpierrez (Uruguay)

    Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)

    Jana Adamkova (Czech Republic)

    Sandra Braz (Portugal)

    Stephanie Frappart (France)

    Riem Hussein (Germany)

    Katalin Kulcsar (Hungary)

    Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)

    Pustovoitova (Russia)

    Esther Staubli (Switzerland)

    Bibiana Steinhaus (Germany)

    Assistant referees

    Makoto Bozono (Japan)

    Fang Yan (China)

    Maiko Hagio (Japan)

    Hong Kum-nyo (North Korea)

    Kim Kyoung-min (South Korea)

    Lee Seul-gi (South Korea)

    Naomi Teshirogi (Japan)

    Bernadettar Kwimbira (Malawi)

    Mary Njoroge (Kenya)

    Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar)

    Queency Victoire (Mauritius)

    Chantal Boudreau (Canada)

    Princess Brown (Jamaica)

    Enedina Caudillo (Mexico)

    Mayte Chavez (Mexico)

    Felisha Mariscal (USA)

    Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)

    Shirley Perello (Honduras)

    Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing (Jamaica)

    Monica Amboya (Ecuador)

    Neuza Back (Brazil)

    Mary Blanco (Colombia)

    Mariana De Almeida (Argentina)

    Luciana Mascarana (Uruguay)

    Tatiane Sacilotti (Brazil)

    Loreto Toloza (Chile)

    Leslie Vasquez (Chile)

    Sarah Jones (New Zealand)

    Maria Salamasina (Samoa)

    Oleksandra Ardasheva (Ukraine)

    Kylie Cockburn (Scotland)

    Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)

    Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)

    Susanne Kung (Switzerland)

    Ekaterina Kurochkina (Russia)

    Julia Magnusson (Sweden)

    Sian Massey (England)

    Manuela Nicolosi (France)

    Michelle O’Neill (Republic of Ireland)

    Katrin Rafalski (Germany)

    Lisa Rashid (England)

    Lucie Ratajova (Czech Republic)

    Sanja Rođak-Karsic (Croatia)

    Maryna Striletska (Ukraine)

    Maria Sukenikova (Slovakia)

    Mihaela Tepusa (Romania)

    Katalin Torok (Hungary)

    Draw

    La Seine Musicale (Boulogne-Billancourt) hosted the draw for the 2019 Women’s World Cup finals. 24 nations were drawn into six groups of four teams.

    Pot 1: France, USA, Germany, England, Canada, Australia

    Pot 2: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Brazil, Spain, Norway

    Pot 3: South Korea, China, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, Thailand

    Pot 4: Argentina, Chile, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Jamaica

    After the draw host France were grouped with South Korea, Norway and Nigeria (Group A), whilst Germany will face the likes of China, Spain and South Africa in Group B.

    The likes of Italy, Australia, Brazil and Jamaica will competed in Group C, whereas England have been grouped with the likes of Scotland, Argentina and Japan (Group D).

    2015 World Cup hosts Canada will take on Cameroon, New Zealand and Netherlands in Group E. Fellow CONCACAF side USA have been grouped with the likes of Thailand, Chile and Sweden (Group F).

    Top two teams from each group will book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup, with four best third-placed sides advancing to the knockout stages as well.

    Ranking of the teams in the groups stages is determined as follows.

    1. Number of points won in all group games (three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat)
    2. Goal difference in all group games
    3. Number of goals netted in all group games
    4. Points won in games played between teams in question
    5. Goal difference in games played between teams in question
    6. Number of goals netted in games played between teams in question
    7. Fair play points in all group games (yellow card – 1 point, indirect red card – 3 points, direct red – 4 points, yellow card and direct red – 5 points)
    8. Drawing of lots

    Schedule and fixtures

    GROUP A

    7 June 2019, 21:00

    France vs South Korea (Parc des Princes, Paris)

    8 June 2019, 21:00

    Norway vs Nigeria (Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims)

    12 June 2019, 15:00

    Nigeria vs South Korea (Stade des Alpes, Grenoble)

    12 June 2019, 21:00

    France vs Norway (Allianz Riviera, Nice)

    17 June 2019, 21:00

    Nigeria vs France (Roazhon Park, Rennes)

    17 June 2019, 21:00

    South Korea vs Norway (Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims)

    GROUP B

    8 June 2019, 15:00

    Germany vs China PR (Roazhon Park, Rennes)

    8 June 2019, 18:00

    Spain vs South Africa (Stade Océane, Le Havre)

    12 June 2019, 18:00

    Germany vs Spain (Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes)

    13 June 2019, 21:00

    South Africa vs China PR (Parc des Princes, Paris)

    17 June 2019, 18:00

    South Africa vs Germany (Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier)

    17 June 2019, 18:00

    China PR vs Spain (Stade Océane, Le Havre)

    GROUP C

    9 June 2019, 13:00

    Australia vs Italy (Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes)

    9 June 2019, 15:30

    Brazil vs Jamaica (Stade des Alpes, Grenoble)

    13 June 2019, 18:00

    Australia vs Brazil (Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier)

    14 June 2019, 18:00

    Jamaica vs Italy (Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims)

    18 June 2019, 21:00

    Jamaica vs Australia (Stade des Alpes, Grenoble)

    18 June 2019, 21:00

    Italy vs Brazil (Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes)

    GROUP D

    9 June 2019, 18:00

    England vs Scotland (Allianz Riviera, Nice)

    10 June 2019, 18:00

    Argentina vs Japan (Parc des Princes, Paris)

    14 June 2019, 15:00

    Japan vs Scotland (Roazhon Park, Rennes)

    14 June 2019, 21:00

    England vs Argentina (Stade Océane, Le Havre)

    19 June 2019, 21:00

    Japan vs England (Allianz Riviera, Nice)

    19 June 2019, 21:00

    Scotland vs Argentina (Parc des Princes, Paris)

    GROUP E

    10 June 2019, 21:00

    Canada                vs Cameroon (Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier)

    11 June 2019, 15:00

    New Zealand vs Netherlands (Stade Océane, Le Havre)

    15 June 2019, 15:00

    Netherlands vs Cameroon (Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes)

    15 June 2019, 21:00

    Canada                vs New Zealand (Stade des Alpes, Grenoble)

    20 June 2019, 18:00

    Netherlands vs Canada (Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims)

    20 June 2019, 18:00

    Cameroon vs New Zealand (Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier)

    GROUP F

    11 June 2019, 18:00

    Chile vs Sweden (Roazhon Park, Rennes)

    11 June 2019, 21:00

    United States vs Thailand (Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims)

    16 June 2019, 15:00

    Sweden vs Thailand (Allianz Riviera, Nice)

    16 June 2019, 18:00

    United States vs Chile (Parc des Princes, Paris)

    20 June 2019, 21:00

    Sweden vs United States (Stade Océane, Le Havre)

    20 June 2019, 21:00

    Thailand vs Chile (Roazhon Park, Rennes)

    World Cup Teams

    Group A

    France

    Ranking: 4th

    World Cup record: Quarter-finals, 2015

    Coach: Corinne Diacre

    Key players: Gaetane Thiney, Amandine Henry, Wendine Renard

    Nigeria

    Ranking: 38th

    World Cup record: Quarter-finals, 1999

    Coach: Thomas Dennerby

    Key Players: Tochuwku Oluehi, Onome Ebi, Francisca Ordega

    Norway

    Ranking: 13

    World Cup record: Champions, 1995

    Coach: Martin Sjogren

    Key players: Isabell Herlovsen, Maren Mjelde, Caroline Graham Hansen

    South Korea

    Ranking: 14th

    World Cup record: Round of 16, 2015

    Coach: Yoon Deok-yeo

    Key players: Cho So-hyun, Jeon Ga-eul, Ji So-yun

    Group B

    Germany

    Ranking: 2nd

    World Cup record: Champions 2003, 2007

    Coach: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg

    Key players: Alexandra Popp, Dzsenifer Maroszan, Almuth Schult

    China

    Ranking: 16th

    World Cup record: Runner-up, 1999

    Coach: Jia Xiuquan

    Key players: Li Ying, Wang Shanshan, Wang Shuang

    Spain

    Ranking: 13th

    World Cup record: Group stages, 2015

    Coach: Jorge Vilda

    Key Players: Marta Torrejon, Amanda Sampedro, Virginia Sampedro

    South Africa

    Ranking: 49th

    World Cup record: First appearance

    Coach: Desiree Ellis

    Key players: Thembi Kgatlana, Lebohang Ramalepe, Janine Van Wyk

    Group C

    Australia

    Ranking: 6th

    World Cup record: Quarter-finals, 2007

    Coach: Ante Milicic

    Key players: Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Kyah Simon

    Italy

    Ranking: 15th

    World Cup record: Quarter-finals, 1991

    Coach: Milena Bertolini

    Key players: Laura Giuliani, Sara Gama, Barbara Bonansea

    Brazil

    Ranking: 10th

    World Cup record: Runner-up, 2007

    Coach: Vadao

    Key players; Marta, Cristiane, Debinha

    Jamaica

    Ranking: 53rd

    World Cup record: First appearance

    Coach: Hue Menzies

    Key players: Konya Plummer, Jody Brown, Khadija Shaw

    Group D

    England

    Ranking: 3rd

    World Cup record: Bronze medal, 2015

    Coach: Phil Neville

    Key players: Jodie Taylor, Lucy Bronze, Steph Houghton

    Scotland

    Ranking: 20th

    World Cup record: First appearance

    Coach: Shelley Kerr

    Key players: Rachel Corsie, Jennifer Beattie, Kim Little

    Argentina

    Ranking: 37th

    World Cup record: Group stages, 2003, 2007

    Coach: Carlos Borrello

    Key players: Belen Potassa, Soledad Jaimes, Estefania Banini

    Japan

    Ranking: 7th

    World Cup record: Champions, 2011

    Coach: Asako Takakura

    Key players: Kumi Yokoyama, Saki Kumagai, Rumi Utsugi

    Group E

    Canada

    Ranking: 5th

    World Cup record: Semi-finals, 2003

    Coach: Kenneth Heiner-Moller

    Key players: Christine Sinclair, Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence

    Cameroon

    Ranking: 46th

    World Cup record: Round of 16, 2015

    Coach: Alain Djeumfa

    Key players: Madeleine Ngono, Gaelle Enganamouit, Christine Manie

    New Zealand

    Ranking: 19th

    World Cup record: Group stages, 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015

    Coach: Tom Sermanni

    Key players: Katie Bowen, Erin Nayler, Sarah Gregorius

    Netherlands

    Ranking: 8th

    World Cup record: Round of 16, 2015

    Coach: Sarina Wiegman

    Key players: Lieke Martens, Shanice van de Sanden, Loes Geurts

    Group F

    United States of America

    Ranking: 1st

    World Cup record: Champions 1991, 1999, 2015

    Coach: Jill Ellis

    Key players: Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan

    Thailand

    Ranking: 34th

    World Cup record: Group stages, 2015

    Coach: Nuengruethai Sathongwien

    Key players: Rattikan Thongsombut, Kanjana Sungngoen, Wilaiporn Boothduang

    Chile

    Ranking: 39th

    World Cup record: First appearance

    Coach: Jose Letelier

    Key players: Christiane Endler, Carla Guerrero, Francisca Lara

    Sweden

    Ranking: 9th

    World Cup record: Runner-up, 2003

    Coach: Peter Gerhardsson

    Key players: Caroline Seger, Stina Blackstenius, Hedvig Lindahl