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World Cup 2023: England Lionesses drawn to face Denmark and China

USA lift World Cup trophy
The USA are going for a third consecutive World Cup, a feat which no team, men’s or women’s, has ever achieved

European champions England will face Denmark and China at the Women’s World Cup in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.

They will be joined by either Senegal, Haiti or Chile in Group D.

The Lionesses will be based in Australia, with group games in Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.

The Republic of Ireland, making their tournament debut, are in Group B with co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada and Nigeria.

The Republic will also be based in Australia, with group games in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

China are ranked 15th in the world and were runners-up in 1999, missing out to the USA, while Denmark were Euros runners-up in 2017, losing out to the Netherlands.

Reigning champions the USA, who have won the last two World Cups and are going for an unprecedented third, will face the Netherlands in Group E in a repeat of the 2019 final, along with Vietnam and one of Cameroon, Thailand or Portugal.

The tournament begins on 20 July with co-hosts New Zealand taking on Norway in the opening match in Auckland, New Zealand and the final will take place on 20 August at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

There are 32 teams taking part in the tournament, an increase on the 24 that played in the last World Cup in France in 2019.

Of the 32 teams, five will be making their maiden appearance on the world stage – Morocco, the Philippines, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia.

Groups A, C, E and G will play all of their group matches in New Zealand while Groups B, D, F and H will play all their group games in Australia.

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, Senegal/Haiti/Chile, Denmark, China

Group E: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Cameroon/Thailand/Portugal

Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Chinese Taipei/Paraguay/PNG/Panama

Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina

Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, Korea Republic

When will the other qualifiers be decided?

A 10-team tournament will take place in New Zealand in February 2023 to decide the last three finalists.

The teams will be split into three groups, two of three teams and one of four, with each group playing its own knockout competition.

In the two three-team groups, the seeded team will go straight to the final and meet the winners of the semi-final between the other two sides.

The 10 teams involved are Portugal, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Cameroon, Senegal, Haiti, Panama, Chile, Paraguay and Papua New Guinea.

When will England play?

England will begin their World Cup campaign in Brisbane against one of Senegal, Haiti or Chile on 22 July before facing Denmark in Sydney on 28 July and then China in Adelaide on 1 August.

Should they make it out of their group the Lionesses could face the winner or runners-up of Group B in the last 16, meaning they could come up against co-hosts Australia or Olympic champions Canada.

Progression through the last 16 could set up a possible meeting with Germany in the quarter-finals, who England beat in the final of the Euros.

If both England and the USA were to win their groups, they cannot meet until the final.

Republic of Ireland celebrate World Cup qualification
The Republic of Ireland made it to Round 2 of the World Cup qualifier play-offs where they beat Scotland 1-0 to progress

The Republic of Ireland, who beat Scotland to qualify for their first ever World Cup, face a daunting task in Group B, beginning their tournament against the Matildas in Sydney on July 20.

They will the face Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Canada in Perth on July 26 before taking on Nigeria in Brisbane on July 31.

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