U.S.A. Draw North Korea, Colombia and Sweden in 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The U.S. Women’s National Team have drawn North Korea, Columbia and Sweden for next summer’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be held in Germany.
Breakdown
Here is a breakdown of the four groups of 16 teams with their FIFA rankings.
Group A: Germany (2), Canada (9), Nigeria (27), France (8).
Group B: Japan (5), Mexico (22), New Zealand (23), England (10).
Group C: USA (1), North Korea (6), Colombia (32), Sweden (4).
Group D: Brazil (3), Australia (12), Equatorial Guinea (NR), Norway (7).
Analyzing
Group A is said to be the “group of death” but group C is nearly as difficult. The U.S. should be able to take Colombia in their first-ever World Cup. They are ranked #32 in the FIFA World Rankings. But the USWNT will also face sixth-ranked North Korea and Sweden, who are ranked 4th. Group B looks the easiest and should assure the host nation Germany a ticket into the second round.
Looking Back
Oddly, the grouping for the US is almost the same as it was in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, with Colombia the only team that is different. Nigeria was grouped with the USA, North Korea and Sweden in those two World Cups.
In 2003 the US finished 1st in their group with all 9 points and Sweden came in 2nd with 6 points. The US beat Norway 1-0 in the quarterfinals but lost to Germany 3-0 in the semifinals. Germany went on to win the tournament with a 2-1 win over Sweden.
The US finished atop their group again in 2007 with 7 points and Korea DPR finished 2nd, tied with Sweden with 4 points. But Korea moved through with a +1 goal differential to Sweden’s -1.The USA went on to beat England 3-0 in the quarterfinals and were defeated in the semifinals again, this time by Brazil 4-0. Germany beat Brazil 2-0 to win the 2007 competition.
Schedule
The USA schedule is:
June 28 vs. North Korea in Dresden
July 2 vs. Colombia in Sinsheim
July 6 vs. Sweden in Wolfsburg
Looking ahead
If the Americans were to make it through, they most likely would play Brazil or Norway on July 10, two teams they are very familiar with.
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Go Norway!
oh yeah and the USA