Super Falcons Draw Hosts Australia, Ireland and Canada in Group B

Nigeria will play joint-hosts Australia, Canada and Republic of Ireland in Group B of the 9th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals happening in the summer of next year.

At the draw ceremony held in Auckland/Tâmaki Makaurau yesterday, it emerged that Nigeria will play Canada in her first match of the compettion to be staged in a total of nine cities (five in Australia and four in New Zealand), and which will boast 32 teams – the biggest in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since it began in China in 1991.

Joint-hosts New Zealand will battle Norway, Philllipines 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 FIFA Women’s World Cup, between China 1991 and France 2019.

The Falcons were on tour of Canada six months ago, where they played two matches against Olympic champions Canada, losing one narrowly and drawing the other. 

The 29 qualified nations can now advance their plans for next year’s tournament, which will be the first to be co-hosted by two nations from different Confederations, and the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to feature 32 teams. The Draw outcomes will also further serve to inspire the nations competing in next February’s Play-Off Tournament, as they plot their paths to the groups – D, E, and F – that require one more side to be complete.