FRANKFURT, Germany (Nov 29, 2010) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will face Korea DPR, Colombia and Sweden in Group C at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place from June 26-July 17 in Germany. The Final Draw took place on Monday evening at the Frankfurt Congress Center in Frankfurt, Germany.
The U.S. will open Group C play against Korea DPR on June 28 in Dresden at the Rudolf-Harbig Stadium on the third match day of the tournament, face Colombia in Sinsheim on July 2 at the Rhein Neckar Arena and finish group play against Sweden on July 6 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Stadium Wolfsburg.
The USA’s group, which looks to be the most difficult of the four, features three of the top six teams in the world in the USA (1), Sweden (4) and Korea DPR (6).
“This is the best thing that could have happened,” U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage said. “It’s a tough group and that’s exactly what we need. Coming off qualifying and playing in the playoff, knowing who we’re playing and going forward puts us in an excellent position. We’ll have the chance to play against different opponents and we’ll have to adjust our tactics and that’s fun. It will be easy as we go from one game to another to focus on different things because we’re playing against different cultures.”
The USA will be grouped with Korea DPR and Sweden in first round play for the third consecutive Women’s World Cup, and Korea DPR for the fourth straight time. The meeting with Colombia will be the first-ever for the U.S. women.
Prior to the Final Draw, host Germany and the highest ranked teams in the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings from Asia, CONCACAF and South America were seeded. Germany was placed in Group A at A1, Japan was placed in Group B at B1, the United States was placed in Group C at C1 and Brazil was placed in Group D at D1.
Group A will consist of Germany, Canada, Nigeria and France. Group B is made up of Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and England and Group D is headed by Brazil, with Australia, Norway and Equatorial Guinea.
The U.S. faces North Korea for the fourth consecutive time in the Women’s World Cup, dating to the 1999 tournament in the United States. This is the second straight time the foes open group play, with a 2-2 tie coming in the opening match for the U.S. in 2007 in Chengdu, China. With that result, North Korea became the second country (the other was China in 1995) to take points away from the U.S. in group play where the two-time world champions have compiled a 13-0-2 record. Against North Korea, the U.S. has a 2-0-1 record, all in Women’s World Cup play, with eight goals scored and two allowed.
Colombia, ranked 32nd in the FIFA Women’s Rankings, qualified as the second-place team from South America and will be just the third South American opponent the U.S. has ever faced. The U.S. has beat Argentina in two meetings and has a 23-2-2 all-time record against Brazil.
For the third consecutive time, the U.S. will face Sweden in group play, but it will be the first time that the teams meet in a major tournament with former Swedish international Sundhage at the helm of the U.S. squad. The U.S. opened the 2003 Women’s World Cup with a 3-1 win against Sweden and then four years later it was a 2-0 victory in Chengdu, China, in the second match of the tournament. For the third meeting, the teams meet in their third and final group match. Abby Wambach has scored three times in those two meetings, including both goals in the 2007 match. The teams have met 27 times previously, including three total Women’s World Cup meetings (the U.S. won 3-2 to open the 1991 Women’s World Cup), with the U.S. leading the all-time series 17-3-7.
Should the U.S. advance to the second round by finishing either first or second place in Group C, it would meet a team from Group D, which features Brazil, Australia, Norway and Equatorial Guinea.
For a complete tournament schedule, fans can log onto www.ussoccer.com.
FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Groups
Group A (Berlin, Sinsheim, Frankfurt, Moenchengladbach, Dresden):
Germany
Canada
Nigeria
France
Group B (Wolfsburg, Bochum, Dresden, Leverkusen, Sinsheim, Augsburg):
Japan
New Zealand
Mexico
England
Group C (Dresden, Leverkusen, Sinsheim, Augsburg, Wolfsburg, Bochum):
USA
Korea DPR
Colombia
Sweden
Group D (Moenchengladbach, Augsburg, Wolfsburg, Bochum, Frankfurt, Leverkusen):
Brazil
Australia
Norway
Equatorial Guinea
U.S. 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Schedule
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
Venue
|
Kickoff
|
|
June 28
|
Korea DPR
|
Rudolf-Harbig Stadium; Dresden
|
TBD
|
|
July 2
|
Colombia
|
Rhein Neckar Arena; Sinsheim
|
TBD
|
|
July 6
|
Sweden
|
FIFA Women's World Cup Stadium; Wolfsburg
|
TBD
|