By Canadian Press

Canada women to face Australia, Ireland and Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA World Cup

Oct 22, 2022 | 1:11 AM

Canada has been drawn with co-host Australia, Ireland and Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Saturday’s draw was relatively kind to the seventh-ranked Canadians, who avoided several heavyweights when they were placed in Group B alongside Australia. The 13th-ranked Matildas were the second-lowest-ranked team they could have faced out of Pot 1. Only co-host New Zealand, at No. 22, had a lower ranking in the pot containing the co-hosts and top seeds.

Canada defeated Australia twice in September, 1-0 and 2-1 in Brisbane and Sydney respectively, and is 6-2-2 against the Matildas this century.

Ireland, ranked 24th, will be making its World Cup debut. The Canadians won their only meeting with Ireland, 2-1 in 2014.

But the draw did not do Canada any favours in No. 45 Nigeria, the highest-ranked team in Pot 4. The Super Falcons have never missed a World Cup and made the quarterfinals in 1999. Canada is 2-1-2 against Nigeria.

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The Olympic champion Canadians will play their opening-round games in Australia, starting with Nigeria

It’s the first Women’s World Cup to be held in two countries, the first with an expanded 32-country field, up from 24, and the first in the Southern Hemisphere.

The 64-game tournament is scheduled to run from July 20 to Aug. 20 across 10 different venues in nine different cities — five cities in Australia and four in New Zealand. 

Canada coach Bev Priestman and Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane were in the audience for the draw, along with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Anika Wells, Australian federal minister for sport Anika Wells. Canadian Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF and a FIFA vice-president, was also on hand.

The trophy was also there, brought in by former U.S. coach Jill Ellis who won it in 2015 and 2019.

Former players Carli Lloyd, Alexi Lalas, Gilberto Silva and Ian Wright were among those taking part in Saturday’s ceremony at Auckland’s Aotea Centre.

“This is where the excitement begins and we’re seeing it across the globe. This is a movement. Women’s football is here and it’s going to get bigger and better,” said Lloyd, who scored 134 goals in 316 appearances for the U.S.

The 29 qualified teams along with three slots yet to be filled were divided into four pots by seeding for the draw.

Canada was placed in Pot 2, which also included the eighth-ranked Netherlands, No. 9 Brazil, No. 11 Japan, No. 12 Norway, No. 14 Italy, No. 15 China and No. 17 South Korea.

In addition the tournament co-hosts, Pot 1 featured the top-ranked U.S., No. 2 Sweden, No. 3 Germany, No. 4 England, No. 5 France and No. 6 Spain.

Canada was kept away from the U.S. and fellow CONCACAF sides Costa Rica and Jamaica under FIFA’s “general principle” that no group has more than one team from the same confederation.

That does not apply to Europe, because of the number of possible entrants — 11 or possibly 12 depending in the playoff tournament.

The Philippines, Morocco, Vietnam and Zambia will also be making their Women’s World Cup debut.

Vietnam, ranked 34th, lands in the deep end with an opening game against the four-time champion U.S.

The top two in each pool will advance to the round of 16.

At the 2019 World Cup in France, Canada was drawn in a pool with the Netherlands, Cameroon and New Zealand. The Canadians finished second to the Dutch in the group and lost 1-0 to Sweden in the round of 16.

Canada was ranked fifth going into the 2019 tournament, so was in Pot 1 with host France and other heavyweights at the draw.

The Canadian women are 10-2-3 this year and have won four straight since losing 1-0 to the U.S. in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship in Mexico in July. The top four teams from that tournament qualified for the World Cup with No. 56 Haiti and No. 57 Panama moving on to the playoff tournament with a chance to join them.

Canada’s best finish at the World Cup was fourth in 2003.

The three remaining teams for the 2023 competition will come from the 10-team Inter-Confederation Playoff Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 17-23 in Auckland.

The field features two teams from Asia (Chinese Taipei and Thailand), two from Africa (Cameroon and Senegal), two from CONCACAF (Haiti and Panama), two from South America (Chile and Paraguay), one from Oceania (Papua New Guinea) and one from Europe (Portugal).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2022

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press