The Matildas will face Olympic champions Canada, first-timers Ireland, and Nigeria in next year’s home World Cup, giving Sam Kerr’s team a tricky but navigable task to the knockout rounds.
The challenge is now known to Australia and the other qualifiers after a slick draw ceremony in New Zealand on Saturday.
Canada will provide a stern test, but Tony Gustavsson’s Matildas will back themselves to get through against world No.24 Ireland and world No.45 Nigeria.
As top seeds, Australia avoided the six top-ranked countries, led by the two-time reigning world champions and world No.1 USA.
The most interest was therefore in who would come out of pot two to face Australia, with Brazilian legend Gilberto Silva drawing out Canada – the highest-ranked opponent available.
The world No.7 Maple Leafs won gold at the Tokyo Games and narrowly lost their continental championship to the USA 1-0 in July.
They are also recent visitors to Australia, playing two matches last month against the Matildas and winning both.
Australia will be out to avoid a repeat, as if they finish second in their group they will face the Group D winners – most likely to be European champions England – in the round of 16.
“Bring it on,” Gustavsson told AAP in Auckland after the draw.
“Someone was just texting me. Hey, Tony, you got the top rank team from pot two. You’ve got the third ranked team from pot three. You’ve got the top ranked team from pot four. What is this?,” he laughed, before playing out Australia’s route to the final based on rankings.
“England in the first playoff … and then after that, it’s going to be France and Germany on that side of the bracket too.
“Ranking-wise it’s a very, very tough.”
Their opening night opponents in Sydney will be the Irish, who qualified earlier this month for their first Women’s World Cup.
Australia will be hoping for better luck then their last meeting – a shock 3-2 loss in Dublin last year for Kerr’s 100th cap.
The Matildas also have a recent World Cup match with Nigeria under their belt, beating them 2-0 in the 2015 tournament in Canada.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and a host of football luminaries packed Auckland’s Aotea Centre on Saturday night for the draw.
After speeches, pomp, montages and even dance, USA two-time World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis brought the trophy to the stage, before the path to silverware was revealed.
For the co-hosted event, expanding to 32 nations for the first time, four groups are based in Australia, including the Matildas’, and four are off to New Zealand, including the Football Ferns.
Groups D, F, and H – headed by England, France and Germany – are off to Australia, while groups C, E and G, with Spain, the USA and Sweden as top seeds, will play their group-stage matches in New Zealand.
The biggest group stage clash is the 2019 final rematch in Wellington, where USA will play the Netherlands in Group E.
Australian-based fans of China, South Korea and Brazil will also be pleased to learn they are based in Australia, as will FIFA, as they look to maximise ticket sales.
The draw will be complete in February when New Zealand host a playoff tournament for 10 teams fighting for three spots.
Earlier on Saturday, Infantino chaired the bi-annual meeting of the FIFA Council, the first such meeting in Oceania.
In a press conference following the gathering, he took aim at broadcasters for their below-par bids to screen the 2023 tournament, which he said were “100 times less” than bids for the male event.
Mary Fowler of the Matildas celebrates scoring a goal with teammates during the International Friendly Match between the Australia Matildas and Canada at Allianz Stadium on September 06, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
AUSTRALIA’S GROUP STAGE GAMES
July 20 – Australia v Ireland – Sydney
July 27 – Australia v Nigeria – Brisbane
July 31 – Australia v Canada – Melbourne
Bongo
Guest
Yea h OK I Get IT!!! Group of Death blah blah blah! These women are professional athletes playing in the top flite European and American competitions- They would be chomping at the bit in front of their own families fans and friends to prove us amateur observers all wrong!! GO MATILDAS!!! This is the stage to prove your own soccer immortality- Look at Redmayne- If he doesn't do anything else in his life he will ALWAYS be remembered for that penalty save- And it is F***ing brilliant to see Chloe Logarzo( a future Matildas Captain and Superstar) back. This is her stage and she will stick it up all her critics!! GO GIRLS!!! GO Matildas!!!
chris
Guest
We'll be hard to beat for Canada as well. The last 2 games we had against them, both teams very under strength so it's hard to gauge.
chris
Guest
If ratings figures for the last women's wc and the men's were very similar then surely the TV rights in those countries should be about the same? Nevermind what the total revenues were. We're talking about TV rights.
AGO74
Guest
100%
Waz
Roar Rookie
A draw and two wins is very achievable. Three wins is not out of the question. The key will be to avoid England in the next stage if at all possible.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
2B v 1D Suncorp Stadium, 7 August :stoked:
Marcel
Guest
There are a couple of good overlaps between NZ and the West coast....but for the majority of games Americans and Europeans will be tuning in either late at night or early-mid morning..not exactly primo timeslots for selling advertising. That , plus the fact that the last WWC generated 2% of the revenue of the men's....then it's hard to see the final number moving too far north of 1%. It is US school holidays which helps....but WCs aren't funded by advertising to 12yr old girls....an unpopular but commercial reality.....just ask Netball Aus.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
canada will be hard for us to beat
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
its just the stupid journos who cant think of much else to headline
chris
Guest
The afternoon games in NZ will be viewer friendly time in the USA. In fact a 3pm kickoff in NZ is prime time over there. Given that the USA is based in NZ for the first part of the tournament Infantino is right in rejecting sub par bids. They'll eventually come to the party as this low balling of bids will be seen as the sham that it is.
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: FIFA slams TV offers for 2023 Women's World Cup "FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Saturday hit out at what he said were unacceptably low offers for rights to screen next year's Women's World Cup. Infantino said soccer's world governing body had rejected bids of just 1% of the value of men's World Cup rights deals for the women's tournament, which will take place in July and August in Australia and New Zealand." Further: "We know that the viewing figures for these broadcasters in some big footballing countries for the Men's World Cup or for the Women's World Cup are actually very similar, meaning their commercial income is very similar for men and for women," Infantino added." - https://www.dw.com/en/fifa-slams-lowball-tv-rights-offers-for-womens-world-cup/a-63525712
Mitcher
Guest
Australia has never once been in a group of death. And aren’t here.
chris
Guest
We should get out of the group but the crunch game will be against Nigeria. Being the second match we would want to rest some key players but we don't have great depth.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Not even close to a “Group of Death”. Australia will qualify from the group - the only question is, first or second?
Grem
Roar Rookie
It’s a football World Cup so no groups can be easy. To win it you need to play well, get out of your group and then continue to play well and hope for some luck. The Matilda’s are capable of doing that so let’s hope and enjoy what unfolds. I know I have my tickets and will be there cheering them on.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Australia always gets drawn in the group of death. At this point, we may as well change the name of the Socceroos to the Grim Reapers and the Matildas to the Angels Of Death.