FIFA will hold the draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup on 22 October. The ceremony will take place from 20 July to 20 August in New Zealand. The latest FIFA rankings, unveiled on Thursday 13 October 2022, allow us to know in advance the composition of the four hats that will be used. South Africa, winner of the last Women’s Cup of Nations, Morocco, finalists, Nigeria and Zambia, semi-finalists, will all be placed in pot 4, the least envied because it is a difficult draw.
South Africa, Morocco, Zambia and Nigeria, the four representatives of the black continent could be joined by Cameroon and Senegal, who will be determined after the play-offs. The draw for the play-offs, scheduled for 17-23 February 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, was made by FIFA on Friday.
A ray of hope for Cameroon and Senegal
The Cameroonians are in group A. They will face Thailand in the semi-final and possibly Portugal in the final. Eliminated in the first round with a zero score in 2019, the Thais seem to be within their grasp and even the Portuguese, who have never managed to qualify for a World Cup and were eliminated without glory from the last Euro with a small point on the scoreboard, do not necessarily seem insurmountable for the Lionesses, who reached the last eight of the previous edition.
Like Cameroon, Senegal has a good chance of making it through. The Senegalese will first face modest Haiti before a possible final against Chile in group B. Haiti has never qualified for a World Cup, while Chile was eliminated in the first round of the previous edition and at the 2020 Olympic Games. This gives the Senegalese a chance to taste a first World Cup despite their lack of experience.
Composition of the hats for the 2023 Women’s World Cup draw published by Afrik foot
Hat 1: New Zealand, Australia, USA, Sweden, Germany, England, France, Spain.
Hat 2: Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Italy, China, Korea.
Hat 3: Denmark, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Jamaica.
Group 4: Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Morocco, Zambia, play-off (group A), play-off (group B), play-off (group C),
