The FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) gets underway in France tonight, when the tournament hosts play South Korea at the Parc des Princes in Paris. We thought we’d give you a run down of everything you need to know ahead of the tournament.
Who’s in it?
There are 24 teams in the tournament in total. In terms of home nations, both England and Scotland are not just in the tournament, but in the same group. Here’s a list of all six groups:
Group A: France, South Korea, Norway, Nigeria
Group B: Germany, Spain, China, South Africa
Group C: Australia, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica
Group D: England, Scotland, Japan, Argentina
Group E: Canada, Cameroon, Netherlands, New Zealand
Group F: USA, Sweden, Thailand, Chile
What are the key dates?
The tournament will run from today (7th June) up until the 7th of July. England and Scotland will get their campaigns underway on Sunday 9th July. Meanwhile, world number one ranked side and defending champions USA will get their tournament started on the 11th when they face Thailand.
The semi-finals and final will all be played at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on the 7th July.
Where is the WWC played?
As mentioned above, all of the WWC games are to be played in France across nine different locations. The most famous of all the locations is the Parc des Princes, which is the home of European football giants, PSG. The biggest of the nine stadiums on offer is Lyon’s Parc Olympique Lyonnais – it holds 59,186 fans.
England’s first game against Scotland on Sunday will be played in Nice. Here’s a list of all nine locations you’ll see across the next month of football:
- Parc des Princes, Paris
- Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
- Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
- Roazhon Park, Rennes
- Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
- Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
- Allianz Riviera, Nice
- Stade Oceane, Le Havre
- Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon
Who are the tournament favourites?
The favourites are defending champions, USA, as well as tournament hosts, France. Football giants Germany are also up there, as well as Japan who won the tournament in 2011 and were beaten in the final by the USA in the last tournament.
England are not far away either – Phil Neville’s side are 14/1 to win the tournament this summer. They’ll be massively buoyed by their great win in the SheBelieves cup back in the Spring too. They’ve already proved they can mix it with the best, but can they go and bring it home this summer? They’ve got a great chance.
How can I watch the games?
The opening game is live on BBC One tonight alongside the opening ceremony. Most of the games throughout the tournament will be live either on the BBC red button, or on the BBC iPlayer. All of the games involving the home nations, as well as some of the more important matches, will be broadcast live on the main channel.
Why not visit our dedicated Women’s World Cup page where you can see all the latest standings, news and read previews for every group? You can find it here.
For more like this, visit the dedicated football section here. Meanwhile, follow us on Facebook for news and analysis right to your timeline.