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Vera Pauw and her Ireland squad will be hoping to be celebrating a good draw on Saturday morning. Photo: Sportsfile
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Daniel McDonnell Twitter Email
The early alarm call tomorrow will be practice for the business of next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Fans of Vera Pauw’s side will start their Saturday morning by finding out which country will play host to Ireland’s first steps in this competition and which sides will stand in their way. For Pauw and her team, the draw in Auckland will bring home that the dream has become reality. By 9.0am, they will have dates and venues and an idea of their itinerary.
Supporters will be able to start looking at flights and accommodation and plot their way Down Under. Pauw will be trying to figure out if Ireland have been landed a realistic route to the knockout stages. She’ll be hoping for better luck than Stephen Kenny experienced in Frankfurt the weekend before last. Here are the key points to consider ahead of proceedings.
How many teams are in it?
In line with all FIFA competitions, the Women’s World Cup is expanding and this renewal is the first 32-team tournament, which brings it temporarily in line with the men’s equivalent which expands to 48 in 2026. The 32-team format is familiar with eight groups of four, with the top two from each emerging to the last 16.
What seeds are Ireland?
Vera Pauw’s side are third seeds, along with Denmark, Switzerland, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
Who are the top seeds?
Hosts Australia and New Zealand are top seeds along with USA, Sweden, Germany, England, France and Spain.
What about the all-important pot two?
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Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Italy, China and South Korea are in here. Meanwhile, Pot 4 is yet to be completed with Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Morocco and Zambia set to be joined by the three intercontinental play-off winners who are decided next February in that unusual mini-tournament Ireland were delighted to avoid.
Any notable draw rules?
Yes, a significant one is that a maximum of two European teams can be drawn together in the same group which is probably good for Ireland given the quantity of sides from the region that are ranked above Pauw’s team. UEFA is the only federation allowed to have two reps in the same pool; South American, North American, African and Asian teams will all be kept apart from their neighbours.
For example, top seeds USA cannot be drawn with second seeds Canada. With countries from different parts of the world competing in the play-offs, it could be a complicated draw as teams get moved around to avoid clashes. It means there will be a need to pause when a name is called out to figure out where they will actually be headed.
What about the geography of it?
The group stages are evenly split between Australia and New Zealand, with Australia holding six round-of-16 games compared to two for New Zealand. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are split equally with the final staged in Sydney.
Crucially from a travel perspective, the draw is set up in such a way that New Zealand and Australia can only possibly meet in the final, and will play all of their games in their country (unless New Zealand happen to go all the way).
There’s a knock-on effect here for teams drawn with them and there’s a regionalised aspect to this which means that if Ireland end up in Group A or C, they will only visit Australia if they somehow make the final. If they end up in B, D, F or H, they’ll be spending all of their time in Australia. Groups E and G take place in New Zealand but qualifiers will go to Australia for the round of 16 with the survivors returning to New Zealand until the semi-final stage.
What are the host cities?
Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide in Australia. Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton in New Zealand.
What would be best for spectators?
New Zealand is a fabulous country, but it’s not a great time of the year to visit. Temperatures in July and August are cool. Sunshine chasers would like to end up in Perth or Brisbane.
What’s the preferred Pot 1 option?
Here’s the thing. While drawing New Zealand would mean that Ireland would likely be deprived of the chance to visit Australia – and tap into huge casual support in the host cities there – they are the weakest leading light. That said, Australia did suffer defeat in a Tallaght friendly last year and are probably less intimidating than the other top seeds.
What about Pot 2?
Netherlands are surprising second seeds and the team to avoid. The aforementioned European angle means that if the Netherlands scenario comes to pass, Ireland’s top seeds would be Australia, New Zealand or the USA. South Korea are the lowest-ranked side here.
And Pot 4?
The play-off angle adds a degree of confusion with three sides coming from that avenue. Portugal are fancied to get through and would be tough but if they are an option for Ireland, the draw has gone well elsewhere.
Dream draw?
New Zealand, South Korea, Ireland, play-off winner (not Portugal).
Nightmare?
USA, Netherlands, Ireland, South Africa.
Where can I watch the draw?
RTÉ2 are showing it live from 7.30am and it will be streamed on FIFA’s website.
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