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World Cup Draw
Junior Ferns Drawn In "Group Of Death"
by Jeremy Ruane
photo courtesy Shane Wenzlick / Phototek
Rare indeed are the occasions when New Zealand and "Group of Death" feature in the same sentence.
But after the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals draw in Dresden overnight, they are, for the first time ever, common bedfellows.
The Junior Ferns will face Sweden, Brazil and 2008 runners-up North Korea when they contest the finals in Germany in July, in what is unquestionably the most demanding of the four groups which will battle out the opening round of action at Germany 2010.
Sweden, New Zealand’s first opponents in Bielefeld on July 13, qualified as runners-up in the 2009 UEFA U-19 Championship, while Brazil, the undisputed powerhouse of women’s football in South America, emerged as confederation champions from their qualifying tournament.
The Junior Ferns face the Canarinhas in their last group match, in Dresden on July 20. Brazil made the last four of the first three FIFA Finals at this age level, but were ousted in the quarter-finals in 2008.
The runners-up in that tournament won the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup two years prior, and you can guarantee the North Koreans will be bidding to make the final once again in 2010.
They finished third in Asia, conceding their only
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goal of the tournament at the semi-final stage, and boast a fair few of the squad which won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup here in New Zealand in 2008.
Tony Readings’ charges face North Korea in Bielefeld on July 16, the second match in their quest to qualify for the quarter-finals of a FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals tournament for the first time.
The other groups, by comparison, are relatively predictable affairs. The host nation, who will kick off the tournament against Costa Rica in Bochum, also face Columbia and France, and the European duo will be favoured to advance to the quarter-finals from Group A.
In Group C, which is based in Augsburg, England will be quietly confident of advancing from a group boasting the talents of Mexico, perennial African powerhouses Nigeria, and the champions of Asia, the Mana Iwabuchi-inspired Japan.
Reigning champions the USA should prove too strong in Dresden, where Ghana, Korea Republic and Switzerland will provide their opposition in Group D.
The tournament kicks off on July 13, two days after the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final in Johannesburg. New Zealand’s matches, along with action from the quarter-finals on, are expected to be shown live on Sky, who hold the rights for the coverage in this country of all FIFA Finals.
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