The Zambia Women’s national team will this morning know their opponents at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The draw for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup takes place this morning in Auckland at 19:30 hours local time (8:30 CAT) with Zambia awaiting to know their opponents for the global showpiece for the women’s game.
The Copper Queens have been put in pot 4 alongside Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Morocco and three play-off tournament winners ahead of the draw in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau.
The Copper Queens mint bronze at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in July after beating Nigeria in a tightly contested third and fourth play off after having sealed their World Cup qualification by reaching the semifinals.
The Bruce Mwape coached outfit started preparations with winning the COSAFA Women’s Championship but could not however test themselves against the Netherlands after the match was canceled due to VISA hitches.
The Copper Queens will now travel to Colombia next month to face Las Chicas Superpoderosas as part of their preparations.
Coach Bruce Mwape is expected to carry a strong team to the tournament led by Olympics history maker and captain of the side Barbra Banda.
Pot 1 comprises top seeds New Zealand, Australia, United States, Sweden, Germany, England, France, Spain while Pot 2 has Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Italy, China, South Korea.
In Pot 3 there is Denmark, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Jamaica.
The tournament will be played between 20th July and 20th August in Australia and New Zealand.
A total of 10 stadiums will be used for the tournament – six of them in Australia and four in New Zealand.
Teams drawn in Groups A, C, E and G will play their preliminary games in New Zealand, while those in Groups B, D, F and H will have their matches in Australia.
