Australia will commence their FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ campaign against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, 20 July 2023 at Sydney Football Stadium, following the completion of the Official Draw on Saturday evening at the Aotea Centre in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau.
The CommBank Matildas will then face 11-time African champions Nigeria and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medalists Canada in the group stages after the three nations were drawn together in Group B.
Head coach Tony Gustavsson joined over 800 attendees to see the 29 qualified nations learn their group fate for next year’s global showcase.
Following the opening day fixture, Australia will then meet Nigeria on Thursday, 27 July at Brisbane Stadium and complete the group phase against Canada on Monday, 31 July at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Kick-off times for the three group stage fixtures will be communicated in the coming days.
CommBank Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson said:
“Now we know what we're facing. We know what the opening game looks like. Now, it's all about preparation.”
“If you look at a bracket, and you look at the tournament, there are no easy games in this tournament. It's all about knowing who you're facing and preparing in the best way possible. The type of games [we schedule] is definitely going to be key. That we target the right type of opponents, we have some scheduled already based on what we thought the draw was going to look like.”
“Right now, it's all about the opening game. We want to start the tournament as well as possible.”
Based on the FIFA women’s world rankings, as co-hosts Australia (B1) were placed in Pot 1 for the draw along with co-hosts New Zealand (A1), the United States, Sweden, Germany, England, France and Spain.
Constraints on the draw included no two nations from the same confederation, with the exception of UEFA, and the co-hosts in pre-determined positions.
A historic tournament, for the first time 32 nations will compete at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ with the opening matches on 20 July 2023 and the Final at Stadium Australia on 20 August 2023.
FIXTURES | FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™
Australia v Republic of Ireland
Date: 20 July 2023
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium
Kick-off Time: 8:00pm (AEST)
Australia v Nigeria
Date: 27 July 2023
Venue: Brisbane Stadium
Kick-off Time: 8:00pm (AEST)
Canada v Australia
Date: 31 July 2023
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Kick-off Time: 8:00pm (AEST)
