On Friday, November 9th, the final draw for the 2013 UEFA Women’s Championship was held in Göteborg, Sweden. The twelve qualified teams were divided into three round-robin groups of four, with host Sweden being paired with Italy, Denmark and Finland in Group A. Group B features five-in-a-row reigning champion German, along with Norway, the Netherlands and Iceland. In Group C, France will face England, Spain, and Russia. As there are only twelve squads, the top two teams from each group, along with the top two third place teams will qualify for the knock-out stage.
Based on the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings, host Sweden has the toughest set of group opponents, with an average World Ranking of 13.3, while France’s group opponents have the lowest average World Ranking, at 15.0. Group B, features a group of death for teams not named Germany, as the other squads, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, are ranked 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively, in UEFA. Overall, Group C can be considered the easiest group, as it has the lowest total World Ranking of 50, versus 45 and 46, respectively for Groups A and B.
The tournament will be played in July 2013, starting on Wednesday, July 10th, and concluding with the final on Sunday, July 28th.
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THE GROUPS
- Group A (Göteborg/Halmstad): Sweden (hosts), Italy (seeded), Denmark, Finland.
- Group B (Vaxjo/Kalmar): Germany (holders, top seed), Norway (seeded), Netherlands, Iceland.
- Group C (Norkopping/Linkoping): France (top seed), England (seeded), Russia, Spain.
Notes on the Draw: Sweden (as host), plus the top two teams ranked by UEFA’s system, Germany and France were given top seeds. The next three highest ranked squads, England, Norway, and Italy were seeded in Pot #1, while the remaining teams were placed in Pot #2. (UEFA.com)
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GROUP PLAY SCHEDULE
Source: UEFA.com (PDF)
Note: The specific match times have yet to be finalized.
Wednesday, 10 July 2013 (Group A)
Sweden vs. Denmark
Italy vs. Finland
Thursday, 11 July 2013 (Group B)
Germany vs. Netherlands
Norway vs. Iceland
Friday, 12 July 2013 (Group C)
France vs. Russia
England vs. Spain
Saturday, 13 July 2013 (Group A)
Finland vs. Sweden
Italy vs. Denmark
Sunday, 14 July 2013 (Group B)
Iceland vs. Germany
Norway vs. Netherlands
Monday, 15 July 2013 (Group C)
Spain vs. France
England vs. Russia
Tuesday, 16 July 2013 (Group A)
Sweden vs. Italy
Denmark vs. Finland
Wednesday, 17 July 2013 (Group B)
Netherlands vs. Iceland
Germany vs. Norway
Thursday, 18 July 2013 (Group C)
Russia vs. Spain
France vs. England
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