Nigeria’s Super Falcons have been drawn in Group B of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand scheduled to hold from July 20 to August 20 and will face co-hosts Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland. 

The draw was conducted on Saturday at the Aotea Centre in Auckland. This would be the first edition of the women’s World Cup to accommodate 32 teams moving away from the 24 teams that featured at the last edition in France. 

The Falcons are the lowest ranking team in the group – currently placed 45th in the world while Canada are seventh, Australia 13th and Republic of Ireland 24th.

However, the Randy Waldrum led team will be hoping to beat the odds and qualify out of the group stage and go as far as reaching the semis thanks to it’s array of stars who play in some of the biggest teams in Europe. 

In Group A, co-hosts New Zealand will slug it out with Norway, Philippines and Switzerland while Group C has Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan. England in Group D will play Denmark, China and a yet to be decided team. 

Defending champions, the United States have an easy ride to the second round having been paired against Vietnam, the Netherlands and a yet to be decided country. Group F will see France play Brazil, Jamaica and a yet to be decided team while Group G has been termed the proverbial group of death. African representatives South Africa will face Sweden, Italy and Argentina for a place in the second round.