Dresden Castle was the spectacular venue for the official group stage with representatives from each of the 16 qualified nations learning their fate at the tournament which takes place between 13 July and 1 August in the four host cities of Augsburg, Bielefeld, Bochum and Dresden.
The Junior Football Ferns have been drawn in what has been tagged the ‘Group of Death’ with Korea DPR out to retain their U-20 title while Brazil and Sweden are ranked third and fourth respectively at the senior level.
Coach Tony Readings says he is treating any “toughest pool” judgments as a compliment to the rise of New Zealand women’s teams internationally over recent years.
“I think with the U-20s in 2008 going within seconds of reaching the quarterfinals, and the performances of the Football Ferns at the Cyprus Cup in the last two years, New Zealand are being taken a lot more seriously.”
“Obviously, we’ll still be considered outsiders for the group but that suits us fine. We’re quietly confident of surprising a few teams.”
Readings experienced the heart break last time around as an assistant coach at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile in 2008 when the Junior Football Ferns just missed out on a place in the quarterfinals. He says this year’s squad have set their sights on reaching the last eight, regardless of the draw.
“The draw doesn’t change anything. We’ve set a goal to reach the quarterfinals and beyond, and the players know that if we’re to do that we need to beat some of the best teams in the world. The draw just means we have to do it early on.”
Hosts Germany will be up against Costa Rica, Colombia and France in Group A, while reigning champions USA were drawn with Ghana, Switzerland and Korea Republic.
There also promises to be plenty of excitement in Group C with England, Nigeria, Mexico and Japan.
The teams were drawn into the following groups:
Group A: Germany (hosts), Costa Rica, Colombia and France
Group B: Brazil, Korea DPR, Sweden, New Zealand
Group C: England, Nigeria, Mexico, Japan
Group D: USA, Ghana, Switzerland, Korea Republic