Women's World Cup 2023: Sarina Wiegman to begin England Women qualification campaign against North Macedonia in September
England Women begin their qualification campaign for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against North Macedonia on September 17, in what will be Sarina Wiegman’s first match in charge.
Wiegman is set to take over as Lionesses head coach after leading the Netherlands at the Tokyo Olympics, where she will also be joined by a Team GB squad led by current England Women interim boss Hege Riise.
Northern Ireland visit England on Saturday October 23, 2021, with the return match on Tuesday April 12, 2022, in the pick of the Group D ties.
- Former Scotland Women manager Shelley Kerr joins FA
- Faye White: England should easily qualify for World Cup
Notable fixtures against Austria, who reached the semi-finals of the 2017 Women’s Euros alongside the Lionesses, will come away on Saturday November 27, 2021, and at home on Saturday September 3, 2022.
“It’s very exciting to know our route to the World Cup, which will start with a home match against North Macedonia,” Wiegman told England Football.
Trending
“I really hope that by that time COVID-19 will be a distant memory and the fans will be able to support us on our journey to Australia and New Zealand.
“However, we all have other duties to fulfil in Tokyo first, so for now I wish Hege, the team and the entire staff the very best.”
Games will be played in a home-and-away round-robin format between September 2021 and September 2022, with a break in the summer of 2022 for the Women’s European Championship.
Only the group winners qualify directly and join hosts Australia and New Zealand in the finals in the summer of 2023, while the runners-up will advance to a play-off round.
England Women World Cup 2023 qualification schedule (venues and kick-off times tbc):
Friday 17 September 2021 – North Macedonia (h)
Tuesday 21 September 2021 – Luxembourg (a)
Saturday 23 October 2021 – Northern Ireland (h)
Tuesday 26 October 2021 – Latvia (a)
Saturday 27 November 2021 – Austria (a)
Tuesday 30 November 2021 – Latvia (h)
Friday 8 April 2022 – North Macedonia (a)
Tuesday 12 April 2022 – Northern Ireland (a)
Saturday 3 September 2022 – Austria (h)
Tuesday 6 September 2022 – Luxembourg (h)
2023 Women’s World Cup qualifying groups
GROUP A: Sweden, Finland, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, Slovakia, Georgia
GROUP B: Spain, SCOTLAND, Ukraine, Hungary, Faroe Islands
GROUP C: Netherlands, Iceland, Czech Republic, Belarus, Cyprus
GROUP D: ENGLAND, Austria, NORTHERN IRELAND, North Macedonia, Latvia, Luxembourg
GROUP E: Denmark, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Malta, Montenegro
GROUP F: Norway, Belgium, Poland, Albania, Kosovo, Armenia
GROUP G: Italy, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, Moldova, Lithuania
GROUP H: Germany, Portugal, Serbia, Israel, Turkey, Bulgaria
GROUP I: France, WALES, Slovenia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Estonia
Source: Read Full Article