2019 Women’s World Cup Guide
Ahead of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in June, we bring fans the ultimate guide surrounding the biggest tournament of the year. A year on from the men’s edition of the tournament in Russia, France will act as the home nation this time around, with the event set to take place between June 7th and July 7th, meaning that a month’s worth of high-quality action is available to both fans and betting customers.
France will host the women’s World Cup for the first time, while it will be the third time in which the tournament has been staged in Europe. In total, 24 nations help to make up the competition, including some of the most successful teams in the game. The USA come into the tournament as the defending champions, as they search for a record fourth World Cup victory. With the qualification process for the World Cup having been completed back in December, we now know exactly which teams will face-off against each other, as well as when. So, let’s take a closer look at all of the most important information surrounding this summer’s upcoming World Cup.
Who Will Host the 2019 Women’s World Cup?
France will host the Women’s World Cup for the first time ever this year, with some of the countries leading stadiums set to stage matches throughout the event. The Final of the competition will take place as the Groupama Stadium on July 7th, the home of Olympique Lyonnais, which has a capacity of almost 60,000 people. The Groupama Stadium is one of nine stadiums staging matches this summer, with others including the Parc des Princes, Allianz Riviera and Stade Auguste-Delaune.
2019 Women’s World Cup Format
24 teams will battle it out in France this summer, with the structure of the tournament meaning that six groups of four teams are found. The winner and runner-up in each group will gain automatic qualification to the knockout phase of the competition, while the four third-place finishers who accumulate the most amount of points will also advance to the Round of 16. The opening group stage fixture will take place on June 7th, when host Nation France take on South Korea at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the home of Paris Saint Germain.
2019 Women’s World Cup Groups & Schedule
We will now take a closer look at the six groups which will make up the 2019 Women’s World Cup, perfect for those who are considering who to bet on to advance to the knockout phase of the competition.
Group A
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 7 France vs South Korea 8pm Parc des Princes, Paris
Jun 8 Norway vs Nigeria 2pm Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Jun 12 Nigeria vs South Korea 2pm Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Jun 12 France vs Norway 8pm Allianz Riviera, Nice
Jun 17 Nigeria vs France 8pm Roazhon Park, Rennes
Jun 17 South Korea vs Norway 8pm Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Group B
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 8 Spain vs South Africa 5pm Stade Oceane, Le Havre
Jun 8 Germany vs China PR 8pm Roazhon Park, Rennes
Jun 12 Germany vs Spain 5pm Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Jun 13 South Africa vs China PR 8pm Parc des Princes, Paris
Jun 17 South Africa vs Germany 5pm Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Jun 17 China PR vs Spain 5pm Stade Oceane, Le Havre
Group C
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 9 Australia vs Italy 12pm Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Jun 9 Brazil vs Jamaica 2:30pm Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Jun 13 Australia vs Brazil 5pm Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Jun 14 Jamaica vs Italy 8pm Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Jun 18 Jamaica vs Australia 8pm Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Jun 18 Italy vs Brazil 8pm Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Group D
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 9 England vs Scotland 5pm Allianz Riviera, Nice
Jun 10 Argentina vs Japan 5pm Parc des Princes, Paris
Jun 14 Japan vs Scotland 2pm Roazhon Park, Rennes
Jun 14 England vs Argentina 5pm Stade Oceane, Le Havre
Jun 19 Japan vs England 8pm Allianz Riviera, Nice
Jun 19 Scotland vs Argentina 8pm Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Group E
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 10 Canada vs Cameroon 8pm Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Jun 11 New Zealand vs Netherlands 2pm Stade Oceane, Le Havre
Jun 15 Netherlands vs Cameroon 5pm Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Jun 15 Canada vs New Zealand 8pm Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Jun 20 Netherlands vs Canada 5pm Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Jun 20 Cameroon vs New Zealand 5pm Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Group F
Date Match Time (UK) Venue
Jun 11 Chile vs Sweden 5pm Roazhon Park, Rennes
Jun 11 USWNT vs Thailand 8pm Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
Jun 16 USWNT vs Chile 2pm Parc des Princes, Paris
Jun 16 Sweden vs Thailand 5pm Allianz Riviera, Nice
Jun 20 Sweden vs USWNT 8pm Stade Oceane, Le Havre
Jun 20 Thailand vs Chile 8pm Roazhon Park, Rennes
2019 Women’s World Cup Schedule
- The Group Stage (matches 1-36): June 7-20
- Round of 16 (matches 37-44): June 22-25
- Quarter-Finals (matches 45-48): June 27-29
- Semi-Finals (matches 49-50): July 2-3
- Third Place and Championship Final (matches 51-52): July 6-7
2019 Women’s World Cup Favourites
Unsurprisingly, defending champions United States are one of the frontrunners once again this summer, as they search for an unprecedented fourth World Cup success. The No.1 world ranked side have the likes of Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe in their ranks, making them more than a match for any nation in which they will come up against. Meanwhile, Carli Lloyd will make her final international appearance during the tournament, with the midfielder set to turn 37 just two days before the final takes place.
Elsewhere, the host nation is normally a threat at any tournament, with France being expected to make it through to the latter stages in front of their home fans. With the men’s team having come out on top in Russia last year, a repeat performance this summer would not come as a surprise, however their best ever performance in a World Cup came back in 2011 when they finished in fourth place.
2016 Olympic gold medallists Germany were defeated by the United States at the semi-final stage four yeas ago and will be hoping to go at least one better this time around. Despite having lost to both France and the US at the recent SheBelieves Cup, Germany are a team who have the ability to defeat anyone on their day. Meanwhile, 2011 winners and 2015 runners-up Japan are undoubtedly one of the most consistent teams in the women’s game, with their showdown with England in Group D already having a lot of people talking. As for the Lionesses themselves, having won the SheBelieves Cup last year, the likes of Toni Duggan, Fran Kirby and the experienced Jill Scott will be looking to fire them to a first ever World Cup success.
Standout Players
The 2019 Women’s World Cup in France will be jam-packed full of quality players, however there are certainly some individuals that fans get fans off the edge of their seat when taking to the pitch. The following are our ones to watch in France this summer.
Megan Rapinoe – The United States are able to call upon the services the skill and experience of forward Megan Rapinoe in France this summer, with the 33-year-old having scored 44 international goals since her debut back in 2006. Rapinoe is hugely creative in front of goal, with her talent having seen her finish fourth for the 2018 Best Women’s Player Award.
Sam Kerr – Australian attacker Sam Kerr is regarded by many as the best player in the world at present, having scored a massive 29 goals for club and country in 2018. The Chicago Red Stars star is now set to step up the biggest stage of all for the Matildas, which could be bad news for the rest of the competing nations.
Marta – Brazilian legend Marta is perhaps the best-known player in the women’s game, with the 33-year-old having six World Player of the Year Awards to her name, along with 12 top 3 finishes. In what could well be her final World Cup, the forward has scored 110 international goals in just 133 appearances.
Rule Changes
In terms of rule changes surrounding the upcoming Women’s World Cup, the standout headline is the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee, commonly known as VAR. The system will be used for the first time, with VAR being found at all nine stadiums in France. All officials, including referees and assistants, underwent VAR training in Qatar in February, however it remains to be seen as to how efficient it will be this summer.
Meanwhile, the following laws have been updated recently, which will take effect from the 1st June 2019, just in time for the World Cup:
- If the ball finds the net via a handball by an attacking player, the goal will not stand even if the handball was accidental.
- Players being substituted will no longer need to come to the halfway line to be replaced, instead leaving the field at the nearest possible point in order to stop time-wasting.
- At free-kicks, attacking players are no longer allowed to stand in a defensive wall.
- Coaches can now, like players, receive yellow and red cards for misconduct.
2019 Women’s World Cup Prize Money
While the prize money on offer to teams in France this summer has been increased since 2015, the total pot still sits way behind the men’s equivalent. Competing nations in France are able to earn double the amount that was on offer four years ago, with the purse totalling over $30 million. As well as this, there will also be an additional $20 million available to teams when it comes to covering travel and training costs, along with compensation to those clubs whose players are involved in France. The 2019 Women’s World Cup winner will receive $4 million in prize money, which is more than twice what the United States received in Canada in 2015.