Women's World Cup 2015: USWNT Draws the Group of Death with Sweden, Australia

In almost predictable fashion, the United States women's national soccer team will be in the infamous Group of Death for the 2015 Women's World Cup.

As the draw unfolded, the Americans saw the toughest team from each pot wind up in Group D.

First picked was Nigeria. The Nigerian national team is currently ranked No. 35 by FIFA, but it's the best team from Africa. The USWNT will see it on June 16 in Vancouver. It will be the final game of group play in Group D for the teams.

After the disappointment of getting Nigeria, the next team to enter the fray was Australia.

The Matildas are ranked No. 10 by FIFA. They are coming off a loss in the finals of the Women's Asian Cup to Japan, 1-0. Australia comes in at D2 and will play the USWNT in the first match of group play on June 8.

The U.S. were 2-for-2 in getting tough teams, and the fear of Sweden loomed. Then, it happened. Once again, the U.S. will have the "Group of Death." Sweden, ranked No. 5 by FIFA, was placed in the D3 slot in the group. The matchup against the USWNT will be on June 12.

The USWNT played Sweden earlier in 2014 in the Algarve Cup. The result was 1-0 and was the second straight match the USWNT lost in that tournament. It was the one of the final straws that pushed head coach Tom Sermanni out of that position.

Sweden head coach Pia Sundhage was miffed prior to the draw on Fox Sports 1 as to why her squad was not a seeded team when it was ranked ahead of Brazil (ranked No. 6 by FIFA). That decision by FIFA is sure to be even more unpopular now that it's been drawn into Group D.

At last year's World Cup, the U.S. men's national team was put into the Group of Death but managed to advance to the knockout stages somewhat unexpectedly. The women will look to follow suit in the 2015 Women's World Cup, and they will still be favored in all the matches as the No. 1-ranked team in the world.

Winning the group will be a priority for everyone. The winner of Group D will not have to play a group winner until the semifinals if it's fortunate enough to win its matches to advance. It will first play a third-ranked team from either Group B, E or F.

If it wins that, it will play the winner of the runners-up from Groups A or C.

It is paramount that the U.S. finds a way to top the group. That is something it was unable to do in 2011, when it was Sweden that won the group. It was a 2-1 victory by Sweden that saw it top Group C at the previous World Cup.

There is no more Sundhage, now Sweden's head coach, or Sermanni for the Americans. It is now up to Jill Ellis to find the right chemistry with an incredibly deep talent pool to take to Canada. She will have six months to put the best foot forward for the USWNT.

That process starts in just a few days, as the USWNT is in Brazil for a four-team tournament against China, Argentina and Brazil. It was also announced that it will travel to Europe to play France and England in early 2015.

The USWNT should still be the favorite to take the group, and it should be able to do enough to advance. Regardless, this was the hardest possible draw it could have seen for the upcoming World Cup. It puts even more pressure on the top-ranked team.

The 2015 Women's World Cup will be exciting for each and every match involving the USWNT. There are no gimmes in this group. For better or worse, this is the hand that has been dealt.