Winners and Losers from 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group-Stage Draw
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup group-stage draw delivered a plum bracket for the host nation, a Group of Death for the United States and an embarrassing mistake from FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke.
The draw took place opposite Parliament at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, and sorted the 24 qualified nations into six sections of four teams.
Canada, a first-time host, will kick off the tournament on June 6 against 1995 semi-finalists China in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.
Following are some of the winners and losers from Saturday's event.
Winner: Canada, Who Got a Winnable Group
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Following Saturday's group-stage draw, Canada manager John Herdman told TSN his wishes "nearly came true."
"I wanted New Zealand in the opening game," he said, reflecting on his time as that country's manager. "Some of those girls I've brought up from the age of 18, and now they are blossoming into some top-class players."
Herdman's Canadian outfit won't face New Zealand in their opener, but they will play them in their second match in Edmonton.
They'll open their schedule against China and will also face the Netherlands in the group stage before likely taking on one of Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador in the round of 16.
The way is clear for the host nation to progress at least as far as the quarter-finals, and as Herdman remarked, "There should be no excuses."
Loser: Jerome Valcke, Who Made an Embarrassing Mistake During the Draw
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As the teams came out of Pot 3, Jerome Valke initially proclaimed Colombia to be a part of Group E.
It was an embarrassing lapse in concentration.
As the FIFA secretary general, himself, explained at the outset of the procedure, there could be no more than one team—with the exception of the UEFA participants—drawn into each bracket. Nevertheless, he tried to put Colombia in the same section as Brazil.
Thankfully, FIFA Deputy Director Tatjana Haenni, who was assisting him, reminded Valcke that Group F was the only destination for the CONMEBOL outfit.
As TSN radio commentator Gareth Wheeler exclaimed on Twitter, "Valcke messed up!"
Winner: Brazil, Who Are Still Looking for a 1st World Cup Title
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Brazil have never won a Women's World Cup, although they came painfully close in 2007 when they lost 2-0 to Germany in the Shanghai final.
But Saturday's draw was kind to the Canarinhas, who will face South Korea, Spain and Costa Rica in the group stage of the 2015 competition.
South Korea are making just their second World Cup appearance and have never been to the knockout stages. Spain and Costa Rica, meanwhile, are making their tournament debuts.
A talented side including the likes of Marta and Cristiane should have little difficulty progressing to the round of 16.
Winner: Winnipeg, the Venue for the Group of Death
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Winnipeg will play host to three World Cup-winning nations at the 2015 event.
On June 15 two-time champions Germany (2003 and 2007) will face Thailand at Investors Group Field, and a day later 2011 winners Japan will entertain Ecuador at the stadium, which is home to the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But the best match in the Manitoban city, and perhaps the pick of the entire group stage, will be the June 12 clash between the United States and Sweden that will see the Americans face former manager Pia Sundhage.
Both sides will play two of their Group D matches in Winnipeg, and the section also includes Australia and Nigeria.
Terri Leigh of beIN Sports, and a native Winnipegger, took to Twitter to promote the United States-Sweden clash, posting the message, "Winnipeg, get ready!"
Loser: United States, Who Face a Difficult Group-Stage Assignment
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Group D of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup is surely the Group of Death, and the United States are a part of it.
Now, the presence of the two-time champions is one of the reasons why this bracket has been labelled as such, and the assignment will be far more difficult for Australia and Nigeria than the reigning Olympic gold medalists.
But Australia, a quarter-finalist in 2007, will be no pushover, and neither will Nigeria, who won the African Women's Championship for a ninth time in October.
Then there's Sweden, who just happen to be managed by former United States boss Pia Sundhage. They qualified by winning a qualification group that also included Scotland, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands.
And they went unbeaten in doing it, scoring 32 goals and conceding only one.
Nevertheless, at least one United States international is up for the challenge.
"Bring it on," was Sydney Leroux's confident reaction on Twitter.
Winner: Japan, Who Have the Easiest Draw of All
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Japan beat the United States on penalties to win the 2011 Women's World Cup and then lost to the Americans in the 2012 gold-medal match.
Led by veteran playmaker Homare Sawa, they're sure to be a force in Canada next summer and should have little trouble getting out of their group—much of which will be played in front of partisan fans in Vancouver.
None of Group C rivals Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador have ever played a World Cup match, and their reward for winning the group stands to be a third-place finisher from either Group A, Group B or Group F.
A "dream draw," was how Agence France-Presse, as per NEWS.NET, described Japan's section.
