2011 FIFA Women's World Cup: Tournament Bracket With Group by Group Guide

The 2011 Women's World Cup kicks off this Sunday, and it has all the makings to be an action-packed few weeks in Germany.

Team USA is the No. 1 team in the world, but they've gone out in the semifinals of the past two tournaments and have never won the World Cup on European soil.

After the controversy in 2007, they want their title back from Germany even more this time around.  

World No. 3 Brazil has never won the sport's ultimate prize, but they are led by five-time defending World Player of the Year Marta and hope to finally overcome the last hurdle after their runners-up performance four years ago.

The bracket has done its part, but the rest is up to Brazil.

Germany, meanwhile, is Germany. The two-time defending champions were unbelievably dominant in 2007 and should be nothing less this summer in front of their fans. 

The other 13 teams in the tournament will be hoping to overthrow the favorites and get into the mix themselves. We're in store for a fantastic few weeks, and here's a group-by-group breakdown of what to expect.  

Group A: Germany, Canada, Nigeria and France

Germany really should have no problems winning this group. Not only are they the two-time defending World Cup winners—first nation to ever win back to back—but they are also the five-time defending European champions (with seven overall). 

To open the 2007 World Cup, Germany hammered Argentina 11-0, but Canada should not be such an easy pushover.

Nigeria and France, on the other hand, consider yourselves warned. 

The No. 2 ranked Germans are still led by Birgit Prinz and her 128 international goals, and 13 players in the squad have winner's medals from four years ago. I could see Canada shocking them with a draw, but nine points is not at all out of the question for Germany.

Germany will have to get through the US in the semifinals to make it to the final, and with both teams looking to become the first to win three world titles, that sets up as the game of the tournament. 

No. 6 in the world Canada should be the second team out of this group. They ended in fourth place in 2003, their highest ever finish, but last year, they won their first ever CONCACAF championship without allowing a goal in the process. 

Canada will want to put on a strong performance this summer in preparation for hosting the event in four years. They are also lucky to be getting Germany out of the way first. If they can hold the Germans to a draw, they will be in a good position to beat both Nigeria and France.

France, ranked No. 7, will challenge Canada for the second-place finish, but their schedule won't help them. They open against Nigeria, who will want to prove themselves, then face Canada and finish with Germany.

France need to start off with a win—a big one would be nice—and then get at least a draw against Canada because they really can't hope for much against Germany. 

Nigeria has never gone past the quarterfinals in the World Cup, and FIFA has done them no favors with this group.

They have been dominant in Africa, winning all but one African Women's Championships since 1991, and if France's schedule gives them trouble, Nigeria could finish in third, but are a long shot to steal a spot in the quarterfinals.

The runners-up won't have much chance of a rematch with Germany in the final, as they'd meet Brazil in the semifinals first. 

Group B: Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and England

All four teams in Group B are ranked in the top 25 of FIFA rankings, and this should be a tightly contested group. It just may not be all that exciting.

None of these four teams have made it past the quarterfinals in a World Cup, and we could see a few draws in this group that determine the finish.

That means every goal will count when it comes to who makes it to the next round. 

Japan, the No. 4 team in the world, will be hoping to make it past the quarterfinals for the first time, and winning this group is about the only way they can hope for that. The runner-up of Group B takes on the winner of Group A, likely Germany, in the quarters, all but ending their tournament.

England, No. 10, have also never made it past the quarterfinals, and their best ever finish in a tournament was their runner-up finish in the 2009 European Championships (to Germany, of course).

This is only Mexico's second appearance in the World Cup, and in 1999, they didn't make it out of their group. 

New Zealand, No. 24,  is only one better than Mexico, having qualified for two tournaments, but they have scored just one total goal.

Both Mexico and New Zealand will be in damage control, and their matches will likely affect England and Japan more than themselves. They face each other in the last group match, and if both can minimize the damage against Japan and England, whoever wins (if anyone) that match could actually sneak into the next round.  

Japan and England, meanwhile, need to fire away and record big wins against Mexico and New Zealand before they face off against each other in their final group game. Whoever scores the most goals in those first two matches will be in prime position to win the group, thereby avoiding Germany right away.

But the winner does get put in Brazil's half for the semifinal, which isn't much better.  

Group C: USA, North Korea, Colombia and Sweden

Team USA will be playing with some serious chips on their shoulders after the way the 2007 World Cup ended, so North Korea, Colombia and Sweden, watch out.

Like Germany, USA are the clear favorites here, and even though North Korea (No. 8) and Sweden (No. 5) are highly ranked as well, No. 1 USA should be able to come out of this group unscathed.

They may finish with one draw on their record, likely against Sweden in the final game, when winning the group may have already been decided, but they'll be all-in for every game.

The US will likely face Norway or Australia in the quarters, but the real test will be Germany in the semis.

Germany stole the US's title in 2003 by knocking them out in the semis, in the US, by a score of 3-0.

Revenge, anyone?  

The real battle in Group C will be for the second-place finish. 

I'd give North Korea the edge simply because they get USA out of the way first, then face Sweden and finish off against No. 31 Colombia, who unfortunately may be the punching bag of this group.

North Korea has won three Asian Cups, and in 2007, they made it to the quarterfinals for the first time. 

Sweden, on the other hand, have a decent record in the World Cup. They were runners-up in 2003, made it to the quarters the two years previous and finished in third in 1991, the first year of the competition.

Facing the US in the final game, however, is not what you'd want. They'll need to really take care of Colombia, and hopefully North Korea as well, so they aren't depending on a positive result against the US.

Sweden will want to avenge their result in 2007, when they didn't make it out of the group stages. They'll also be glad they won't have to face Germany, who they've lost to many times in tournament play, anytime soon.

If Sweden are the runners-up, they wouldn't meet Germany until the final (if they can take care of Brazil), and if they manage to knock off USA, they'd likely run into Germany in the semifinals. 

Group D: Brazil, Australia, Norway and Equatorial Guinea

Brazil are desperate to win their first World Cup, and FIFA did everything short of actually handing them the trophy with this tournament bracket. 

The only team that could stop Brazil from making the final is themselves, but Australia, Norway and Equatorial Guinea could have a say in the way the rest of the tournament plays out.

Norway, No. 9, are the only team not named USA or Germany to have won the World Cup, and their lowest finish was in 2003 when they went out in the quarterfinals. They can start off by pounding the No. 61 Equatorial Guinea, which will give them a leg up on No. 11 Australia, who have to tee off against Brazil.

Australia made it out of the group stages for the first time in 2007, but they will need to do better than one win in the group stages this year if they hope to repeat. 

Brazil should get three wins out of three in this group, while Equatorial Guinea should finish with the exact opposite record.

The most important game will be Australia and Norway going against each other in the final game. Each should have one win and one loss, and their records and are pretty evenly matched teams, so goal difference could play a big part.

Pound Equatorial Guinea and hope for the best against Brazil is the game plan for these two.

Norway plays in a much more competitive Europe and won all but one of their qualifying matches, so I give them the edge to finish second to Brazil. However, that means their next opponent will in all likelihood be the US, so the quarterfinals will likely be as far as they get this summer as well. 

Brazil can easily march all the way to the final this summer, but it will be either Germany or the US waiting for them, so their first World Cup title is anything but guaranteed.