The Portuguese women’s football team knows this Friday the possible rivals for the match of play off Intercontinental, which on February 22, 2023, in Hamilton, New Zealand, decides if it will be in the World Cup for the first time.
Thailand (41st in the women’s ranking), Paraguay (51st), Haiti (56th), Panama (57th), Cameroon (58th) and Senegal (84th) are the possible rivals of Portugal, the team with the best ranking (23rd) in the 10 vying for the final three spots at the 2023 World Cup.
As the main seed, Portugal was placed in group A, with the A1 position, being already qualified directly for the group final, in which it will meet the winner of the clash between the two unseeded.
Of the six possible rivals, only two have participated in previous World Cups, Thailand, which was left out of the first round in 2015 and 2019, and Cameroon, which in the last two editions reached the round of 16.
Thailand is also the only team Portugal has already faced, having won 4-1, on October 6, 2018, in a Four Nations Tournament match, in a match in which Carolina Mendes jumped off the bench. to get a hat trick.
The ‘corners’ will know in the draw the two possible rivals in the decisive qualifying match, with the clash that determines which team plays on February 18, 2023, in Hamilton.
The day before, Portugal will face the host New Zealand, in a friendly match within the framework of the Intercontinental playoff, which distributes the last three places in the competition and also serves as a test for the competition.
In addition to Francisco Neto’s men, Chile, which is already in the final of group B, and Taiwan and Papua New Guinea, who expect a rival in the semifinals of group C, are also seeded in the draw. The groups qualify for The endings.
Present in the last two European Championships, in 2015 and 2022, both falling in the group stage, the selection of the ‘quinches’ seeks its first presence in a World Cup.
The Portuguese team reached the Intercontinental playoff by finishing second in group H of the European classification, behind Germany, and qualifying for the continental playoff, in which they beat Belgium (2-1) and Iceland (4-1 in the extension). ).
For the final, 29 of the 32 teams are already defined, 11 from Europe, namely Sweden, Spain, England, Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland.
The other formations already qualified are the hosts Australia and New Zealand, as well as China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam (Asia), Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia (Africa), Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica and the United States. (CONCACAF) and Argentina, Brazil and Colombia (South America).
The 2023 Women’s World Cup Finals will take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.
Source: TSF
