U19 WWC Draw

[Gordon]

Canada gets host Thailand, Europe 2 and Australia

http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1785

Yanks get Europe 1, 3 and South Korea.

[madhatter]

Thanks for posting Gordon. Certainly no guarantees, but the Americans sure look to be in a tougher pool than Canada, having to beat both Asia's and Europe's no. 1's if they want to finish first in their pool. From the present vantage point, it makes last Sunday's victory meaningful.

[Guest Ed]

Looks like about the best possible draw we could have. I assume the USA, Canada and Brazil were 'A' seeds. I don't think last Sunday's victory affected the draw, but it certainly will affect our mind set for future encounters. Another good showing in the U19 WC (away from home this time) would be some consolation for the Olympic qualifying fiasco. I don't think I'd want my daughter going to Greece this summer anyway.

[beachesl]

Canada, Brazil and Europe 1 were seeded, so winning the CoNCACAF tournamnet did affect the draw, otherwise the US would have been seeded.

The seeding and the draw procedure is set out in:

http://www.fifa.com/documents/tournaments/wu19/U19%20draw%20procedure_E.pdf

[Guest Ed]

Well, in that case I'm glad Europe 2 was drawn in our group and not the USA. Another god-awful location for us trying to watch live games though. I think I'm still recovering from the Olympics in 2000 and WC in 2002 from the other side of the world.

[The Ref]

I wonder how good Thailand is. The rest of the teams I can speculate in mind except for Africa's team yet to be decided. Am I correct to assume that Thailand is in by virtue of being the host country?

[Elaine]

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

Am I correct to assume that Thailand is in by virtue of being the host country?

correct ... even greece getting an automatic spot as host in this summer's olympics will do better than thailand will for the u19s this fall ... thai women's soccer hasn't developed at pace as other countries in asia (ie. the "big guns" in china, koreas, japan etc.) ... their full team isn't anywhere near the ballpark, so i cannot imagine their u19s any better etc.

and i will go out on a limb and say that canada playing a country like haiti, dominican republic or even panama will be a more "competitive" game than it will be with thailand ...

[Soju]

Thailand's a country in love with football but they seem pretty unaware of their women's teams. I expect Canada to steam roll this one, will anyone else be there to watch?

[DJT]

From CP through Canoe:

Canadians get favourable draw for women's world under-19 soccer event

By NEIL DAVIDSON

(CP) - Canada's recent win over the United States in qualifying play paid dividends Saturday with a favourable draw for the women's world under-19 soccer championship in Thailand in November.

At Saturday's draw in Bangkok, the Canadian women were placed in Group A with host Thailand, Australia and the No. 2 European team. European qualifying starts July 28.

Because the Canadians won the CONCACAF region, they were placed in the same pot as Brazil and Europe No. 1 for the purposes of the draw. That means they were spared from playing two top teams in the preliminary round.

The defending world champion Americans, who as CONCACAF runner-up were placed in a pot with Australia and the African qualifier, were not so lucky. They were drawn in Group C, arguably the toughest of the three pools, with Asian champion South Korea, which beat China 3-0 in qualifying, and Europe's No. 1 and 3 teams. Group C matches will be played in Phuket, an island in the southern part of the country.

Group B, based out of Chiang Mai, features Brazil, China, Africa's qualifier and Europe's No. 4.

The top two teams from each group and the two best third-place sides advance to the quarter-finals.

"It's a very good draw for us," Canadian coach Ian Bridge said from his Vancouver Island home.

Thailand qualified automatically as host and was considered a surprise semifinalist in Asian qualifying, where it lost 3-0 to South Korea (and 4-0 to North Korea in the third-place match). "Not that strong of a team," Bridge said of the Thais.

Australia has done well in the past but faced little opposition in qualifying in its region.

Bridge also likes Canada's schedule. Playing in Bangkok, the Canadians will open against Australia on Nov. 10 before taking on Thailand on Nov. 13. They will wrap up group play against the European team, their toughest competition in the round, on Nov. 16.

Should they win the group, the Canadians will advance to face either the third-place team in Pool B or C. A second-place finish means a quarter-final against the runner-up in Group C.

While the site of the quarter-finals has yet to be determined, the semifinals and final will be played in Bangkok so Canada will be spared travel if it keeps winning.

The Canadians were runner-up to the U.S. in the inaugural world under-19 championships two years ago, losing 1-0 on a golden goal before more than 47,000 in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.

The Americans will face a tougher road this time round.

"It's a tough group, no doubt," U.S. goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris said in a U.S. Soccer statement. "But I think it's actually beneficial, because when we play teams that are not as strong, it's difficult to keep our focus. We don't like it easy, we like playing the top teams in the world. For sure we are still disappointed by the loss to Canada and that will be motivating."

The European picture won't become clear until qualifying ends in early August.

That tournament will determine which four of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain and Switzerland advance.