Five-time African player of the year Asisat Oshoala has welcomed Nigeria’s 2023 Women’s World Cup draw, which pits them against co-hosts Australia and Olympic champions Canada.
The ever-present Super Falcons will also face the Republic of Ireland, who will be making their tournament debut in Group B.
“I think we have a really good group. It’s the World Cup and it’s not meant to be easy or a walk in the park,” Barcelona forward Oshoala told BBC Sport Africa.
“With the group we have, I feel we have a chance.”
The tournament will begin on 20 July next year, with Nigeria opening their campaign against Canada in Melbourne on 21 July before facing Australia and the Republic of Ireland in Brisbane.
All three countries sit above Nigeria in the world rankings, with Canada seventh, Australia 13th and the Republic of Ireland in 24th – some 21 places above the West Africans.
The nine-time African champions played two friendlies against Canada in April, losing 2-0 before a 2-2 draw, but the World Cup fixture will be the third meeting between the two nations at the tournament.
Their first encounter was a 3-3 draw at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden, followed by a 1-0 win for Nigeria in a dead rubber at the 2011 global showpiece, while the West Africans lost 2-0 to Australia in the 2015 event.
“We get to play Canada, a team we know very well, and of course Australia,” Oshoala added.
“It won’t be easy against the Republic of Ireland, but we had Australia in our 2015 group. We lost to them 2-0. It’s a good opportunity for us to come back and also prove that we’ve improved from the team they played seven years ago.
“We have a very good group and are really excited for the tournament.”
Continental giants Nigeria are the only African team to have played in all eight Women’s World Cups since 1991, but the Super Falcons have failed to translate their continental dominance on to the world stage.
Their best performance at the World Cup came when reaching the quarter-finals in 1999, while they also reached the knockout stages in 2019, losing 3-0 to Germany.
After making scoring appearances at both the 2015 and 2019 finals, Oshoala is targeting a place in coach Randy Waldrum’s squad next year.
“I hope I get picked to go to the tournament because it’s the coach who makes the World Cup selection,” she said.
“If I get an opportunity to play for the national team during this tournament, I would give 100%. I’m really looking forward to it. Really excited for this one and let’s see what 2023 brings to us.”
Banyana confident but Morocco and Zambia get former champions
South Africa may have claimed their maiden continental title this year but the team has struggled since, after being outclassed in friendlies against Brazil and Australia.
For their second appearance on the global stage, South Africa have been paired in a tricky group G against Sweden, Italy and Argentina.
But coach Desiree Ellis said Banyana Banyana are in a “reasonable” group and feels confident her side can progress to the last 16.
“I think it’s a reasonable draw. We’ve played Sweden before but we haven’t met Italy and Argentina,” she told the South African FA website.
“It could have been a tougher one, so we are happy with it. When it comes to Sweden, we have played against the Netherlands and they are similar.
“And with regards to Argentina, we have played against Brazil and they are similar. Italy are from the same continent as the Netherlands, but maybe they are different types of teams.
“Now the planning and preparation starts – the analysing of teams and making sure that we have as much information as we can – and also getting the right friendlies.”
World Cup debutants Zambia stunned Nigeria in a play-off encounter to finish third at this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco.
They have been handed the task of facing 2011 world champions Japan, Spain and Costa Rica in Group C.
“There are no easy teams in women’s football at the moment. For us, it’s just important to be here – especially as this is our first time,” coach Bruce Mwape told Fifa.com.
“The whole country is behind us, supporting the team, and our achievements recently show that there has been a lot of improvement in Zambian football.”
Africa’s other representative Morocco have been drawn to face two-time World Cup winners Germany, Colombia and South Korea in Group H.
Meanwhile, possible opponents have also been drawn for Cameroon and Senegal, who will feature in the 10-team intercontinental play-offs to reach the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Should they pick a ticket in New Zealand, Senegal will come up against European champions England, Denmark and China in Group D.
Seeking a third successive appearance at the Women’s World Cup, the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon could end up facing record four-time winners and holders USA, Vietnam and the Netherlands in Group E.
