Women's World Cup: Everything you need to know

The eighth edition of the Women's World Cup begins on Friday when hosts France face South Korea at the Parc des Princes.

There will be 24 teams in France with seven – Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and the United States – having participated in every World Cup so far, while four nations – Chile, Jamaica, Scotland and South Africa – are making their debuts.

We take an in-depth look at everything you need to know about this year's World Cup.

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When does it take place?

Beginning on Friday, the tournament lasts exactly a month with the final on July 7. The group stages will feature six pools of four teams and the winner and runner-up of each group will automatically make it to the round of 16.

In addition, the four best third-placed teams will also advance to the knockout stages.

Where will it be played? 

This year's competition will be held in France for the first time and will be played across nine different venues in Paris, Reims, Grenoble, Rennes, Valenciennes, Montpellier, Nice, Le Havre and Lyon.

Seven of the nine venues will host at least three group-stage games, with Lyon's 59,186-seater stadium staging both last-four contests and the final.

Who are the favourites?

USA are bidding for a fourth title and Jill Ellis' defending champions enter the tournament as favourites to win, four years after beating Japan 5-2 in the 2015 final.

The Americans could face major challenges, though, especially when it comes to hosts France. Les Bleues could face USA in the quarter-finals if they both make it out of the group stages. Germany are also considered among the contenders. During qualifying, Germany racked up an impressive 38 goals and conceded just three times.

Which country has won the most World Cup titles?

In the seven previous tournaments, just four countries have won titles. Three of those have been won by USA, while Germany have lifted the trophy twice and Japan and Norway have one title each.

For comparison, the men's World Cup started in 1930 and eight different nations have been crowned champions across the 21 editions.

What are the key Opta facts to know?

15 - Brazil superstar Marta, who will feature in France, is the World Cup's all-time top scorer having scored 15 times in 17 appearances.

2 - France will be bidding to become just the second host nation to win the tournament after the United States did so in 1999.

33 of 43 - The United States have won 33 of their 43 World Cup matches – the most of any nation.

41 - Formiga will become the oldest player to feature at a World Cup if she is selected by Brazil in this tournament.

73 - In total, 73 women in the World Cup squads play their club football in the United States, the most of any nation, with Spain second as 52 players are employed by teams there.

What was the result of the group-stage draw?

The draw was held on December 8, with the 24 teams divided into four pots based on their FIFA world rankings.

Group A: France, Norway, Nigeria, South Korea

Group B: Germany, China, Spain, South Africa

Group C: Italy, Brazil, Australia, Jamaica

Group D: England, Japan, Scotland, Argentina

Group E: Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Cameroon

Group F: United States, Sweden, Thailand, Chile

 

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What is the schedule for the group stages?

Friday, June 7

France v South Korea (Paris)

Saturday, June 8

Germany v China (Rennes)

Spain v South Africa (Le Havre)

Norway v Nigeria (Reims)

Sunday, June 9

Australia v Italy (Valenciennes)

Brazil v Jamaica (Grenoble)

England v Scotland (Nice)

Monday, June 10

Argentina v Japan (Paris)

Canada v Cameroon (Montpellier)

Tuesday, June 11

New Zealand v Netherlands (Le Havre)

Chile v Sweden (Rennes)

USA v Thailand (Reims)

Wednesday, June 12

Nigeria v South Korea (Grenoble)

Germany v Spain (Valenciennes)

France v Norway (Nice)

Thursday, June 13

Australia v Brazil (Montpellier)

South Africa v China (Paris)

Friday, June 14 

Japan v Scotland (Rennes)

Jamaica v Italy (Reims)

England v Argentina (Le Havre)

Saturday, June 15 

Netherlands v Cameroon (Valenciennes)

Canada v New Zealand (Grenoble)

Sunday, June 16

Sweden v Thailand (Nice)

USA v Chile (Paris)

Monday, June 17 

China v Spain (Le Havre)

South Africa v Germany (Montpellier)

Nigeria v France (Rennes)

South Korea v Norway (Reims)

Tuesday, June 18 

Jamaica v Australia (Grenoble)

Italy v Brazil (Valenciennes)

Wednesday, June 19

Japan v England (Nice)

Scotland v Argentina (Paris)

Thursday, June 20

Cameroon v New Zealand (Montpellier)

Netherlands v Canada (Reims)

Sweden v USA (Le Havre)

Thailand v Chile (Rennes)