Group E: Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, Netherlands

Average Group Ranking:  19.5

With nations from four different confederations, Group E promises to be a clash of styles.  

All four nations – Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand and Netherlands – return to the Women’s World Cup looking to better their showing four years ago.  

All four enter France in different stages of development in their national programs with Canada and the Netherlands, in particular, spending the last four years building towards a proper tilt at the title.  

Another thing in common in Group E is the abundances of attacking power; from Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie, Gabrielle Onguéné, Rosie White, Vivianne Miedema and Lieke Martens, there is no shortage of exciting strikers to keep an eye on.   

Group Schedule

• 11 June: Canada v Cameroon (Montpellier, 05 : 00 AET)
• 11 June: New Zealand v Netherlands (Le Havre, 23 : 00 AET)
• 15 June: Netherlands v Cameroon (Valenciennes, 23 : 00 AET)
• 16 June: Canada v New Zealand (Grenoble, 05 : 00 AET)
• 21 June: Netherlands v Canada (Reims, 02 : 00 AET)
• 21 June: Cameroon v New Zealand (Montpellier, 02 : 00 AET)

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CANADA (CAN) – CONCACAF

https://twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/1126528080435138560

The seeded team in Group C, Canada heads into 2019 with a potent mix of youth and experience.  

Led by captain Christine Sinclair, the second greatest goalscorer of all time, the Canadians are looking to build on their 2015 showing.  

Kenneth Heiner-Møller has a well balanced team anchored by goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe.  Labbe has taken over from Erin McCleod long before McCleod was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.  Defensively it is a relatively young backline with the stalwarts of 4 years ago moving on. It is now Orlando Pride’s Shelina Zadorsky, Lyon’s Kadeisha Buchanan and PSG’s Ashley Lawrence that are the keys to the defence. Zadorsky was not present four years ago but Lawrence and Buchanan – the 2015 Best Young Player – have now grown into seasoned professionals with Olympic and World Cup experience under their belt.  

In the midfield the familiar names of Sophie Schmidt and Desire Scott still hold sway and they will again be the keys to Canuck’s engine room.  While in attack the talismanic Sinclair, the former Canadian wunderkind Jessie Fleming, Janine Beckie and Nichelle Prince should be the main avenues for goals.  

Canada is not the flashiest of teams but what they are is consistent and hard to break down.  Their 2019 record is testament to this with the world number 5 yet to be beaten this calendar year.  

If any nation knows the weight of expectation, it is Canada.  Four years ago they had that pressure on their back but now their core are four years more experienced and with a lot more freedom.  That could be the recipe for deep run to rival their fourth place run of 2003.

CAMEROON (CMR) – CAF

COUPE DU MONDE FÉMININE DE FOOTBALL FIFA FRANCE 2019
La liste des 23 #Lionnes.#AllezLesLionnes@FIFAWWC_CMR @FIFAWWC @FIFAcom @MbomboSeidou pic.twitter.com/vHEXkVH7lm

— Fecafoot-Officiel (@FecafootOfficie) May 24, 2019

If there was one surprise team to come out of Canada 2015, it had to be the Indomitable Lionesses.  

In their first major international tournament, the Lionesses stepped up to the plate qualifying for the knockout stage with some eye catching attacking football.  

The star of the team then was 2015 African Women’s Footballer of the Year  Gaëlle Enganamouit. Four years on and Cameroon are still a force to reckon with in the African Confederation and would be fancying their chances of progressing from the group again.  

It will once again be their attack that will be the key weapon.  This time round its Gabrielle Onguéné, who played a supporting role in Canada, to look out for with Enganamouit struggling with injuries and fitness.  

Ajara Nchout, Madeleine Ngono Mani and Henriette Akaba will also be key to the attack and as they go up against some defensive units that have some vulnerabilities.  

Defensively it is captain and central defender Christine Manie that is the crucial piece of Cameroon’s back four.  Manie is an intelligent but powerful player who commands the respect of the team. She will need all her years of experience to marshall a defensive that will be up against some of the world’s best strikers.  

Cameroon has finished third in the  2018 African Cup of Nations and have not quite found their rhythm in 2019 forcing a coaching change after Joseph Ndoko was fired in January to be replaced by Alain Djeumfa. Two things are in the Lionesses’ favour; that Djeumfa has been around the squad before and that a majority of the expectation defying 2015 squad will be back again.

NEW ZEALAND (NZL) – OFC

A perpetual World Cup qualifier, New Zealand are still looking to advance to the knockout stage for their first time in their history.  

With the squad at Tom Sermanni’s disposal, this is arguably their best chance yet.  New Zealand are led by four key defensive rocks; defenders Abby Erceg and Ria Percival, goalkeeper Erin Naylor, and captain Ali Riley.  

With over 450 caps between them, they will play a significant role in whether the Kiwi defence will be able to hold their own against some strong attacks in the group.  

New Zealand are not without their own attacking threats with recent centurion Rosie White chief among them.  White alongside fellow forwardline veteran Sarah Gregorius provide the pace for the attack while Hannah Wilkinson and attacking midfielder Katie Bowen are crucial support and feeder players.  

IF there is one area that the Kiwis will be hoping can stand up, it is the midfield.  In Katie Duncan, Betsy Hassett and Annalie Longo there are plenty of matches and tournament experience.  They are up against some stiff midfield opponents and how they perform could be key to New Zealand’s chances of making some history.  

NETHERLANDS (NED) – UEFA

#FIFAWWC | Netherlands 2️⃣3️⃣

The Dutch have become the first nation to announce their World Cup squad. pic.twitter.com/nTqsV7kJEv

— Beyond 90 (@Beyond90AU) April 10, 2019

Since they last played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Dutch football has undergone a transformation.  

Once the team that people considered an interesting team to watch at a tournament full of up and coming players, in 2019 this is a team full of certified stars in women’s football.  

One such player is forward Vivianne Miedema.  19 at the last World Cup, Miedema came into the tournament as a young player to watch but the weight of expectations looked to be felt.  Since Canada the striker has continued to mature and is now easily one of the best attacking weapons in the world. The 2018/19 FA WSL Player of the Year, Miedema lead Arsenal the league trophy as the top goalscorer.  

However that feat was not on her shoulders alone, her national teammate Daniëlle van de Donk was right alongside her, often pulling the strings in the Gunners midfield.  Add to the mix Arsenal teammates Jill Roord, Sari van Veenendaal, Lyon’s Shanice van de Sanden and Barcelona’s Lieke Martens, then the Dutch have all the ingredients to repeat their Euro 2017 triumph.  

The issue has been the consistency since that Euro victory.  Wiegman’s team were forced to qualify for France the hard way and since that qualification they have struggled with up and down results against teams their pedigree should be accounting for.  

If they can put it together, it could be another magical summer for Oranje Leeuwinnen.