Group B: Germany, China, Spain, South Africa

A heavy-hitting nation like Germany often takes the focus away from other contenders in their group. And for good reason, Germany are two time World Champions with eight European Championships under their belt. However, dark horse Spain, a fresh South Africa, and traditional powerhouse China, should not be underestimated.

Germany are favourites to lead this group, but be assured it won’t all be as smooth sailing as pundits would have on paper. China and Spain are likely to battle it out for the second and possibly third qualifying spot, with South Africa looking to ruin the party for either nation.

Group Schedule

• 8 June: Germany v China PR (Rennes, 23 : 00 AET)
• 9 June: Spain v South Africa (Le Havre, 2 : 00 AET)
• 13 June: Germany v Spain (Valenciennes, 2 : 00 AET)
• 14 June: South Africa v China PR (Paris, 5 : 00 AET)
• 18 June: South Africa v Germany (Montpellier, 2 : 00 AET)
• 18 June: China PR v Spain ( Le Havre, 2 : 00 AET)

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GERMANY (GER) – UEFA

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxcOcbYomTc/

Tournament expectations are always going to be high for a traditional powerhouse, such as Germany. This is the country that won the 2004 and 2007 World Cups, have successfully navigated their way out of the group stage, and won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics to add to their impressive trophy cabinet.

Despite all their success, the pressure on this team in France is huge. The coaching personnel has changed three times since Silva Nied steered the Germans to fourth place in Canada four years ago. Their most recent outing in a major tournament, the UEFA Women’s Euro in 2017 would be considered woeful by their usual standards, bombing out to Denmark and didn’t come within touching distance of the grand final.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking Germany have lost their touch.  They are still a team to be feared. Always consistently sound in defence, the sides ability to mix up their attack through the flanks and the centre off their quick springing transition will no doubt see them find success once again on the biggest of stages.

CHINA PR (CHN) – AFC

https://twitter.com/ChinaWNFT/status/1127191092644982785

Once a powerhouse of women’s football, China will be seeking to rise to those heady heights again. Their best finish in a World Cup was a toe to toe with the USA in 1999, where they were second best in a dreaded penalty shootout. The last piece of major silverware China grasped was the 2006 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Successfully navigating the difficult AFC confederation, with a third place finish in the 2018 Asian Cup, China are a side who could easily play above the expectations of those unfamiliar with the team.

China always look to punch above their weight. Canada 2015 is an example that China will be looking to repeat, and perhaps go one further. During that tournament, they eased through the group stages in the trails of the home nation and went on to win by a goal over Cameroon, to then be knocked out by the eventual champions, the USA, in a match very much in the balance bar a Carli Lloyd goal.

On the field, expect a well organised outfit, who will suffocate opponents holding the ball. They also have star quality talent up front to slip a few into the back of the net, giving the side a good balance and allrounder feel.

SPAIN (ESP) – UEFA

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxra0JfoA5T/

A second consecutive World Cup for Spain has many tipping them to be the dark horse of the competition. Given the rapid rise of their domestic competition, la Liga, there is solid ground to dub this side a potential heart breaker.

Spain’s previous World Cup outing saw them konk out of the group stage with a draw against Costa Rica. This time round they will be keen to improve and show the world what they’ve got. However, they’ve yet to really crack it during a major tournament. In the UEFA Women’s Euro they have struggled to win a knockout game, with their last knockout match victory in 1997.

Any side that successfully navigates qualification through Europe deserves their weight in gold and shouldn’t be underestimated. The Spanish qualified in style, with a good cushion over second place Austria in their qualifying group. Add a handful of strong friendlies and Spain look to be a real contender in a very tough group.

In the vein of Spanish football, this is a team with silky moves like Jagger. They work tight spaces in a way that’ll leave you speechless. If Spain can find their goalscoring boots, they’re going to look deadly.

SOUTH AFRICA (RSA) – CAF

Here are the 23 players that will represent South Africa at the @FIFAWWC in France next month as we are 20 days away from kickoff #fifawwc @Banyana_Banyana @BafanaBafana #forbanyanabanyanacomeshowyourlove #BanyanaBanyana #DareToShine pic.twitter.com/1Qevg6nM5W

— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) May 18, 2019

South Africa are one of the handful of sides making their debut on the world stage. This may be their first World Cup, but they’ve played in Olympic campaigns, so expect this team to come in with their feet on the ground and ready for battle.

While silverware has eluded them, South Africa qualify for the tournament on the back of narrowly missing out in the African Cup of Nations final against Nigeria, in a match that went down to the wire.

Their Olympic experience consists of appearances in 2012 and 2016. While they’ve yet to bag a win in either campaign, they’ve managed to register a point on the board each time. South Africa appear to be priming themselves for a successful tournament. Since qualifying, they’ve organised a number of big match friendlies for preparation, meaning the World Cup isn’t going to be a baptism of fire.

With the blistering pace South Africa possess on the flanks, they will be out to surprise. While they’ll be asking questions of their opponents, they have been dealt a tough hand in this group and will definitely need to be firing on all cylinders to find any hint of breathing room.