Luck of the Women's World Cup draw? How the top teams fared

[Glasgow]

How did some of the top contenders for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup fare in Saturday's draw? Our experts break it down:

United States (Group F)
This starts out as a dream draw, even with the Americans facing Sweden for a fifth straight World Cup and after the Swedes eliminated them from the 2016 Olympics. But Thailand was the Pot C team that every contender wanted, and Chile looked overmatched in two recent meetings. The USWNT also only needs to travel about 200 miles in the group, will be familiar with Le Havre after playing there in January and gets a game in Paris, where it could play in the knockout round. Trouble looms after that. The immediate danger is a potential round of 16 game against Spain, or even Germany, as the runner-up from Group B, a far cry from playing Colombia in the same round in 2015. Survive that, and the most likely scenario is a quarterfinal against France in Paris. That, too, is a far cry from a quarterfinal against China on a neutral field four years ago. -- Graham Hays

Germany (Group B)
A straightforward draw wouldn't fit the narrative for Germany, but this could have been worse. From a coaching change (Martina Voss-Tecklenburg now in charge after interim coach Horst Hrubesch salvaged an initially turbulent qualifying campaign), to the pulmonary embolism that sidelined captain Dzsenifer Marozsan for much of 2018, it hasn't been business as usual. China and South Africa can be managed, but drawing Spain, perhaps the biggest X factor in the draw, is cause for uneasiness, even when you haven't lost a group game since 1995. Win Group B and a third-place team awaits in the round of 16. But the price for finishing second in the group could be a round of 16 matchup against the U.S. That makes Spain versus Germany on June 12 one of the matches of the tournament. -- Graham Hays

France (Group A)
France will be happy with the draw it got Saturday in Paris. It wanted to avoid Brazil or Japan, and it has. The list of fixtures should also enable France to get from strength to strength in this group stage to arrive at its peak for the round of 16. With Korea on the tournament's opening day (June 7) in Paris, Norway, 13th in the world rankings in Nice (June 12) and then Nigeria, who won the last Women's Africa Cup of Nations, in Rennes (June 17), France could be in for the perfect star in its World Cup. -- Julien Laurens

England (Group D)
Of course, it had to be Japan and Scotland. This is the most motivating draw England could have, facing the team who knocked the Brits out of the last World Cup and their old foes. Fresh from the hammer blow of vice-captain Jordan Nobbs' World Cup-ending knee injury, England will have to do it the hard way if it is to top Group D. Japan, runners-up in 2015, offer the sternest test for Phil Neville's side; but Scotland, growing in form and stature under Shelley Kerr, will fancy an upset in its maiden World Cup. The England-Scotland match in Nice on June 9 will be a repeat of England women's first match, dating back to 1972. Argentina should be straightforward for the Lionesses, but judging by this pool, if England reach the knockout stage, there is no danger of the team being undercooked. -- Tom Hamilton

Canada (Group E)
Canada has reason to be most displeased about drawing one of the many rematches in this tournament. Although the Netherlands had to go through the European playoff to qualify, it was a team to avoid. Few teams in the world have progressed more in the past four years than the Dutch, who went from World Cup rookies in 2015 to European champions in 2017. All of which means this a much better Dutch team than Canada faced in 2015 -- and that group ended in a draw in Montreal. While New Zealand can be tricky, the Dutch and Canadians should both be on six points entering the group finale in Reims on June 20. The solace for the loser is that winning the group guarantees little, with England or Japan likely waiting in the round of 16. Finishing second, meanwhile, likely means opening the knockout round against Sweden (but possibly the U.S.). -- Graham Hays