FIFA Women's World Cup: U.S. draws 'Group of Death,' Canada into more favorable group

GATINEAU, Que. – The football gods listened to Canadian coach John Herdman Friday night.

He asked for Canada not to be in a "group of death". And he asked for New Zealand, the team he coached in the Women's World Cup in 2007 and 2011, to be in Canada's pool.

And that's exactly what Herdman got. The only wish he wasn't granted was for New Zealand to be the opening-match opponent on June 6 in Edmonton, when the 2015 Women's World Cup gets under way.

Canada drew New Zealand, along with China and the Netherlands, in the group stage. They will open against China in Edmonton on June 6.

"We avoided that group of death. Bless Sweden and USA and Nigeria, I mean, wow, that’s a tough group. We’re going home pretty happy today," Herdman said. "It’s not the hardest group. it’s not the easiest, but certainly doable. Over the last three years we’ve played all of those teams and beaten them. It’s a good group for us, one that we think we can finish on top of."

The Americans drew the closest thing to what could be called a "group of death" in this World Cup. They drew Australia, Sweden and Nigeria in Group D. And as a host city, they drew Winnipeg.

"I think out of the all the groups, physically it’s going to be very challenging. But I think that’s good, because we’re deep. We’ve got a lot of young players, and we’ve got a lot of depth on our roster," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. "It’s earned respect, it’s earned pressure. I think, because of historically how this team has done, I think we’re coming in with something to prove, and we’re gunning for it. We haven’t won a World Cup in many years."

"All three teams in with the United States will push the Americans to their limits," said Jason De Vos, the former Canadian national player, now a commentator on TSN.

Here's how the groups shook out.

GROUP A (Edmonton): Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands.

GROUP B (Ottawa): Germany, Côte D'Ivoire, Norway, Thailand.

GROUP C (Vancouver): Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador.

GROUP D (Winnipeg): U.S.A., Australia, Sweden, Nigeria.

GROUP E (Montreal): Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Costa Rica.

GROUP F (Moncton): France, England, Colombia, Mexico.

The ceremony itself was an elaborate production. Held in the IMAX theatre at the Canadian Museum of History, just over the bridge from Ottawa in Gatineau, there was entertainment, a video presentation, the singing of the national anthem by former Canadian winner Eva Avila, and even a full complement of tourism stations from each of the six cities that will host games next summer.