Australia will begin its campaign against Republic of Ireland on Thursday, 20 July 2023 at Sydney Football Stadium, after the completion of the Official Draw on Saturday at the Aotea Centre in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau.

The Matildas will then face 11-time African champion Nigeria and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Canada in a tough group. 

“Now we know what we're facing," Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said. "We know what the opening game looks like. Now, it's all about preparation.

“If you look at a bracket, and you look at the tournament, there's no easy games in this tournament. It's all about knowing who you're facing and preparing the best way possible.

"The type of games [we schedule] is definitely going to be key. That we target the right type of opponents, we have some scheduled already based on what we thought the draw was going to look like.” 

“Right now, it's all about the opening game. We want to start the tournament as well as possible.”  

Based on the FIFA women’s world rankings, as co-host Australia was placed in Pot 1 for the draw along with co-host New Zealand, United States, Sweden, Germany, England, France and Spain. 

Constraints on the draw included no two nations from the same confederation, with the exception of UEFA, and the co-hosts in pre-determined positions.  

A historic tournament, for the first time 32-nations will compete at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ with the opening matches on 20 July 2023 and the Final at Stadium Australia on 20 August 2023.