A number of teams headed to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup will play friendly matches prior to leaving for Germany. This week, it was announced that Australia will play two games against New Zealand (May 12 and May 15). Colombia will play Mexico twice (both games are scheduled for the last week of April), while France will host Scotland at the 20,000-seat Stade Francis le Blé in Brest on May 18. Germany will play North Korea (May 21), Italy (June 3), the Netherlands (June 7), and Norway (June 16). The U.S. will play Japan on May 14 and May 18 before their sendoff match, scheduled for June 5 against Mexico at Red Bull Arena. On May 17, England will play Sweden at The Kassam Stadium in Oxford, England. Nigeria will play Equatorial Guinea twice, but not in friendlies. The teams will play against each other in the 2012 Olympic qualifiers.
The 2011 World Cup group stage begins June 26th with Germany taking on Canada and Nigeria facing France
Group A: Germany, Canada, Nigeria, France
Group B: Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, England
Group C: United States, North Korea, Columbia, Sweden
Group D: Brazil, Australia, Norway, Equatorial Guinea