Germany meets Canada in the opening match on June 26, 2011
The first opponent on the road to the title defense has been determined! The German Women’s National Team will play Team Canada in the opening match of the 6th FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 at the Olympiastadion Berlin. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m.
The final draw ceremony was held on Monday in Frankfurt/Main. 600 guest from around the world followed the draw live, while many watched on TV as the final draw ceremony was broadcast in 200 countries. The celebrities among the 600 guests at the final draw were among others the mayors of all host cities, National Team players Birgit Prinz and Inka Grings as well as German Football Association (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger. “We are looking forward to great games during the World Cup. Germany will be a great host”, the DFB president said. During the draw that was moderated by ZDF sports reporter Sven Voss and took place in the “Harmony” hall of the Frankfurt congress center, the German rock band “Wir sind Helden” played their song “Alles auf Anfang”. In addition, the official match ball “Speedcell” was introduced.
The match history between Germany and Canada speaks for Germany’s National Team. Since 1994 nine games have been played and all were won by the German Women’s Team. The highest win was a 7:1 in Oberhausen on June 17, 2001, the last win came on September 15, 2010, when Germany shut out Canada 5:0. Silvia Neid, Germany’s coach defined a clear goal for her team, but warned of carelessness: „I am content with the draw, but I don’t think you can say that we’re definitely in the quarter finals. We won’t underestimate our opponents by any means. …The primary goal remains the title defense. That would be great and we will do everything we can to get there.”
Team Canada, currently 9th in the FIFA World Rankings, conceded no goals during qualification and were crowned North American Champions. Their biggest success came during the 2003 World Cup, when they reached fourth place. In 2008, Team Canada reached the Olympic Games for the first time in team history, losing the quarter final in extra time 1:2 against Team USA, the eventual Olympic Champions. „ It’s going to be tough to go against World Champion Germany in front of their own fans in the opening match. Maybe the Germans will be a little bit nervous in front of so many fans. I think that anything is possible in the opening match as long as we play well.”, said Team Canada’s Italian coach Carolina Morace of the opening match draw.
After the opening match at the Olympiastadion Berlin, the German National Team will play France and Nigeria during the group stage. Both teams went through qualification without a loss. Tickets for the opening match at the Olympiastadion Berlin on June 26, 2011 are available here.
In the quarter finals, Germany could meet Japan or the runners-up of the European Championships England on their way to possibly becoming the lone Record World Champions with their third triumph in a row. Before the final draw, DFB coach Silvia Neid had announced that she would make adjustments in her teams’ preparation for the World Cup in accordance to the opponents
During the World Cup, 32 matches will be played in the nine cities of Augsburg, Berlin, Bochum, Dresden, Frankfurt/Main, Leverkusen, Mönchengladbach, Sinsheim and Wolfsburg. The final will be played in Frankfurt/Main. 350.000 of the total 700.000 tickets have already been sold. The final draw also gave the starting signal for the third presale phase. The 150.000 additional tickets now available for all matches of the World Cup, give the chance to select specific matches during the group stage and include 50.000 tickets for all matches with German participation.
The organising committee ticket center makes the tickets available on a “first come, first served” basis, going after the date the order was received.