FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup draw hands Canada a tough road

Canada is gearing up to host their first of two major women's international competitions.  On Saturday, the draw for the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup took place in Montreal dividing the 16 qualified teams into four groups.  The games for the event will take place in Moncton, Montreal, Edmonton, and Toronto with Olympic Stadium in Montreal hosting the semifinals and the final.

Canada, as the hosts, were placed into pot A where they will be joined by Ghana who barely qualified for the event as they went all the way to penalties against Equatorial Guinea to secure their place, Finland who qualified as semi-finalists from the UEFA U-19 Championships last year, and Korea DPR who finished second at the AFC U-19 Championship.

It is a group that should provide a good test for Canada but it is certainly one that they should be able to make their way out of.  With the home crowd on their side the expectations will only be that much higher.  Their first two games, against Ghana (8/5) and Finland (8/8), will take place at BMO Field before they move to Montreal for the final match of their group against Korea DPR.

Along with hosting Canada's first two matches BMO Field will play host two a pair of other Group A games in Finland-Korea DPR (8/5) and Ghana-Korea DPR (8/8) as well as Korea Republic-Mexico and Costa Rica-New Zealand on August 13th.  BMO will also host a quarterfinal on August 16th between the winner of Group A and the runner-up of Group B.

So fans in Toronto will have the chance to potentially watch Canada play in a quarterfinal.  If Canada wins their group they will play at BMO but if they finish in second they would play at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton instead.  The issue for the Canadians is that the draw sets them up for a tricky quarterfinal should they reach that stage.  With Group B boasting Germany, China, Brazil, and the United States there are four potentially tricky opponents waiting.

For fans looking to go to any of the games in Toronto venue packs are available for sale already and individual game tickets will go on sale to the public on May 8th.  There should also be tickets for sale through the Voyageurs who will once again be looking to pack the south stand with fans.

The full schedule for the event is below

August 5th

Group A: Canada-Ghana; BMO Field, Toronto

Group A: Finland-Korea DPR; BMO Field Toronto

Group B: Germany-USA; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Group B: China PR-Brazil; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

August 6th

Group C: England-Korea Republic; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Group C: Mexico-Nigeria; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Group D: New Zealand-Paraguay; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Group D: France-Costa Rica; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

August 8th

Group A: Canada-Finland; BMO Field, Toronto

Group A: Ghana-Korea DPR; BMO Field, Toronto

Group B: Germany-China PR; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Group B: USA Brazil; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

August 9th

Group C: England-Mexico; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Group C: Korea Republic-Nigeria; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Group D: New Zealand-France; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Group D: Paraguay-Costa Rica; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

August 12th

Group A: Korea DPR-Canada; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Group A: Ghana-Finland; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Group B: Brazil-Germany; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Group B: USA-China PR; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

August 13th

Group C: Nigeria-England; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

Group C: Korea Republic-Mexico; BMO Field, Toronto

Group D: Costa Rica-New Zealand; BMO Field, Toronto

Group D: Paraguay-France; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

August 18th

Quarterfinal 1: A1-B2; BMO Field, Toronto

Quarterfinal 2: B1-A2; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

August 17th

Quarterfinal 3: C1-D2; Moncton Stadium, Moncton

Quarterfinal 4: D1-C2; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

August 20th

Semifinal 1: Winner QF1-Winner QF3; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Semifinal 2: Winner QF2-Winner QF4; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

August 24th

Third place match: Loser SF1-Loser SF2; Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Final: Winner SF1-Winner SF2; Olympic Stadium, Montreal