Queens Start Against China

The Ghana women's national team, black queens, will start it's quest for world cup glory against, the 1999 runner-up, China, Sept. 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson (Los Angeles County).

THE Queens' hopes of breaking their winning drought at major tournaments received a massive boost with the favourable draw for the Women's World Cup soccer finals in September. While Ghana has been drawn in the same pool as powerhouse China, the group also includes Australia and Russia... teams that are on paper beatable

The U.S. women's national team will open its defense of the Women's World Cup title against Sweden on Sept. 21 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The draw for the 2003 Women's World Cup, moved to the United States from China in the spring because of the SARS epidemic, was held Thursday morning with the 16-team field sorted into four groups.

The U.S. team's Group A also includes Nigeria, whom they will play Sept. 25 in Philadelphia, and North Korea. The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world in FIFA's new women's rankings, will play North Korea on Sept. 28 in Columbus, Ohio. Both of those teams were in the U.S. group in the 1999 Women's World Cup as well, with the Americans winning each match.

The Americans were separated from some of their noteworthy competitors, as China, Germany and Canada are on the other side of a potential semifinal bracket.

The draw was (with seeded nations listed first):

Group A - USA, Sweden, North Korea, Nigeria

Group B - Norway, Brazil, France, South Korea;

Group C - Germany, Argentina, Canada, Japan;

Group D - China, Australia, Ghana, Russia.