Reigning champ USA learns path to 2023 Women’s World Cup

Reigning Women’s World Cup champion United States was drawn against Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti for July’s CONCACAF W Championship, the North American qualifying event for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The draw conducted Tuesday by the regional football governing body at Miami placed the Americans and their rivals in Group A while Group B will feature Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.

The CONCACAF event will be staged July 4-18 at Monterrey, Mexico.

Two teams will advance from each group to the tournament semi-finals and those four nations will qualify for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

In addition, the overall champion will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics while the runner-up and third-place squad will meet in a September 2023 playoff for the other CONCACAF berth at the Olympics in France.

Third-place teams in each group will qualify for a 10-team inter-confederation playoff next February to decide three final berths in next year’s Women’s World Cup.

The United States women have won four Women’s World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. They are chasing an unprecedented third consecutive Women’s World Cup crown after hoisting trophies in 2015 at Canada and 2019 in France. They last won Olympic gold in London in 2012.

The US women are 32-1 in all-time CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying, their only loss coming to Mexico in a 2010 semi-final.

The Americans own a 4-0 all-time record against Jamaica, a 7-0 mark against Haiti and are 39-1-1 all-time against Mexico.