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Azerbaijan: Gambia pitted in Group B with big names

Jul 9, 2012, 5:25 PM | Article By: Sainabou Kujabi-Njie

The Gambia will face France, USA and Korea DPR, according to the official draw of the FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup held on 6 July 2012.

The Gambia, an inexperienced side in the tournament, will open their campaign against Korea DPR in Baku on September 22. They will meet with women football heavyweights USA in their second game two days later before completing their third encounter against France on September 29.

The draw, according to FIFA.com, ended a nervous wait for the 16 qualified nations as they discovered the identity of their rivals in the group phase.

The opening match pits Azerbaijan against Colombia in Baku on 22 September.

The draw was  presided by Tatjana Haenni, FIFA’s Head of Women’s Competitions, and carried out by Dutch star Ronald de Boer, big name of the Dutch football, Azerbaijan coach Berti Vogts as well as two stars from the Azerbaijan U-17 women’s team: Amina Heydarova and Aysun Aliyeva.

The tournament will run from 22 September to 13 October in Baku and Lankaran. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

Groups:

Group A: Azerbaijan, Colombia, Nigeria, Canada

Group B: France, USA, Korea DPR, The Gambia

Group C: Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan

Group D: Uruguay, China PR, Ghana, Germany