The group stage draw was made on Saturday morning, with an incredible 17 members of Gareth Taylor‘s squad will be hoping to feature at the tournament.
The opening round sees the 32 qualifiers face off in eight groups of four, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages.
29 of 32 nations have qualified for the competition so far, with a 10-team tournament taking place in February 2023 to determine the last three finalists.
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With the tournament not getting under way until 20 July 2023, the official squads for each nation are several months away from being announced.
However, the draw, made by former City forward Carli Lloyd, has produced some exciting early encounters.
Find out who our City stars could be facing below...
Group A
New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
City’s Julie Blakstad will take place in the tournament’s opening game when her Norway said lock horns with host nation, New Zealand.
The midfielder has already picked up 19 caps for her nation, and was on target at Euro 2022 in a 4-1 victory over Northern Ireland.
Group B
Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
City’s Australian trio of Hayley Raso, Alanna Kennedy and Mary Fowler will be hoping to feature at next summer’s tournament.
The Matildas finished fourth at the 2021 Summer Olympics but, as one of the host nations, they will go in as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Group C
Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Despite still being just 25, Yui Hasegawa already has over 50 senior international appearances for Japan.
She’ll be hoping to play a starring role for 2011 Champions, who also finished as runners up back in 2015.
Group D
England, Senegal/Haiti/Chile, Denmark, China
City will likely boast a strong representation for England at next summer’s tournament.
The European Champions face Denmark, China and one of Senegal, Haiti and Chile in Group D.
The likes of Sandy MacIver, Ellie Roebuck, Demi Stokes, Alex Greenwood, Steph Houghton, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Jess Park (currently on loan at Everton) will all be in with a chance of selection.
Group E
USA, Vietnam, Netherlands, Cameroon/Thailand/Portugal
A re-run of the 2019 final, Group E serves up perhaps the most tantalising encounter of the early stages when World Champions the United States face Kerstin Casparij‘s Netherlands.
The City defender has enjoyed a strong start to life at the Academy Stadium, and will hope to continue that fine form next summer.
Group F
France, Jamaica, Brazil, Chinese Taipei/Paraguay/PNG/Panama
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw is aiming to steer Jamaica to the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
They face a difficult proposition having been draw in the same group as heavyweights France and Brazil but, with the forward enjoying a fine start to the campaign, the Reggae Girlz will hope to cause an upset next summer.
Group G
Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina
Having finished as Olympic silver medalists in 2021 and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2022, Filippa Angeldahl‘s Sweden will be looking to go the distance in Australia and New Zealand.
Their journey starts with encounters against South Africa, Italy and Argentina.
Group H
Germany, Morocco, Colombia, Korea Republic
As things stand, there are no City players taking part in Group H fixtures.
