Women's World Cup qualifying: Germany to face Portugal and Serbia

The road to the 2023 women's World Cup will begin in September with Germany up against Portugal, Serbia, Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria. Games will take place either side of next year's delayed European Championship.

Germany have a tricky-looking group as they bid to qualify for the 2023 women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The two-time winners will face Portugal, Serbia, Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria in Group H between September this year and September 2022.

The winners of the nine European groups qualify directly. The runners-up will take part in playoffs in October 2022 for the remaining two direct spots.

The third-best playoff winner will enter the inter-confederation playoffs.

Next July's European Championship will be sandwiched between World Cup qualifying. This is because the women's event was put back a year when the men's version and the Tokyo Olympics had to be postponed from 2020 until 2021 because of the coronavirus.

Germany, who won the world title in 2003 and 2007, are the favorites in the group with none of the others having won international titles. But coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will be wary with Portugal at their highest-ever world ranking of 29.

mp/mp

change things. We knew that when we wore this new leotard, everyone will look at us. It is good that everybody is now discussing it," she said.

Their crusade might already be catching on. British-Jamaican gymnast Danusia Francis told the BBC that the suit "gives the power of choice back" to female gymnasts.

The first test was the European Trampolining Championships in Sochi, which also comes under the auspices of gymnastics and started this week.

"The full body leotards are also allowed in trampoline, in fact in all disciplines. European Gymnastics supports gymnasts to make their own choice of leotards and feel comfortable to compete," European Gymnastics told DW.

Swimming an exception?

One Olympic sport where full body outfits become complicated is swimming. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, suddenly all the competitors — both male and female — were wearing full-body suits.

But this was nothing to do with covering up and instead to do with speed: The full-body suits allowed swimmers to power quicker through the water. The governing body promptly banned them as world records were falling every other race.

Now female swimmers must wear suits that do not go past the shoulders or knees.

But what about performance in gymnastics? Do longer suits help or hinder?

"For me it was easy to change the leotard because in training we often wear tights over our normal, traditional leotards so it wasn't that special for me," said Seitz.

"I think you just have to train a little bit with the new suit and then it is totally fine."

Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and forward Alexandra Popp during training in February.