Portugal enter intercontinental round
ZURICH, Oct 12, (AP): Ireland are going to their first Women’s World Cup next year and was joined by Switzerland as both won in the European playoffs, leaving Portugal to enter an intercontinental round.
A first-ever major tournament for Ireland’s women was the reward for Amber Barrett’s 72nd-minute goal sealing a 1-0 win at Scotland.
Barrett outpaced the Scottish defense to score with a well-placed shot and ensure the Irish will be at the finals tournament cohosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Switzerland had to wait until stoppage time at the end of extra time to take the lead in a 2-1 win against Wales.
Substitute Fabienne Humm was decisive with a flicked shot from a tight angle after racing to meet a low cross from the left wing.
Portugal also won their playoff in extra time, 4-1 against an Iceland team reduced to 10 players when the game was goalless early in the second half. Áslaug Munda Gunnlaugsdóttir was sent off for a foul conceding the penalty that Carole Costa scored to lead in the 55th.
However, Portugal had to wait for the result of the later game in Scotland to see if their Women’s World Cup debut was assured.
Only two direct World Cup entries were on offer Tuesday, awarded to the teams with the overall best record in qualifying. Those were Switzerland and Ireland.
Portugal now go to the 10-team intercontinental playoffs round in February in New Zealand where the final three entries will be decided.
FIFA will make the finals tournament draw on Oct. 22 in Auckland with only 29 of the 32 teams confirmed.
Australia and New Zealand are hosting the first 32-team Women’s World Cup from July 20-Aug. 20 where the United States will defend its title.
STOCKHOLM: Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway have launched their bid to co-host the Women’s European Championship in 2025.
The Nordic nations submitted their application to UEFA on Wednesday, saying they wanted to organize the “largest European Championship on the women’s side ever” with 800,000 tickets available for sale.
Each of the four countries would have two host cities: Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden; Copenhagen and Odense in Denmark; Helsinki and Tampere in Finland; and Oslo and Trondheim in Norway.
The final would take place at the 50,000-seater Friends Arena in Stockholm.
Announcing the joint bid, the Nordic nations said they have been working closely for the past four years.
“The bid offers a compact tournament set-up to build connections within the Nordic and European cities in the spirit of sustainable development,” they said.