Excitement as Scots drawn with England at 2019 World Cup

Scotland and England have been drawn together in Group D for the Women’s World Cup in France next summer.

Scotland are making their debut while England are looking to improve on their semi-final showing four years ago.

The clash between the two home nations will be the first match for both teams in Nice on June 9, when the England men’s team will also be playing either in the Nations League final or third-place play-off in Portugal.

Shelley Kerr’s squad will then move on to face 2011 world champions Japan in Rennes on Friday June 14, before finishing their group stage campaign against Argentina at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Wednesday June 19.

This will be the first ever meeting between the sides.

The South American side will be making their first appearance on the game’s biggest stage since 2007, after overcoming Panama in a qualification playoff.

But as one of the oldest rivalries in sport, Scotland supporters will no doubt already be anticipating the opening clash against England, with Phil Neville’s team currently ranked third in the world behind only the USA and Germany.

Last year’s meeting in Utrecht was the seventh meeting between the nations, with Scotland’s most recent victory over their local rivals coming in 2011, when goals from Kim Little and Jen Beattie secured a 2-0 win in Cyprus.

England boss Phil Neville hailed the Scotland clash as one to be embraced, saying on thefa.com: “It’s a fine looking group we’ve got. We’ve got three teams that will compete against each other in a fabulous way.

“I think the Scotland game will get the most interest – and rightly so – because of the rivalry, which I think is something we all should enjoy and embrace. It shows how far the women’s game has come.”

England also face a rematch against Japan, to whom they suffered a heartbreaking loss in the last four in Canada, while Argentina are the third team in the group. World Cup draw: Group A: France, Korea Republic, Norway, Nigeria Group B: Germany, China PR, Spain, South Africa Group C: Australia, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica Group D: England, Scotland, Argentina, Japan Group E: Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, Netherlands Group F: USA, Thailand, Chile, Sweden

Shelley Kerr will lead Scotland at World Cup.