Over the course of 31 days, from June 7 to July 7, 2019, a total of 52 soccer matches will be played in France to determine the winner of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Twenty-four teams, from as many countries, will fan out across the country and vie for victory in nine anchor cities. Of these nine, six of them – Grenoble, Le Havre, Montpellier, Nice, Reims, Rennes – are called Top French Cities, an association of 29 cities, from regional capitals to important towns, that are perfect for young travelers, families and anyone else looking for fun and authentic French experiences that will fit their budget. The other three World Cup cities are Lyon, Paris and Valenciennes.
This is France's first time hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup, although the country hosted – and won! – the FIFA World Cup in 1998, the second time the nation had welcomed the world finals. The men's team was also triumphant in the finals of the most recent 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia.
Since 1991, there have been seven FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments. The inaugural event was held in China and won by the United States, which has gone on to win two more championships – in 1999, when it hosted, and in 2015 in Canada. The United States is this year's defending champion after holding off Japan, which had defeated the US in penalty shots in the previous 2011 World Cup, held in Germany. That was the first win by an Asian team in any FIFA World Cup.
This year, the French team, called Les Bleues, is ranked number three behind the US and Germany. It will be the country's fourth FIFA Women's World Cup appearance, although it has only advanced to the semi-finals once (fourth place in 2011). Even though this year's team has not played a world finals qualifying match since 2014 – as host nation, France qualified automatically – expectations are high.
Notably, the coach of the French women's team, Corinne Diacre, is the first woman ever to oversee a professional men's team in France. The team captain this year is Amandine Henry, who normally plays with Lyon.
The first match of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is France versus Korea, and will be held in Paris at the Parc des Princes stadium. France then goes up against Norway on June 12 in Nice's Stade de Nice, and on June 17 against Nigeria in Rennes' Roazhon Park. The US team first takes the filed against Thailand on June 11 in Reims' Stade Auguste Delaune.
All of the French host cities except Lyon will see round-of-16 matches from June 22 through June 25. Quarter-final matches will take place from June 27 to June 29 in Valenciennes, Le Havre, Paris and Rennes. The two semi-final games are on July 2 or 3 in Lyon, which is also the location of the final on July 7. (The third place match is on July 6 in Nice.)
About Top French Cities – www.francepresskit.com
Top French Cities is an association of 29 cities, from regional capitals like Bordeaux to important towns like Avignon and Versailles. They are perfect for young travelers, families and anyone else looking for fun and authentic French experiences that will fit their budget. Most of these cities are university towns with a youthful atmosphere, but all of them reflect the heritage and distinctive flavors of the regions to which they belong. Many are forward-looking too, with historic buildings repurposed to house contemporary art and activity centers like Les Docks in Marseille. Many have created or integrated new, modern museums to contrast with their classical, architectural heritage, like in Nimes, where the cutting-edge Museum of Roman Civilization (Musée de la Romanité) is located across from the historic Roman amphitheater, or in Nantes, where whimsical mechanical creatures are being created, or in the UNESCO World Heritage Site concrete city of Le Havre.