Countries competing in the showpiece event, which gets underway on Thursday 20 July, are busy putting the finishing touches to their preparations with warm-up fixtures and training camps ahead of the group stages commencing.

We are heavily represented at the tournament Down Under, with 19 Blues earning call-ups across nine different countries. Let’s take a look at which of our players are involved and what their respective group stages will look like.

England

Five Chelsea players have been selected to represent the Lionesses who arrive at the World Cup as the defending European champions, and they will be looking to create another piece of history on the other side of the world.

Sarina Wiegman named Millie Bright as captain for the tournament. New signing Hannah Hampton and Jess Carter were part of the European Championship-winning squad and retain their places, while Niamh Charles and Lauren James are both competing at their first World Cup.

England begin their Group D campaign against Haiti on Saturday 22 July in Brisbane, with kick-off at 10.30am (UK time). They will face Denmark and China PR in their other two group games in Sydney and Adelaide respectively.

Australia

Sam Kerr will proudly captain Australia at a home World Cup with the Matildas looking to inspire a nation and create a legacy for the next generation. They have been in great form ahead of the tournament and will be aiming to progress past the quarter-final stages for the very first time.

Manager Tony Gustavsson has a hugely talented squad at his disposal. Kerr will lead the team out in front of huge crowds on home soil after an immensely successful season at club level, where she won the domestic Double alongside numerous individual accolades.

Australia kick-off their Group B campaign against Republic of Ireland on Thursday 20 July in Sydney, with kick-off at 11.00am (UK time). Nigeria and Canada are the opposition in their following group matches where they will be hoping to capitalise on the home advantage.

Germany

Ann-Katrin Berger, Melanie Leupolz and new signing Sjoeke Nusken have made the final squad for Germany, who finished runners-up to England at the European Championships last summer and will be dreaming of going one step further on the world stage.

Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg witnessed her side overcome Vietnam but lose to Zambia in respective warm-up matches ahead of the tournament. Leupolz and Nusken were involved and gained some valuable minutes.

Germany start their Group H campaign against Morocco on Monday 24 July in Melbourne, with kick-off at 09.30am (UK time). They will also play Colombia and Korea Republic as they look to better their performance at the 2019 World Cup where they exited at the quarter-final stage.

Canada

A trio of Blues have been chosen to represent Canada at the World Cup with new signing Ashley Lawrence joining Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming in the squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medal winners.

Bev Priestman and her players will be looking to make their mark on the tournament, which they hosted for the first time back in 2015, and replicate the success they have enjoyed on the Olympic stage in previous years.

Canada open their Group B campaign against Nigeria on Friday 21 July in Melbourne, with kick-off at 03.30am (UK time) They then take on Republic of Ireland and Australia as they look to progress through to the knockout phase.

Norway

Our Norwegian duo of Guro Reiten and Maren Mjelde will be heading to the World Cup this summer as Norway, one of only four teams to win the Women’s World Cup, will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing at the Euros last year.

Manager Hege Riise was appointed after that tournament and will be looking for an improved performance from her side, who have the honour of kicking off proceedings in the opening match of what promises to be a memorable spectacle.

Norway commence their Group A campaign against joint-hosts New Zealand in the first match of the tournament on Thursday 20 July in Auckland, with kick-off at 08.00am (UK time). The second and third games are against Switzerland and the Philippines.

Sweden

Two Blues are heading down under with Sweden this summer as Zecira Musovic and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd will be reunited with former Chelsea captain Magdalena Eriksson, who departed the club at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Led by Peter Gerhardsson, the Swedes reached the semi-finals of the European Championships last year and qualified for this World Cup with relative ease. They have often been regarded as dark horses having been runners-up at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and finishing third at the 2019 World Cup.

Sweden open their Group G campaign against South Africa on Sunday 23 July in Wellington, with kick-off at 06.00am (UK time). Italy and Argentina make up the remainder of the group where Sweden will aiming to stamp their authority on proceedings.

France

Eve Perisset will feature for France who go into this summer’s World Cup with a new manager at the helm. Former Saudi Arabia boss Herve Renard was appointed in March and has included Perisset in the squad ahead of his first major tournament with Les Bleues.

France reached the quarter-finals when they hosted the previous edition of the tournament in 2019 on home soil. They went a step further at the Euros last summer and will be aiming to go one better this time around.

They kick off their Group F campaign against Jamaica at 11.00am (UK time) on Sunday 23 July in Sydney. Renard’s team take on Brazil and Panama in their remaining group matches and will be ones to watch as the tournament progresses.

Netherlands

Aniek Nouwen will be representing the Netherlands at this summer’s World Cup. The central defender spent time on loan with AC Milan last season where she helped them to a third place finish in the Women’s Serie A in Italy.

The Dutch finished runners-up at the 2019 World Cup but exited the 2022 European Championships at the quarter-final stage, and they will be hoping to restore their pride under the watchful eye of manager Andries Jonker.

Netherlands have been placed in Group E with their first game against Portugal on Sunday 23 July in Dunedin, with kick-off at 08.30am (UK time). United States and Vietnam will also play the Dutch who will be aiming to emulate their run to the final four years ago.

Japan

Nineteen-year-old forward Maika Hamano joined the Blues in January before going on loan to Swedish side Hammarby IF. In the time that has elapsed, she has been enjoying a fine spell and scored in the final as they lifted the Svenska Cup last month.

Japan are one of only four teams to have won the Women’s World Cup alongside the USA, Germany and Norway. They won the 2011 edition of the competition and are renowned for nurturing talented young players such as Hamano.

They have been drawn in Group C with Spain, Costa Rica and Zambia and they face the third of those teams in their opening game on Saturday 22 July in Hamilton, with kick-off at 8.00am (UK time) in what promises to be an exciting festival of football.