Group D at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup promises to be an exciting one. European champions England will be expected to win it without too much trouble, but both China and Denmark have the potential to pose problems.

Here is all you need to know about the four teams in Group D:

Current FIFA Ranking: #4

World Cup History: 4 previous appearances; best result: Third place (2015)

Major International Trophies: 1 European Championship (2022)

England finally won their first major international trophy last year, lifting the Euros at home. As a result, they are firmly among the favorites at this World Cup, but their first task will be getting out of a not-so-straightforward group.

After taking over in 2021, Sarina Wiegman has transformed England. They won every single one of their matches at the Euros to win the title and were equally imperious in their World Cup qualification group. They won each of their 10 matches, scored a whopping 80 goals and did not let in a single one!

Of course, that was against significantly weaker opposition, the likes of which they will not face at the World Cup. But, at the Euros, they showed that they were capable of adapting their tactics to match their opponents in big games. The Lionesses have preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation under Wiegman, but can also switch to a back-three when required.

Similarly, they can change approaches from match to match too. They generally like to keep more of the ball and patiently wear down their opponents but are also capable of switching to a counterattacking approach against more possession-dominant sides.

England will be without a number of their Euro-winning stars at this tournament, as Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby are all out injured while Ellen White and Jill Scott have hung up their boots. So, the Lionesses will be hoping to see others step up.

One player who should be expected to do just that is Alessia Russo. The Manchester United forward did not start even one of her side’s matches at the Euros but was substituted on in each of them. With four goals, she finished the tournament as her side’s second-best goalscorer.

England’s top-scorer at the Euros was Mead and their first-choice striker was White, so they will be without both at this World Cup. As a result, Russo will have to shoulder a good deal of the goalscoring responsibility in the likely event that she nails down a starting spot.

Naturally, the champions of Europe will have their eyes set on conquering the world now, but England’s injury issues might make things a little tough for them. Besides missing a few key attackers, their defensive department has also been depleted, so they might not be able to hit the levels they set at the Euros.

Regardless, the Lionesses remain heavy favorites to win Group D. If they do that, they would face the Group B runners-up—most likely Australia or Canada—so the knockout draw will not be kind to them either way. One certainly cannot count them out, but England’s path to World Cup glory seems a tough one.

Current FIFA Ranking: #53

World Cup History: No previous appearances

Major International Trophies: N/A

With three teams in the top 15 of the FIFA rankings, Group D is a very competitive one. That spells bad news for the Pot 4 team, Haiti. The World Cup debutantes might find it tough to even register a point, but even qualifying for the tournament has to be considered a massive success for them.

The country is in a really bad place at the moment, with natural disasters, political instability and gang violence leaving it in a state of crisis. Football is one of the few positive distractions Haitians have at the moment, so the players will certainly be up for the task at the World Cup.

Sadly, Haiti’s football scene is not all rosy either right now. Federation president Yves Jean-Bart was given a lifetime ban by FIFA recently after they found him guilty in a sexual abuse scandal, but this was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and upheld by a Swiss court.

Head coach Nicolas Delépine has done a tremendous job since being appointed in 2022, guiding Haiti to their first World Cup via the inter-confederation playoffs. He juggles this management job with second-tier French outfit Grenoble Foot, for whom five of Haiti’s squad members play.

Les Grenadières have not had a fixed system under him, changing formations from match to match to best suit their opposition. They will have to come up with some brilliant tactics if they are to make waves in this group.

Someone who certainly has been making waves of late is Haitian forward Melchie Dumornay. The 19-year-old is regarded not just as one of her country’s best players but as one of the brightest young talents in the world. After a couple of impressive seasons with Stade de Reims, she recently signed for French champions Lyon.

Even though she is still a teenager, Dumornay played an integral part in Haiti’s World Cup qualification campaign. She was named as the best young player at the CONCACAF Championship where her side sealed a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs, where she went on to score a match-winning brace against Chile in the final.

Many people are already well aware of Dumornay’s talents, but she will be keen to announce herself at the biggest stage in Australia.

Haiti find themselves in what is the toughest group at this World Cup on the basis of the FIFA rankings, so they really cannot have high expectations. It would be an absolute miracle if they managed to make it to the knockouts, but their realistic targets must be set on small things like scoring their first World Cup goal, first point and maybe even first win.

Current FIFA Ranking: #13

World Cup History: 4 previous appearances; best result: Quarterfinalists (1991)

Major International Trophies: N/A

Although they have been a fairly strong force in Europe for a while now, this is Denmark’s first World Cup since 2007. They have had a couple of impressive Euros campaigns since then as they reached the semifinals in 2013 and lost in the final thereafter, but they will be keen to mark their return to the biggest event with a good run.

Lars Søndergaard has been in charge of Denmark since 2017, but this is going to be his last tournament in charge of them. He comfortably guided them through the World Cup qualifiers with eight wins from eight, but the real test begins now.

Søndergaard is flexible with his tactics but has two main systems he calls upon. The first uses a 4-3-3 formation, which seems to be their preferred tactic currently. However, they can also switch to a 3-4-3 as they did during the qualifiers, using the more attacking setup to blow away weaker teams.

Pernille Harder has been the Danish captain for a number of years now and has over 140 international caps to her name now. Yet, this is her first World Cup.

Just a few weeks ago, she ended her time at Chelsea by signing a deal with Bayern Munich. She definitely had a successful time in London, winning the league and cup double in each of her three seasons there and scoring 24 goals in twice as many appearances.

Now 30 years old, Harder is an experienced campaigner who will have a pivotal role to play in the Danish attack in Australia.

Denmark will want to mark their return to the World Cup with a run to the knockouts, but they will face some very tough competition in this group. England might prove to be a level above them, but they will have a really close fight with China for the second spot.

So their very first game might prove to be the most important one, as they will take on the Asian champions in Perth to see who gets the upper hand at the start.

Current FIFA Ranking: #14

World Cup History: 7 previous appearances; best result: Runners-up (1999)

Major International Trophies: 9 Asian Cups (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2022)

China have by far the most historical World Cup appearances in this group having hosted it twice as well. They have reached at least the quarterfinal stage in all but one of their appearances, but that record could well take a further dent here.

Shui Qingxia became the first female head coach of the Chinese national team when she was appointed in November of 2021, but not much was expected of her side when she led them into their first major tournament at the 2022 Asian Cup.

They surprised everyone by getting the better of Japan and South Korea en route to winning the whole thing, not only sealing their spot at this World Cup but also lifting their first continental title in 16 years.

They also showed their stylistic flexibility at the tournament, dominating possession against lesser opposition like Iran (against whom they kept 80% of the ball) but defending a lot more against stronger sides like Japan (who only allowed them to see a third of possession). The latter approach should be seen a lot more at this World Cup, especially in such a tough group.

Wang Shuang is one of just six squad members who play their club football outside China, and the only one to feature in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) right now. She has not featured a lot for Racing Louisville so far, so she will be keen to showcase her talents at the World Cup.

From a technical point of view, Wang is undoubtedly the best player in this Chinese squad. She has also made some crucial contributions recently, such as her five-goal return at the last Asian Cup. Her quality up front could make the difference for the Steel Roses in this tight group.

Although they are Asian champions, it would not be right to call China the best side from the continent at this World Cup. They are most likely going to be battling Denmark for the spot behind England and might be slightly less fancied at the moment.

The main reason behind that is their disappointing run of friendly results against European opposition in the buildup to this tournament, but they should be up for the occasion a lot more at the main event. A run to the knockouts should be viewed as a relative success for China.