Carson, CA (Sportsbooks) - The U.S. drew the number one seed in the 2003 Women's World Cup final draw on Thursday.
The 1991 and 1999 World Cup champions of Group A join the other top seeds: 1995 World Cup champion Norway of Group B, Germany in Group C and China in Group D. The U.S. is slated in Group A1 since they are the hosts of the tournament.
U.S. head coach April Heinrichs reacted to the draw.
"After letting it set in, I actually feel like it's a draw much more similar to the 2000 Olympics where we've got four of the best seven or eight teams in the world in our group," Heinrichs said during a media teleconference. "It's a very challenging group. One of the things I like about the draw is that we don't play these teams regularly. I like facing some teams we haven't played. If you look at the other three groups, this is probably the toughest.
"There is a lot of evidence to suggest that our group is very tough and difficult. Having said that and having been through the draw in 2000, none of us on the U.S. team expect to have an easy time of it. There's a lot of expectations on our team. We are the home team now. There is a lot of demand of our team. We are the team in the world that tries to carry the torch in the women's game. If we want to win a World Cup, we have to be able to beat any team.
The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings, will begin play on Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C. against fifth-ranked Sweden. The other two countries in Group A -- Nigeria and North Korea -- will face off on Sept. 20 in Philadelphia.
Heinrichs said she believes Sweden will present the biggest challenge for the American women.
"Sweden we played as recently as the Algarve Cup. We tied them 1-1 in a game where either team really could have won. Sweden also advanced to the European Championships two summers ago and won the Algarve Cup, which is a tournament that we have come to regard as one of the most difficult to win because of the days rest and the opponents that you are playing. For about two years now, the U.S. team has been saying that this is a team that is on the rise. We've had Sweden in our top five or six teams in the world for the last two or three years," she added.
On Wednesday, FIFA issued its first-ever world ranking for women -- with the U.S. standing atop the table.
The U.S. led the way ahead of Olympic champion Norway and European champion Germany, with China within striking distance of the top three. Following on from the pacesetters were the omnipresent Swedes, along with Brazil and Korea DPR -- the reigning champion of South America and Asia, respectively. Just ahead of its first major appearance on the international stage, newcomer to the European women's football hierarchy, France, also made it into the top-10.
As the world's number-one side, the U.S. women's national team carries a great amount of weight on its shoulder, entering the tournament as defending champion in addition to hosting the event. Heinrichs said the expectations on her squad are not easy to pinpoint.
"Expectations are something that you can't put your finger on. That is other people's opinions, statements and bold comments that we don't really address much. Our goal is to win the World Cup. We don't expect to win the World Cup, we know that there are going to be a lot of great challenges ahead of us. Expectations can be undue burdens, so our goal is to take one step at a time and find a way to get points off of Sweden, and after that we will focus on Nigeria and then North Korea," she said.
This year marks the third time in 10 years that the U.S. Soccer Federation will host a FIFA World Cup. It staged the men's competition back in 1994 (U.S. advanced to the second round), as well as the hugely-successful women's tournament in 1999 -- won by the host Americans in a penalty-round shootout over China.
