England start Women's World Cup campaign against Scotland on Sunday, June 9. Follow all the action on the Sky Sports app and skysports.com. Kick-off at 5pm.
Friday 7 June 2019 19:05, UK
The Women's World Cup begins this weekend, but who are the favourites and what shape are Phil Neville's Lionesses in?
From the key dates and venues to the favourites, the form book and the latest from the England camp, here's what you need to know.
England are one of 24 teams taking part in the showpiece tournament, which takes place across nine French cities and runs from Friday, June 7 to Sunday, July 7.
Hosts France kick off the tournament against South Korea in Paris on June 7, with England opening their campaign against old rivals Scotland in Nice on Sunday, June 9 and the holders, the United States, starting their defence against Thailand on June 11.
The knockout stage starts on June 22, with each group stage city - Paris, Reims, Grenoble, Rennes, Valenciennes, Montpellier, Nice, Le Havre and Lyon - hosting one last 16 or quarter-final match.
Lyon takes centre stage for the semi-finals on July 2 and 3, as well as the final on Sunday, July 7. The third-place play-off will take place at Nice's Allianz Riviera on July 6.
France have not progressed beyond the last four of a World Cup but home advantage makes them 10/3 favourites with Sky Bet, just ahead of the top-ranked United States (7/2).
England are ranked third in the world and are joint third favourites with the bookmakers (6/1), alongside Olympic champions Germany.
Seventh-ranked Japan have pedigree, having won the World Cup in 2011 and finished second in 2015, while the highly-rated Netherlands - one place further back in the world standings - won the 2017 European Championship and the 2018 Algarve Cup. Scotland, though, are 100/1 outsiders.
England conceded just one goal in qualifying for the tournament and delivered a further statement of intent when they won the SheBelieves Cup for the first time in March - but their momentum was surprisingly halted in their final friendly before the big kick-off.
After beating Denmark 2-0 on May 25 in Walsall the Lionesses were humbled by New Zealand, ranked 19th in the world, at the Amex Stadium on Sunday in a much changed lineup with Neville making 10 changes to his starting XI.
Phil Neville labelled both matches "a bit of a nonsense" after the defeat, where England produced little in front of goal despite a swathe of opportunities, and he does not feel the narrow loss will damage his side's belief.
"These games have been a little bit of a nuisance for us and New Zealand said the same thing in terms of getting out to France," he said after the game. "I'm happy, I'm contented. I'm not deflated. I feel totally relaxed about what I saw."
Neville's side came through their build-up games unscathed, bar some "minor knocks" but they will be without vice-captain and playmaker Jordan Nobbs, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury back in November.
He heavily rotated his squad in the warm-up games but Neville insisted after the New Zealand defeat he did know his starting XI for Scotland.
Will Jodie Taylor feature? She won the Golden Boot at the 2017 European Championships but has not scored for her country for over a year. Neville has shrugged off concerns about her sharpness but in Nikita Parris - FWA Women's Player of the Year and the all-time leading scorer in the Women's Super League - the Lionesses boss has in his ranks one of Europe's in-form players.
Insisting his side can go deep into the tournament, Neville said: "The challenge now is for us all to perform on the big stage. We've talked long and hard about it, we've not been shy about our expectations. Now we need to deliver. That's my challenge and my excitement. We've dreamt of this moment all our lives."
The Netherlands will be confident of a strong tournament with Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema in their ranks. Miedema was named PFA Women's Player of the Year after a stunning season in the WSL.
Germany will be led by the excellent Dzsenifer Marozsan - who also captained her country to Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games.
Brazil's Marta will look to add to her record of 15 goals in the finals, with Australia, Italy and Jamaica handed the unenviable task of stopping her in the group stages.
Reigning Ballon d'Or Feminin holder Ada Hegerberg will not be at the World Cup, however, after not being included in Norway's squad.
The 23-year-old has taken a stand against what she describes as a lack of respect for female players in Norway - and the striker's absence was expected because she has refused to play for the national side since 2017.
Liverpool's Jemma Purfield: "France have a great opportunity. The home advantage is massive. They have a lot of players who play for Lyon and with the semi-finals and finals there, that will be like a home game if they make it."
Former England captain Faye White: "I think there's a confidence about England and you can see that confidence in the way we're playing. Certainly the players believe in [Neville] as a manager. Yes, we've had a few tricky results recently but that comes as the level between the teams gets smaller all the time. But he gives us that extra little edge compared to last time."
Former England forward and Sky Sports pundit Sue Smith: "England really believe they can beat anyone now. Phil Neville is taking them to the next level and giving them the advice that he's had from being a player. The team seem to be enjoying their football so much. My only concern is the absence of Jordan Nobbs as I think they will miss her quality and energy on the pitch."
