The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process determined 30 of the 32 teams which will play in the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

, with the co-hosts

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

qualifying automatically. It is the ninth

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

, the quadrennial international

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

world championship tournament. The tournament is the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in multiple countries, the third by an AFC member association after the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Women's World Cups in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first senior FIFA tournament in

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, and also the first FIFA tournament to be hosted across multiple confederations (with Australia in the AFC and New Zealand in the OFC). The field was expanded from 24 teams in the 2019 edition to 32 in the 2023 edition.

Qualified teams

Of the total 32 slots (29 direct and 3 playoffs), the following teams qualified directly to fill the 29 direct slots. The remaining 3 playoff slots were determined by the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs) The inter-confederation play-offs of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification determined the final three qualification spots for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The play-off tournament was used as a test event for New Zealand to host prior t ...

held in February 2023 in New Zealand.

Qualification process

After the number of teams qualifying for the Women's World Cup was increased, a new slot allocation was approved by the Bureau of the

FIFA Council The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress ...

on 24 December 2020. The slots for the host nations, Australia and New Zealand, were taken directly from the quotas allocated to their confederations, the AFC and OFC respectively.

Summary of qualification

Qualifying matches started in September 2021 and ended in February 2023. Matches have been played on dates within the

FIFA International Match Calendar The FIFA International Match Calendar (sometimes abbreviated as the FIFA Calendar) is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro, which sets out which dates can be us ...

. Apart from the hosts Australia and New Zealand, 207 of 209 remaining FIFA member associations could qualify through their own confederation's qualifying process if they choose to enter. The exceptions were

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, whose football associations were suspended by FIFA. A third exception might have been

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

after initially receiving a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

(WADA) on 9 December 2019, after

Russian Anti-Doping Agency The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA; ), established in January 2008, is the Russian National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), affiliated with (but suspended from, since 2015) the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). History It was established un ...

(RUSADA) was found non-compliant for handing over manipulated laboratory data to investigators. However, the Russian women's team could still enter qualification. The decision was appealed to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

(CAS), which ruled in WADA's favour but reduced the ban to two years. The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" have equal prominence. Had Russia qualified for the tournament, its female players would have been able to use their country's name, flag or anthem at the Women's World Cup, unlike their male counterparts, as the ban scheduled to expire on 16 December 2022. But earlier on 28 February, FIFA and UEFA announced Russia's suspension from all competitions following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On 2 May, UEFA announced that Russia was no longer to continue participating in qualification, that their prior results were nullified, and that Group E continued with five teams.

Confederation qualification

AFC

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

served as the World Cup qualifying tournament for AFC members. The World Cup qualifying process was as follows: *Qualifying stage: The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification competition was held between 17 and 29 September and between 18 and 24 October 2021. Teams competed for qualification for the final tournament, where they were joined by final tournament hosts

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the top three teams of the

2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was originally schedu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and

, who qualified automatically. *Final tournament: Twelve teams played in the

2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international women's football tournament in Asia competed by the national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). India was selected as ...

, which was held from 20 January to 6 February 2022. They were drawn into three groups of four teams. The top two teams of each group, along with the two-best third-placed teams, advanced to the knockout stage. The four semi-finalists qualified for the World Cup. The losers of the quarter-finals (except Australia, who qualified automatically for the World Cup as hosts) advanced to the play-offs.

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

withdrew on 29 July 2021 from the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

-related safety concerns, followed by

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

on 6 August because of pandemic-related travel restrictions. In a letter to the AFC published on 8 September,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

decided not to take part.

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

also withdrew from qualification later in September as the women's team's participation was uncertain due to the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

takeover of the country. During the Women's Asian Cup, host team

was unable to play their second group stage match against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

due to having fewer than 13 players available, with the remaining team members testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them were considered "null and void" and were not considered in determining the final group rankings.

Knockout stage

Play-offs

The format of the play-off round depended on the performance of Australia, who qualified automatically for the World Cup as hosts. Since Australia was eliminated in the quarter-finals, the play-offs format was for the remaining three quarter-final losers to play a single round-robin play-off. The best team after three matches advanced to the World Cup, and the remaining two teams entered the inter-confederation play-offs.

CAF

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the

Women's Africa Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by ...

served as the World Cup qualifying tournament for CAF members. The World Cup qualifying process was as follows: *Qualifying stage: 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification competition was held between 18 and 26 October 2021 and between 14 and 23 February 2022. Teams competed for qualification for the final tournament, where they were joined by final tournament hosts Morocco. *Final tournament: Twelve teams played in the

2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations The 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (, ), (also referred to as WAFCON 2022) officially known as the 2022 TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was the 14th edition of the biennial African international women's ...

which was held from 2–23 July 2022. They were drawn into three groups of four teams. The top two teams of each group, along with the two-best third-placed teams, advanced to the knockout stage. The four semi-finalists qualified for the World Cup. The losers of the quarter-finals played a one-match repechage, with the winners advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Knockout stage

CONCACAF

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the

CONCACAF W Championship The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's association football competition for national teams organized by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that often serves as the qualifying competition ...

served as the World Cup qualifying tournament for

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

members. The World Cup qualifying process was as follows: *Qualifying stage: The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship qualification competition was held in February 2022. Teams were drawn into six groups of five, and played single round-robin matches (two home and two away). The six group winners advanced to the final tournament to join the two highest-ranked CONCACAF teams,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, who qualified automatically. *Final tournament: Eight teams played in the

2022 CONCACAF W Championship The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international Women's association football, women's football championship contested by the senior List of women's national association football t ...

. They were drawn into two groups of four teams and played single round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group advanced to the knockout stage and qualified for the World Cup. The third-placed team in each group advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Group stage

Knockout stage

CONMEBOL

The Copa América Femenina was held from 8–30 July 2022, providing three direct qualifying places and two play-off places for the Women's World Cup. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage, from which the winners of the and third place matches qualified for the World Cup. The loser of the third place match advanced to the . The third-placed teams from each group played a fifth place play-off, the winner of which also advanced to the .

Knockout stage

OFC

The OFC Women's Nations Cup was held from 13 to 30 July, with

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

hosting the tournament. It was originally scheduled for July and August 2022, but was shifted to January and February 2022 to accommodate changes to the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar. It was subsequently pushed back to July due to the

did not take part as they had already qualified for the World Cup as co-hosts, and

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

opted not to participate due to continuing difficulties related to the pandemic. The remaining nine teams were ranked according to the 25 March world rankings and drawn into three groups on 10 May, from which the top two teams in each group and the top two third place teams advanced to the knockout stage.

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs as tournament winners.

Knockout stage

UEFA

The World Cup qualifying process was played in two stages: *Group stage: 51 teams were drawn into nine groups of five or six teams, where each group played a home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners qualified directly for the World Cup, while the nine runners-up advanced to the play-offs. *Play-offs: The nine teams played two knockout rounds of single-leg matches, with the best three runners-up entering in the second round. Among the three second round play-off winners, the two teams with the best combined records in the group stage (8 matches, excluding the ones against sixth-placed teams for those from groups with six teams) and second round play-offs (1 match) qualified for the World Cup, while the team with the lowest combined record (group stage plus second play-off round) entered the inter-confederation play-offs.

Group stage

Play-offs

Ranking of play-off winners

Inter-confederation play-offs

The final three spots at the FIFA Women's World Cup were decided through a ten-team play-off tournament. The tournament was used as a test event for New Zealand to host prior to the Women's World Cup. In the play-off draw, four teams were seeded into groups based on the

FIFA Women's World Rankings The FIFA Women's World Ranking is a ranking system for women's national teams in association football (commonly known as football or soccer) published by the international governing body FIFA. , the United States is ranked #1. The rankings were ...

, with a maximum of one seeded team per confederation. Teams from the same confederation were not drawn into the same group. The winner of each group qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Top goalscorers

References

{{FIFA Women's World Cup

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Fifa Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

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