2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

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2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates16 September 2021 – 23 February 2023
Teams173 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played198
Goals scored898 (4.54 per match)
Top scorer(s)Denmark Signe Bruun (12 goals)
← 2019
2027 →
All statistics correct as of 1 December 2021.

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process determines all 32 teams which will play in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the co-hosts Australia and New Zealand qualifying automatically.[1] It is the ninth FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. The tournament is the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in multiple countries, the second by an AFC member association after the 1991 and 2007 Women's World Cups in China, the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first senior FIFA tournament in Oceania, 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.[2]

Qualified teams[]

  Team has qualified for World Cup
  Team can qualify
  Team failed to qualify for World Cup but still have games left to play
  Team eliminated
  Team expelled from the tournament by FIFA
  Team did not enter or withdrew from qualification
Team Qualified as Qualification date Appearance
in finals 		Last
appearance 		Consecutive
streak 		Previous best performance
 Australia Co-hosts 25 June 2020 8th 2019 8 Quarter-finals (2007, 2011, 2015)
 New Zealand 6th 5 Group stage (1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)

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 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.[3]

Summary of qualification[]

Qualifying matches started in September 2021 and will end in February 2023. Matches have been played on dates within the FIFA International Match Calendar.[4]

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 and Pakistan, whose football associations were suspended by FIFA.[5] A third exception might have been Russia after initially receiving a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 9 December 2019, after Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was found non-compliant for handing over manipulated laboratory data to investigators.[6] However, the Russian women's team could still enter qualification. The decision was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),[7] which ruled in WADA's favour but reduced the ban to two years.[8] The CAS ruling also allowed the name "Russia" to be displayed on uniforms if the words "Neutral Athlete" or "Neutral Team" have equal prominence.[9] If Russia qualifies for the tournament, its female players will be able to use their country's name, flag or anthem at the Women's World Cup, unlike their male counterparts, as the ban will expire on 16 December 2022.[9][10]

Confederation Tournament Direct slots Play-off slots Teams started Teams eliminated Teams qualified Qualifying start date Qualifying next match date Qualifying end date
AFC 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup 5+1 2 27 [a] 16 0+1 17 September 2021 20 January 2022 6 February 2022
CAF 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations 4 2 43 19 0 18 October 2021 TBD 23 July 2022
CONCACAF 2022 CONCACAF W Championship 4 2 32 0 0 16 February 2022 16 February 2022 20 July 2022
CONMEBOL 2022 Copa América Femenina 3 2 10 0 0 8 July 2022 8 July 2022 30 July 2022
OFC 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup 0+1 1 10 [b] 0 0+1 5 July 2022 5 July 2022 31 July 2022
UEFA 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA) 11 1 51 4 0 16 September 2021 23 February 2022 11 October 2022
Play-offs Inter-confederation play-offs 3 N/A (10) (0) 0 17 February 2023 17 February 2023 23 February 2023
Total 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification 30+2 10 173 39 2 16 September 2021 20 January 2022 23 February 2023
  1. ^ Australia will take part in the Women's Asian Cup but already qualified to the Women's World Cup as co-hosts.
  2. ^ New Zealand will take part in the OFC Women's Nations Cup but already qualified to the Women's World Cup as co-hosts.

Confederation qualification[]

AFC[]

Main article: 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the AFC Women's Asian Cup serves as the World Cup qualifying tournament for AFC members. The World Cup qualifying process is as follows:

  • Qualifying stage: The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification competition was held between 17 and 30 September and between 18 and 24 October 2021. Teams competed for qualification to the final tournament, where they were joined by final tournament hosts India and the top three teams of the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, Japan, Australia, and China, who qualified automatically.
  • Final tournament: Twelve teams will play in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup,[11] which will be held from 20 January to 6 February 2022.[12] They will be drawn into three groups of four teams. The top two teams of each group, along with the two-best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage.[13]

North Korea withdrew on 29 July 2021 from the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers due to COVID-19 pandemic-related safety concerns,[14] followed by Turkmenistan on 6 August because of pandemic-related travel restrictions.[15] In a letter to the AFC published on 8 September, Iraq decided not to take part.[16] Afghanistan also withdrew from qualification later in September as the women's team's participation was uncertain due to the Taliban takeover of the country.[17][18]

Final tournament[]

Group A Group B Group C
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  India (H) 0 0
2  China PR 0 0
3  Chinese Taipei 0 0
4  Iran 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 20 January 2022.
Source: AFC
(H) Host
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Australia 0 0
2  Thailand 0 0
3  Philippines 0 0
4  Indonesia 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 21 January 2022.
Source: AFC
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Japan 0 0
2  South Korea 0 0
3  Vietnam 0 0
4  Myanmar 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 21 January 2022.
Source: AFC
Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 A3 0 0
2 B3 0 0
3 C3 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 20 January 2022.
Source: AFC

CAF[]

Main article: 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations

First qualifying round[]

Main article: 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification § First round

First round matches were played between 18 and 26 October 2021, excepting the second leg of the tie between Algeria and Sudan due to security concerns surrounding the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état.[19][20]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Uganda  2–2 (2–1 p)  Ethiopia 2–0 0–2
Kenya  15–1  South Sudan 8–0 7–1
Eritrea  0–6  Burundi 0–5 0–1
Djibouti  w/o[A]  Rwanda — —
Malawi  3–4  Zambia 1–1 2–3
Tanzania  3–5  Namibia 1–2 2–3
Zimbabwe  6–1  Eswatini 3–1 3–0
Angola  1–7  Botswana 1–5 0–2
Mozambique  0–13  South Africa 0–7 0–6
Algeria  Match 10  Sudan 14–0 P-P[B]
Egypt  2–7  Tunisia 2–6 0–1
Equatorial Guinea  w/o[C]  DR Congo — —
São Tomé and Príncipe  w/o[D]  Togo 0–5 —
Congo  2–2 (a)  Gabon 2–1 0���1
Central African Republic  0–3  Cameroon 0–1 0–2
Sierra Leone  1–3  Gambia 0–2 1–1
Liberia  1–8  Senegal 1–2 0–6
Mali  4–2  Guinea 2–2 2–0
Guinea-Bissau  2–0  Mauritania 1–0 1–0
Burkina Faso  5–2  Benin 2–1 3–1
Nigeria  2–1  Ghana 2–0 0–1
Niger  0–20  Ivory Coast 0–9 0–11

Notes:

  1. ^ Djibouti won on walkover and advanced to the second round after Rwanda withdrew before the first leg citing lack of preparation due to no local championship being contested since 2018.[21]
  2. ^ The second leg match between Sudan and Algeria initially scheduled for 26 October was postponed to a later date due to security concerns following the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état.[20]
  3. ^ Equatorial Guinea won on walkover and advanced to the second round after DR Congo failed to appear for the first leg.[22]
  4. ^ Togo won on walkover and advanced to the second round after São Tomé and Príncipe withdrew from the second leg in Togo.[23]

CONCACAF[]

Main article: 2022 CONCACAF W Championship

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the CONCACAF W Championship serves as the World Cup qualifying tournament for CONCACAF members. The World Cup qualifying process is as follows:[24]

  • Qualifying stage: The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship qualification competition will be held in February and April 2022. Teams are drawn into six groups of five, and will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away). Should more than thirty CONCACAF member associations have entered, a play-in round would have been held prior to the qualifying group stage. The six group winners will advance to the final tournament to join the two highest-ranked CONCACAF teams, Canada and the United States, who qualified automatically.
  • Final tournament: Eight teams will play in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, which will be held in July 2022. They will be drawn into two groups of four teams and will play single round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will advance to the knockout stage.

Qualifying stage[]

Main article: 2022 CONCACAF W Championship qualification
Group A Group B Group C
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Mexico 0 0
2  Puerto Rico 0 0
3  Suriname 0 0
4  Antigua and Barbuda 0 0
5  Anguilla 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Costa Rica 0 0
2  Guatemala 0 0
3  Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 0
4  U.S. Virgin Islands 0 0
5  Curaçao 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Jamaica 0 0
2  Dominican Republic 0 0
3  Bermuda 0 0
4  Grenada 0 0
5  Cayman Islands 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF
Group D Group E Group F
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Panama 0 0
2  El Salvador 0 0
3  Barbados 0 0
4  Belize 0 0
5  Aruba 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Haiti 0 0
2  Cuba 0 0
3  Honduras 0 0
4  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 0
5  British Virgin Islands 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Trinidad and Tobago 0 0
2  Guyana 0 0
3  Nicaragua 0 0
4  Dominica 0 0
5  Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 16 February 2022.
Source: CONCACAF

CONMEBOL[]

Main article: 2022 Copa América Femenina

The Copa América Femenina will be held from 8 to 30 July 2022,[25] providing three direct qualifying places and two play-off places for the Women's World Cup.[3]

OFC[]

Main article: 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup

The 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup was originally scheduled for July–August but was shifted to January–February to accommodate changes to the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar.[26] The OFC announced on 4 March 2021 that it was pushed back to July 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]

UEFA[]

Main article: 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, UEFA organises a tournament for its members designed only for Women's World Cup qualifying. The World Cup qualifying process is as follows:[28]

  • Group stage: 51 teams are drawn into nine groups of five or six teams, where each group is played in a home-and-away round-robin format. Matches have been held on dates in the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar from September 2021 to September 2022. The nine group winners qualify directly for the final tournament, while the nine runners-up advance to the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The nine teams play two knockout rounds of single-leg matches, with the best three runners-up entering in the second round. Matches will be held on dates in the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar in October 2022. 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) will qualify for the Women's World Cup, while the team with the worst combined record (group stage plus second play-off round) will enter the inter-continental play-offs.

Group stage[]

Group A Group B Group C
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Sweden 5 15
2  Republic of Ireland 4 7
3  Finland 4 6
4  Slovakia (Y) 5 4
5  Georgia (Y) 4 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Spain 5 15
2  Scotland 5 10
3  Hungary 5 6
4  Ukraine 4 4
5  Faroe Islands (E) 5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Netherlands 5 11
2  Iceland 4 9
3  Czech Republic 4 5
4  Belarus 3 4
5  Cyprus (E) 6 1
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated
Group D Group E Group F
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  England 6 18
2  Austria 6 13
3  Northern Ireland 6 13
4  Luxembourg 5 3
5  North Macedonia (Y) 6 3
6  Latvia (Y) 5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Denmark 6 18
2  Russia 6 15
3  Montenegro 6 9
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina (Y) 6 4
5  Malta (Y) 6 4
6  Azerbaijan (E) 6 3
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated;
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Norway 6 16
2  Belgium 6 13
3  Poland 6 11
4  Albania 6 7
5  Kosovo 6 4
6  Armenia (E) 6 0
Updated to match(es) played on 1 December 2021.
Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated
Group G Group H Group I
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1   Switzerland 6 18
2  Italy 6 15
3  Romania 5 9
4  Croatia (Y) 6 4
5  Lithuania (Y) 5 1
6  Moldova (Y) 4 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Germany 6 18
2  Portugal 6 13
3  Serbia 5 9
4  Turkey 5 7
5  Israel (Y) 5 0
6  Bulgaria (Y) 5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  France 6 18
2  Wales 6 13
3  Slovenia 6 11
4  Greece 6 7
5  Kazakhstan (Y) 5 0
6  Estonia (Y) 5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 30 November 2021.
Source: UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.

Inter-confederation play-offs[]

Main article: 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The final three spots at the FIFA Women's World Cup will be decided through a ten-team play-off tournament. The tournament will be used as a test event for Australia and New Zealand to host prior to the Women's World Cup. Both hosts will participate in friendly matches against the teams in Group 1 and Group 2, thereby ensuring that all teams play two matches at the tournament.

In the play-off draw, four teams will be seeded into groups based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings, with a maximum of one seeded team per confederation. Teams from the same confederation will not be drawn into the same group. The winner of each group will qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup.[3]

Group 1[]

Semi-finalFinal
      
February 2023 – TBC
Seed 1
February 2023 – TBC
Semi-final winner
Unseeded team
Unseeded team

Group 2[]

Semi-finalFinal
      
February 2023 – TBC
Seed 2
February 2023 – TBC
Semi-final winner
Unseeded team
Unseeded team

Group 3[]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
February 2023 – TBC
 
 
Seed 3
 
February 2023 – TBC
 
Unseeded team
 
Semi-final 1 winner
 
February 2023 – TBC
 
Semi-final 2 winner
 
Seed 4
 
 
Unseeded team
 
Third place play-off
 
 
February 2023 – TBC
 
 
Semi-final 1 loser
 
 
Semi-final 2 loser

Top goalscorers[]

There have been 898 goals scored in 198 matches, for an average of 4.54 goals per match (as of 30 November 2021).

12 goals

11 goals

9 goals

  • Belgium Tessa Wullaert
  • England Ellen White
  • France Marie-Antoinette Katoto

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

References[]

  1. ^ "Australia and New Zealand selected as co-hosts of FIFA Women's World Cup 2023". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. ^ "FIFA Council unanimously approves expanded 32-team field for FIFA Women's World Cup". FIFA. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup and men's youth competitions". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  4. ^ "WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2020–2023" (PDF). FIFA.
  5. ^ "FIFA suspends Chad and Pakistan football associations". FIFA. 7 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Russia banned for four years to include 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  7. ^ "WADA files official request with Court of Arbitration for Sport to resolve RUSADA dispute". World Anti-Doping Agency. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. ^ "CAS arbitration WADA v. RUSADA: Decision". TAS/CAS. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Russia banned from using its name, flag at next two Olympics". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Russia banned from Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Cup after Cas ruling". BBC. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  11. ^ "AFC to invest in new era of national team and club competitions". AFC. 26 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Dates for expanded AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 confirmed". AFC. 28 January 2021.
  13. ^ "AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 Competition Regulations". AFC.
  14. ^ "Latest update on the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 – Qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. 29 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 Qualifiers". AFC. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  16. ^ "It's now down to Indonesia-Singapore in Group C". ASEAN Football Federation. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  17. ^ "2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying round: Vietnamese team have only two rivals in group B". VietnamPlus. Vietnam News Agency. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021. As the Afghanistan team have officially withdrawn from the qualifying round of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, only three teams remain in group B including Vietnam.
  18. ^ "Vietnam to play three AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 qualifiers". Voice of Vietnam. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Total AFCON 2022 qualifiers postponed". CAF. 13 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Sudan – Algeria: the Greens will not play their return match". california18.com. CA18. 26 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Rwanda Government asks Federation to withdraw 2022 Women's AFCON qualifier". Sports News Africa. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  22. ^ "CAF Statement on the Women's AFCON Qualifier: Equatorial Guinea vs DR Congo". CAF. 22 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Withdrawal of Sao Tome from the qualifiers of the TotalEnergies Women's AFCON 2022". CAF. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  24. ^ "CONCACAF to launch new senior women's national team competitions to benefit entire Confederation". CONCACAF. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Women's International Match Calendar 2020–2023: Fixed dates for international "A" matches" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  26. ^ "More calendar changes for 2021". Oceania Football Confederation. 16 December 2020.
  27. ^ "OFC confirms schedule changes". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA European Qualifying Competition for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup". UEFA. 2 March 2021.
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