While most eyes will be on the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, the 2023 Women’s World Cup is also fast approaching.
The ninth edition of the tournament will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand with a record-high 64 matches to be played across 10 different stadiums.
Teams across the globe have begun to book their tickets, with Asia, Europe, and North America all confirming places at next year’s event.
The Sporting News brings you the latest information on who has qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, as the United States looks to defend its titles from the last two events. Canada, defending Olympic champions, HAVE also qualified for the tournament.
MORE: Ticket details for the 2023 Women’s World Cup
How many teams are in the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
In 2019, FIFA unanimously voted to expand the Women’s World Cup from 24 to 32 teams from the 2023 tournament onwards.
This brings it temporarily in line with the men’s version — but that is expanding from 32 to 48 teams in 2026.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will consist of a certain number of sides from each confederation which is as follows:
- Asia (AFC): 5 slots + 1 host slot (Australia)
- Africa (CAF): 4 slots
- North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF): 4 slots
- CONMEBOL (South America): 3 slots
- Oceania (OFC): 0 slots + 1 host slot (New Zealand)
- Europe (UEFA): 11 slots
- Playoff tournament: 3 slots
Playoff Tournament
A playoff tournament consisting of 10 teams will see the last three nations book their place at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The playoff tournament will be played from February 17-23, 2023 in New Zealand and will involve three groups with the winner of each group advancing to the World Cup.
Here are the teams set to participate in the playoffs:
- Asia (AFC): Chinese Taipei, Thailand
- Africa (CAF): Cameroon, Senegal
- North America (CONCACAF): Haiti, Panama
- South America (CONMEBOL): Chile, Paraguay
- Oceania (OFC): Papua New Guinea
- Europe (UEFA): Portugal
Which teams have qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
The full qualification picture won’t be known until February 2023 when the playoff tournament is played.
The table below will be updated as nations secure qualification:
| No. | Nation (FIFA Ranking) | Region | Date qualified | How they qualified | World Cup apps | Titles (Last) |
| 1 | Australia (13) | AFC | Jun. 25, 2020 | Co-hosts | 8 of 9 | — |
| 2 | New Zealand (22) | OFC | Jun. 25, 2020 | Co-hosts | 6 of 9 | — |
| 3 | Japan (11) | AFC | Jan. 30, 2022 | Asian Cup semi-finalists | 9 of 9 | 1 (2011) |
| 4 | South Korea (17) | AFC | Jan. 30, 2022 | Asian Cup semi-finalists | 4 of 9 | — |
| 5 | China (15) | AFC | Jan. 30, 2022 | Asian Cup semi-finalists | 8 of 9 | — |
| 6 | Philippines (53) | AFC | Jan. 30, 2022 | Asian Cup semi-finalists | 1 of 9 | — |
| 7 | Vietnam (34) | AFC | Feb. 6, 2022 | Asian Cup play-offs | 1 of 9 | — |
| 8 | Sweden (2) | UEFA | Apr. 12, 2022 | Group winners | 9 of 9 | — |
| 9 | Spain (6) | UEFA | Apr. 12, 2022 | Group winners | 3 of 9 | — |
| 10 | France (5) | UEFA | Apr. 12, 2022 | Group winners | 5 of 9 | — |
| 11 | Denmark (18) | UEFA | Apr. 12, 2022 | Group winners | 5 of 9 | — |
| 12 | United States (1) | CONCACAF | Jul. 6, 2022 | Group winners | 9 of 9 | 4 (2019) |
| 13 | Canada (7) | CONCACAF | Jul. 8, 2022 | Group winners | 8 of 9 | — |
| 14 | Costa Rica (37) | CONCACAF | Jul. 8, 2022 | Group runners-up | 2 of 9 | — |
| 15 | Jamaica (43) | CONCACAF | Jul. 11, 2022 | Group runners-up | 2 of 9 | — |
| 16 | Zambia (81) | CAF | Jul. 13, 2022 | WAFCON semi-finalists | 1 of 9 | — |
| 17 | Morocco (76) | CAF | Jul. 13, 2022 | WAFCON semi-finalists | 1 of 9 | — |
| 18 | Nigeria (45) | CAF | Jul. 14, 2022 | WAFCON semi-finalists | 9 of 9 | — |
| 19 | South Africa (54) | CAF | Jul. 14, 2022 | WAFCON semi-finalists | 2 of 9 | — |
| 20 | Colombia (27) | CONMEBOL | Jul. 26, 2022 | Copa America Fem. finalists | 3 of 9 | — |
| 21 | Brazil (9) | CONMEBOL | Jul. 26, 2022 | Copa America Fem. finalists | 9 of 9 | — |
| 22 | Argentina (29) | CONMEBOL | Jul. 29, 2022 | Copa America Fem. 3rd place | 4 of 9 | — |
| 23 | Norway (12) | UEFA | Sep. 2, 2022 | Group winners | 9 of 9 | 1 (1995) |
| 24 | Germany (3) | UEFA | Sep. 3, 2022 | Group winners | 9 of 9 | 2 (2007) |
| 25 | England (4) | UEFA | Sep. 3, 2022 | Group winners | 6 of 9 | — |
| 26 | Italy (14) | UEFA | Sep. 6, 2022 | Group winners | 4 of 9 | — |
| 27 | Netherlands (8) | UEFA | Sep. 6, 2022 | Group winners | 3 of 9 | — |
| 28 | Switzerland (21) | UEFA | Oct. 11, 2022 | UEFA playoff winners | 2 of 9 | — |
| 29 | Republic of Ireland (24) | UEFA | Oct. 11, 2022 | UEFA playoff winners | 1 of 9 | — |
| 30 | TBD | Feb. 2023 | World Cup playoff | |||
| 31 | TBD | Feb. 2023 | World Cup playoff | |||
| 32 | TBD | Feb. 2023 | World Cup playoff |
*Last updated October 24, 2022.
When does the Women’s World Cup start?
- Opening group stage matches: July 20, 2023
- Final group stage matches: August 3, 2023
- Round of 16: August 5-8, 2023
- Quarter-finals: August 11-12, 2023
- Semi-finals: August 15-16, 2023
- Third-place match: August 19, 2023
- Women’s World Cup final: August 20, 2023
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will begin on July 20, 2023 (local time) with both Australia and New Zealand to play their first group matches. The host traditionally opens the tournament, and New Zealand has been proactively assigned to Group A, while Australia is slotted into Group B.
Exactly one month later, the 2023 Women’s World Cup final will then be played on August 20, 2023 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
The draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup will take place on October 22, 2022 from Auckland, New Zealand. The three intercontinental playoff participants will not have been determined by that time.
