The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in Brazil, which qualifies automatically as host. The tournament will feature 32 teams. Qualification takes place through each of the six continental confederations — UEFA (Europe), AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North & Central America & Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), and OFC (Oceania) — followed by a 10-team inter-confederation play-off to decide the final three tournament places.
Europe (UEFA)
Europe has 11 direct qualification spots and one additional inter-confederation play-off berth.
UEFA’s qualification process is based on a three-league format (A, B, and C), linked to the UEFA Women’s Nations League rankings.
- League A features 16 teams in four groups of four.
- League B also contains 16 teams in four groups of four.
- League C has 21 teams in six groups.
Teams play home and away within their group. The four League A group winners qualify directly for the World Cup.
The remaining seven European places and one inter-confederation play-off spot are decided through two rounds of play-offs held between October and December 2026.
The draw for the European Qualifiers took place on 4 November 2025, producing the following League A groups:
- Group A1: Sweden, Italy, Denmark, and Serbia.
- Group A2: France, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Republic of Ireland.
- Group A3: Spain, England, Iceland, and Ukraine.
- Group A4: Germany, Norway, Austria, and Slovenia.
Confirmed Fixture Schedule (UEFA League A 2026)
UEFA and national associations have published the complete schedule framework. All teams in League A follow the same coordinated match windows. Each side plays six matches — three at home and three away — across three international periods in 2026.
- Matchday 1: Tuesday 3 March 2026
- Matchday 2: Saturday 7 March 2026
- Matchday 3: Tuesday 14 April 2026
- Matchday 4: Saturday 18 April 2026
- Matchday 5: Friday 5 June 2026
- Matchday 6: Tuesday 9 June 2026
National FAs have released specific fixtures for each team. For example, England begin away to Spain on 3 March, host Iceland on 7 March, travel to Ukraine on 14 April, host Spain again on 18 April, host Ukraine on 5 June, and finish away to Iceland on 9 June. Germany’s group with Norway, Austria, and Slovenia follows the same date sequence, alternating home and away according to the UEFA master schedule.
The first play-off round will be played between 7 and 13 October 2026, and the second play-off round will be held between 26 November and 5 December 2026.
At the end of these matches, four group winners from League A qualify directly, seven more will emerge from the play-offs, and one additional European team will enter the global play-off tournament.
Asia (AFC)
Asia’s qualification route runs through the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, hosted by Australia from 1 to 21 March 2026. The tournament doubles as Asia’s final qualification phase for the World Cup. The Asian Football Confederation has six direct qualification spots and two play-off berths.
The groups for the Women’s Asian Cup 2026 are:
- Group A: Australia, South Korea, Iran, and the Philippines.
- Group B: DPR Korea, China PR, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
- Group C: Japan, Vietnam, India, and Chinese Taipei.
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, progress to the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists automatically qualify for the World Cup. The two best losing quarter-finalists qualify for the inter-confederation play-offs.
The tournament opens on 1 March 2026 in Sydney with host nation Australia playing the Philippines. Matches are staged in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth.
🇦🇺 Australia plays in Asia (AFC), not Oceania (OFC), for football competitions.
Australia left the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006.
The reasons were:
- Higher level of competition — Australia’s women’s and men’s teams were dominant in Oceania and rarely faced strong opponents. Moving to Asia gave them stronger, more regular competition.
- Direct World Cup qualification — In Oceania, the winner usually had to go through an intercontinental play-off to reach the World Cup. In Asia, there are direct qualification spots.
- Development benefits —Competing regularly with nations like Japan, China, and South Korea helped raise the standard of Australian sport.
Since 2006:
- Australia’s men’s and women’s teams have both competed in AFC tournaments — the AFC Asian Cup and AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
- They no longer take part in OFC events, though their clubs still occasionally play friendlies with Pacific teams.
- New Zealand is now the most significant and strongest team remaining in Oceania.
So for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, Australia’s qualification route goes through the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, not through Oceania’s qualifiers.
Africa (CAF)
Africa’s qualification runs through the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 (WAFCON), hosted by Morocco from 17 March to 3 April 2026. This tournament features 16 teams and acts as the qualification route for Africa’s six World Cup berths (four direct and two inter-confederation play-off spots).
The top four teams at WAFCON 2026 will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the two best losing quarter-finalists will move to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The qualifying rounds to reach the WAFCON finals took place between February and July 2025, and the final tournament draw is scheduled for January 2026. The complete fixture list, including group-stage and knockout dates, is available on CAF’s website.
North & Central America (CONCACAF)
CONCACAF will determine its qualifiers through the CONCACAF W Qualifiers and the CONCACAF W Championship 2026. The region has four direct World Cup slots and two inter-confederation play-off berths.
The qualification begins with a series of group-stage qualifiers across the region in late 2025 and early 2026. Successful teams advance to the 2026 CONCACAF W Championship, which will be staged in late 2026 with eight nations competing. The four quarter-final winners of that tournament will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the quarter-final losers will play for the two play-off positions.
South America (CONMEBOL)
South America’s qualification process is managed through a new dedicated competition, the CONMEBOL Women’s World Cup Qualifying League, which runs from October 2025 to mid-2026. Brazil does not participate, having already qualified automatically as host.
The remaining nine South American nations play in a round-robin format, home-and-away, or in group stages, depending on scheduling. CONMEBOL has two direct qualification spots and two play-off places. The top two finishers qualify directly, while the third- and fourth-placed teams go to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Oceania (OFC)
Oceania’s qualification pathway is structured in three rounds running from late 2025 through April 2026. OFC has one World Cup berth and one inter-confederation play-off slot.
The first round is a preliminary knock-out stage among the lowest-ranked nations, played in November 2025. The second round takes place in February and March 2026 and consists of two round-robin groups, hosted in the Solomon Islands and Fiji. The top teams from each group then advance to the third round a knockout semi-final and final held in April 2026. The winner qualifies directly for the World Cup, while the runner-up enters the inter-confederation play-offs.
Inter-confederation Play-offs
The final ten teams from all confederations that did not earn automatic qualification will compete for the last three World Cup places. The inter-confederation play-off tournament is scheduled for November and December 2026, with a concluding round in February 2027.
The ten teams are expected to include two from Asia, two from Africa, two from CONCACAF, two from South America, one from Oceania, and one from Europe. The play-offs will be played in Brazil, using some of the World Cup host venues, with seeded teams entering directly into the final round of matches.
Summary of Key Dates
- UEFA Qualifiers: 3 March – 9 June 2026 (league stage), play-offs October and November/December 2026.
- AFC Women’s Asian Cup: 1–21 March 2026.
- CAF WAFCON: 17 March – 3 April 2026.
- CONMEBOL Qualifiers: October 2025 – mid-2026.
- OFC Qualifiers: November 2025 – April 2026.
- Inter-confederation Play-offs: November 2026 – February 2027.
- World Cup: mid-2027 in Brazil.
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