FIFA Women's World Cup qualification explained

FIFA Women's World Cup qualification is the process a national women's association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organized by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of berths awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. For the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cups, the number of finalists increased from 16 to 24. Since 2023, the number is 32.^[1]

All confederation, except for the UEFA, hold qualification process throughout continental tournaments. The UEFA organises its own qualification phase since 1999. Starting from 2031, the AFC will also organise its own qualification phase.

Qualification berths by continent

The table below lists the numbers of berths allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament.

Intercontinental play-offs are played as two home-and-away matches. The team that scores a greater aggregate number of goals qualifies for the World Cup. Away goals rule applies. If these rules fail to determine the winner, extra time and penalty shootouts are used.

"H" denotes an automatic spot for the host. Places in intercontinental play-offs are represented as fractions, with a place in a direct play-off being counted as 0.5 spots.

**Places allocated for continents**
Continental zone	1991 ¹	1995	1999	2003 ²	2007	2011	2015	2019	2023	2027
Africa	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	4
Asia	3	2	3	2.5+H	2.5+H	3	5	5	5+H	6
Oceania	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0+H	1
Europe	5	4+H	6	5	5	4.5+H	8	8+H	11	11
North and Central America and Caribbean	1	2	1.5+H	2.5	2.5	2.5	3.5+H	3.5	4	4
South America	1	1	1.5	2	2	2	2.5	2.5	3	2+H
Play-off tournament	Did not exist								3	3
Total	12	12	16	16	16	16	24	24	32	32

¹ In 1991, China PR hosted the tournament, but the location was determined after Asian qualifying had been completed.

² Originally to be held in China PR, the tournament was moved to the United States. China retained its automatic qualifying status as original host.

Qualification competition entrants over time

Entrants in continental qualifying tournaments^[2]
Continental zone	1991 (12)	1995 (12)	1999 (16)	2003 (16)	2007 (16)	2011 (16)	2015 (24)	2019 (24)	2023 (32)	2027 (32)
Africa	8	8	15	22	35	24	26	24	43
Asia	9	4	11	18	17	17	20	24	27
Oceania	3	3	6	10	10	8	4	11	9	11
Europe	18	30	16¹	16¹	25¹	41	46	46	51	53
North and Central America and Caribbean	8	5	11²	22³	32	26	28	28	32
South America	3	5	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Total	49	55	69	98	129	126	134	143	172
Teams played	45	52	66	84	109	119	130	136	155
Matches played	111	135	152	195	263	355	406	392	505
Goals scored	445	655	803	867	1,032	1,436	1,686	1,562	2,143

¹ Only teams in European Class A could qualify for the Women's World Cup finals. Other sides could at best be promoted to Class A for subsequent tournament.

² A second Guatemalan side also competed, but their matches are not included in the list.

³ The United States (eventual hosts of the finals) competed in the qualifying tournament.

First appearance in qualification by team

Listed are the first appearance in the qualifying stages by a national team. Teams that entered for the first time but withdrew are written in italics.

WC	Europe	South America	North, Central America and Caribbean	Asia	Africa	Oceania	Total
1991							44
1995			None	None		None	21
1999	None						24
2003		None					21
2007		None					28
2011		None					21
2015		None	None			None	11
2019		None	None				9
2023		None	None			None	10
2027	None	None	None	None	None	None	0

National teams results in World Cup preliminary competition (1991–2023)

Legend
Team has won the World Cup
Team has qualified for the main tournament through a qualifying process
Team has not qualified for the main tournament
Team is not a member of FIFA and is not eligible for the main tournament (Martinique and Guadeloupe)

The table is updated after 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification in all continents except for Asia (AFC), which is already updated the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification.

No.^[3]	Team	^[4]	Overall qualification record							Points^[5]		Confederation
No.^[3]	Team	^[4]	width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20	Confederation	width=20	width=20	width=40	Total point	width=40
1		8	68	56	7	5	223	39	184	175	2.574	UEFA
2		7	61	56	2	3	275	24	251	170	2.787	UEFA
3		8	63	53	5	5	226	37	189	164	2.603	UEFA
4		8	72	46	12	14	206	46	160	150	2.083	UEFA
5		8	70	45	13	12	219	52	167	148	2.114	UEFA
6		8	76	45	13	18	196	63	133	148	1.947	UEFA
7		7	56	41	7	8	162	36	126	130	2.321	UEFA
8		8	46	42	2	2	177	19	158	128	2.783	CAF
9		8	44	41	1	2	248	19	229	124	2.818	CONMEBOL
10		8	64	38	10	16	160	57	103	124	1.937	UEFA
11		7	56	36	7	13	127	72	55	115	2.054	UEFA
12		8	60	34	11	15	175	57	118	113	1.883	UEFA
13		9	50	33	8	9	181	32	149	107	2.140	AFC
14		9	44	33	5	6	173	25	148	104	2.363	AFC
15		7	56	32	5	19	147	81	66	101	1.804	UEFA
16		7	56	30	10	16	131	57	74	100	1.786	UEFA
17		8	55	31	6	18	181	97	84	99	1.800	CONCACAF
18		8	70	30	9	31	137	118	19	99	1.414	UEFA
19		7	33	32	0	1	184	5	179	96	2.909	CONCACAF
20		7	60	28	10	22	118	92	26	94	1.567	UEFA
21		8	60	29	6	25	112	90	22	93	1.550	UEFA
22		8	60	28	9	23	100	79	21	93	1.550	UEFA
23		9	41	28	7	6	194	20	174	91	2.219	AFC
24		7	48	27	6	15	115	65	50	87	1.813	CONMEBOL
25		8	64	25	10	29	122	139	−17	85	1.328	UEFA
26		8	32	28	0	4	252	9	243	84	2.265	OFC
27		8	58	24	11	23	136	98	38	83	1.431	UEFA
28		6	44	25	6	13	125	61	64	81	1.841	CAF
29		6	44	26	2	16	99	76	23	80	1.818	CONCACAF
30		7	43	26	1	16	109	68	41	79	1.837	CONCACAF
31		7	31	26	0	5	155	19	136	78	2.516	CONCACAF
32		7	50	23	7	20	70	54	16	76	1.520	UEFA
33		8	62	23	7	32	126	115	11	76	1.226	UEFA
34		6	43	23	3	17	153	76	77	72	1.674	CONCACAF
35		9	42	21	9	12	128	55	73	72	1.714	AFC
36		6	50	22	6	22	85	101	−16	72	1.440	UEFA
37		7	56	19	13	24	119	79	40	70	1.250	UEFA
38		8	41	22	3	16	111	83	28	69	1.683	CONCACAF
39		7	41	20	9	12	69	55	14	69	1.683	CAF
40		6	32	21	5	6	140	19	121	68	2.215	AFC
41		7	35	22	2	11	72	34	38	68	1.943	CAF
42		8	41	22	2	17	93	108	−15	68	1.658	AFC
43		8	58	21	25	30	106	95	+11	66	1.517	UEFA
44		7	50	18	8	24	79	100	−21	62	1.240	UEFA
45		6	36	20	1	15	120	69	51	61	1.694	AFC
46		9	38	18	6	14	73	60	13	60	1.578	AFC
47		6	34	17	7	10	75	61	14	58	1.706	CONMEBOL
48		5	40	17	4	19	78	67	11	55	1.375	UEFA
49		6	51	17	4	30	51	125	−74	55	1.078	UEFA
50		7	52	17	3	32	83	122	−39	54	1.038	UEFA
51		6	48	15	4	29	75	114	−39	49	1.021	UEFA
52		8	32	16	0	16	71	135	−64	48	1.500	OFC
53		6	32	14	3	15	75	63	12	45	1.406	AFC
54		6	48	12	9	27	51	107	−56	45	0.938	UEFA
55		8	34	12	6	16	59	68	−9	42	1.235	CONMEBOL
56		6	33	12	6	15	49	80	−31	42	1.273	CONMEBOL
57		4	22	13	2	7	101	38	63	41	1.864	AFC
58		5	26	13	0	13	53	55	−2	39	1.500	CONCACAF
59		7	24	12	1	11	76	58	18	37	1.525	AFC
60		6	25	12	1	12	51	52	−1	37	1.480	CONMEBOL
61		5	38	12	0	26	46	147	−101	36	0.947	UEFA
62		4	23	11	2	10	54	57	−3	35	1.522	CONCACAF
63		7	28	11	2	15	49	94	−45	35	1.250	AFC
64		4	28	9	7	12	36	51	−15	34	1.214	CAF
65		4	21	10	3	8	29	34	−5	33	1.571	CAF
66		5	35	10	3	22	51	99	−48	33	0.943	UEFA
67		5	16	9	2	5	36	28	8	29	1.813	CONCACAF
68		5	21	6	11	4	32	27	5	29	1.381	CAF
69		3	18	9	1	8	48	52	−4	28	1.556	CONCACAF
70		5	38	7	5	26	23	94	−71	26	0.684	UEFA
71		4	15	8	1	6	39	40	−1	25	1.667	CONCACAF
72		4	23	8	1	14	19	70	−51	25	1.087	CONCACAF
73		7	45	8	1	36	43	151	−108	25	0.556	UEFA
74		6	48	7	4	37	30	181	−151	25	0.521	UEFA
75		4	18	7	3	8	29	33	−4	24	1.333	CAF
76		5	19	7	3	9	49	67	−18	24	1.263	CONCACAF
77		6	43	7	3	33	32	169	−137	24	0.558	UEFA
78		3	13	7	2	4	21	9	12	23	1.769	CAF
79		3	18	7	2	9	33	51	−18	23	1.278	CONCACAF
80		6	27	6	5	16	24	60	−36	23	0.851	CONMEBOL
81		8	25	7	2	16	20	82	−62	23	0.920	AFC
82		5	20	6	4	10	34	51	−17	22	1.100	CAF
83		5	16	7	1	8	31	56	−25	22	1.375	CONCACAF
84		2	24	6	3	15	19	81	−62	21	0.875	UEFA
85		5	15	6	2	7	23	19	4	20	1.333	CAF
86		3	15	6	2	7	29	43	−14	20	1.333	CONCACAF
87		5	20	5	5	10	26	47	−21	20	1.000	CAF
88		3	15	6	2	7	34	63	−29	20	1.333	OFC
89		5	34	5	5	24	19	128	−99	20	0.588	UEFA
90		6	25	5	3	17	23	74	−51	18	0.720	CONMEBOL
91		2	24	5	3	16	19	101	−82	18	0.750	UEFA
92		5	37	5	3	29	21	114	−93	18	0.487	UEFA
93		4	17	4	5	8	29	42	−13	17	1.000	CAF
94		7	24	5	2	17	25	79	−54	17	0.708	CONMEBOL
95		4	13	4	4	5	19	19	0	16	1.231	CAF
96		5	16	5	1	10	38	50	−12	16	1.000	AFC
97		5	16	5	1	10	18	47	−29	16	1.000	CONCACAF
98		4	18	5	1	12	23	78	−55	16	0.889	CONCACAF
99		4	16	5	0	11	25	38	−13	15	0.938	CONCACAF
100		4	12	4	2	6	16	20	−4	14	1.167	CONCACAF
101		4	25	4	2	19	16	90	−74	14	0.560	UEFA
102		3	9	4	1	4	12	14	−2	13	1.444	CAF
103		4	13	4	1	13	24	43	−19	13	1.000	AFC
104		4	13	3	3	7	26	25	1	12	0.923	CAF
105		3	10	3	3	4	17	22	−5	12	1.200	AFC
106		2	7	4	0	3	8	14	−6	12	1.714	CONCACAF
107		4	30	3	3	24	17	123	−106	12	0.400	UEFA
108		6	16	3	2	11	23	56	−33	11	0.688	CONCACAF
109		7	26	3	2	21	26	134	−118	11	0.423	CONMEBOL
110		2	6	2	1	3	15	11	4	10	1.667	CAF
111		4	11	3	1	7	11	11	0	10	0.909	CONCACAF
112		2	8	3	1	4	7	15	−8	10	1.250	AFC
113		6	13	1	7	5	6	19	−13	10	0.769	CAF
114		4	15	3	1	11	8	63	−55	10	0.667	OFC
115		2	5	3	0	2	19	14	5	9	1.800	CAF
116		2	6	3	0	3	14	12	2	9	1.500	AFC
117		3	11	2	3	6	8	27	−19	9	0.818	OFC
118		4	9	2	2	5	7	25	−18	8	0.889	CAF
119		3	14	2	2	10	11	52	−41	8	0.571	UEFA
120		2	16	2	2	12	20	63	−43	8	0.500	UEFA
121		4	12	2	2	8	5	58	−53	8	0.667	OFC
122		4	16	2	2	12	10	82	−72	8	0.500	UEFA
123		2	6	2	1	3	10	9	1	7	1.167	CAF
124		4	11	2	1	8	22	33	−11	7	0.636	CONCACAF
125		4	9	2	1	6	7	28	−21	7	0.778	CONCACAF
126		3	8	2	1	5	6	29	−23	7	0.875	CAF
127		2	6	2	1	3	3	28	−25	7	1.167	AFC
128		2	7	2	1	4	2	32	−30	7	1.000	AFC
129		1	4	2	0	2	10	12	−2	6	1.500	CAF
130		1	6	1	3	2	4	6	−2	6	1.000	CAF
131		2	6	2	0	4	5	15	−10	6	1.000	CAF
132		1	5	2	0	3	9	23	−14	6	1.200	OFC
133		3	10	1	3	6	8	25	−17	6	0.600	UEFA
134		2	6	2	0	4	4	26	−22	6	1.000	OFC
135		2	7	2	0	5	7	30	−23	6	0.857	AFC
136		2	9	2	0	7	10	40	−30	6	0.667	AFC
137		2	6	1	2	3	9	9	0	5	0.833	CAF
138		3	9	1	2	6	6	24	−18	5	0.556	CAF
139		4	11	1	2	8	7	46	−39	5	0.455	CONCACAF
140		2	5	1	1	3	6	10	−4	4	0.800	CONCACAF
141		2	6	1	1	4	13	21	−8	4	0.667	OFC
142		4	11	1	1	9	6	50	−44	4	0.444	AFC
143		1	8	1	1	6	2	60	−58	4	0.500	UEFA
144		3	9	1	1	7	8	77	−69	4	0.444	OFC
145		5	17	1	1	15	2	75	−73	4	0.235	AFC
146		2	6	0	3	3	3	7	−4	3	0.500	CAF
147		2	4	1	0	3	3	9	−6	3	0.750	CAF
148		1	4	1	0	3	3	10	−7	3	0.750	CAF
149		1	4	1	0	3	3	14	−11	3	0.750	CAF
150		2	6	1	0	5	3	22	−19	3	0.500	CONCACAF
151		3	9	1	0	8	3	29	−26	3	0.333	CONCACAF
152		1	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1	0.500	CAF
153		1	2	0	1	1	1	2	–1	1	0.500	AFC
154		1	2	0	1	1	0	4	−4	1	0.500	AFC
155		2	3	0	1	2	1	7	−6	1	0.333	CAF
156		2	4	0	1	3	8	16	−8	1	0.250	CAF
157		2	4	0	1	3	3	15	−12	1	0.250	CAF
158		2	6	0	1	5	4	29	−25	1	0.167	UEFA
159		3	9	0	1	8	3	50	−47	1	0.111	CONCACAF
160		2	18	0	1	17	9	142	−133	1	0.056	UEFA
161		2	4	0	0	4	3	10	−7	0	0.000	CAF
162		1	2	0	0	2	1	8	−7	0	0.000	CONCACAF
163		1	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7	0	0.000	CAF
164		1	3	0	0	3	3	12	−9	0	0.000	UEFA
165		1	3	0	0	3	0	13	−13	0	0.000	UEFA
166		1	1	0	0	1	0	13	−13	0	0.000	CAF
167		1	2	0	0	2	0	15	−15	0	0.000	CAF
168		2	4	0	0	4	0	17	−17	0	0.000	CAF
169		2	4	0	0	4	1	18	−17	0	0.000	CAF
170		1	3	0	0	3	1	19	−18	0	0.000	CONCACAF
171		1	5	0	0	5	0	22	−22	0	0.000	AFC
172		1	2	0	0	2	0	24	–24	0	0.000	AFC
173		2	5	0	0	5	0	25	−25	0	0.000	AFC
174		1	3	0	0	3	0	27	−27	0	0.000	CONCACAF
175		3	8	0	0	8	1	31	−30	0	0.000	CONCACAF
176		2	5	0	0	5	0	35	−35	0	0.000	OFC
177		2	5	0	0	5	2	40	−38	0	0.000	CONCACAF
178		1	4	0	0	4	0	38	−38	0	0.000	AFC
179		2	6	0	0	6	0	40	−40	0	0.000	AFC
180		1	8	0	0	8	1	42	−41	0	0.000	UEFA
181		1	3	0	0	3	1	51	−50	0	0.000	AFC
182		4	12	0	0	12	3	81	−78	0	0.000	AFC
183		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF
184		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	UEFA
185		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF
186		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF
187		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF
188		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF
189		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	CAF

Other

List update 2023 qualification

Year	First matches	Last matches	First goal	Last goal
1991	0–1	3–1	Sissel Grude	Silvia Neid
1995	0–11	3–2	Helle Jensen	Anneli Andelén
1999	3–2	2–3		Evelyn López
2003	4–1	2–0	Tetyana Verezubova	Karina Maruyama
2007	6–1	2–1	Bùi Thị Tuyết Mai	Maribel Domínguez
2011	1–7	1–0	Farah Al-Azab	Amy Rodriguez
2015	3–3	0–1	Marija Vukčević	Mónica Quinteros
2019	8–0	0–8	Ri Un-yong	Rosie White
2023	1–1	0–1	Yağmur Uraz	Lineth Cedeño

Footnotes

Notes and References

News: FIFA Council unanimously approves expanded 32-team field for FIFA Women's World Cup . FIFA . 31 July 2019 . 13 September 2019.
Web site: Increase participation and competitions. https://web.archive.org/web/20150905190934/http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/women/01/51/51/64/presentation_increaseparticipation_e.pdf. dead. 5 September 2015. Mustapha. Fahmy. ppt. FIFA. 19 January 2017.
Teams are ranked by total points, by goal difference, by goals scored, then by alphebetical order of team. Note that this column does not represent any official rankings.
Only qualifying campaigns are counted where the team played at least one match that was not annulled.
The three points for a win system is used.