Friday 30 September 2022
The two-round play-offs on 6 and 11 October will decide two finals spots and one berth in the intercontinental play-offs.
The European play-offs for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played on 6 and 11 October, with six teams beginning in round 1 and three more waiting in round 2 to face the winners of the first ties.
Play-off bracket
Round 1 (Thursday 6 October)
Portugal vs Belgium (18:00 CET)
Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (20:15 CET)
Scotland vs Austria (20:35 CET)
Round 2 (Tuesday 11 October)
Portugal / Belgium vs Iceland (KO TBC)
Scotland / Austria vs Republic of Ireland (KO TBC)
Switzerland vs Wales / Bosnia and Herzegovina (19:00 CET)
All play-offs level after 90 minutes will go to extra time, and if necessary a penalty shoot-out.
Who qualifies directly?
The two play-off winners with the highest rankings – based on results in the qualifying group stage (against the sides ranked first, third, fourth and fifth in their section) and the round 2 play-offs – will qualify for the finals in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August. The remaining play-off winner will compete in the inter-confederation play-offs in New Zealand from 17 to 23 February.
Portugal vs Belgium (18:00 CET)
Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (20:15 CET)
Scotland vs Austria (20:35 CET)
How the play-off winner ranking is decided
To determine the ranking of the play-off winners, the results of the round 2 play-offs (three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat) are added to the results of the group stage matches used to determine the ranking of the group runners-up (see Paragraph 14.04 of the official regulations). The following criteria are applied in the order given:
1: Higher number of points
2: Superior goal difference
3: Higher number of goals scored
4: Higher number of away goals scored
5: Higher number of wins
6: Higher number of away wins
7: Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points)
8: Higher position in the UEFA women’s national team coefficient rankings used for the group stage draw (see Annex B.1.2 of the official regulations)
A ten-team tournament will be held in New Zealand from 17 to 23 February to decide the last three finalists, with UEFA represented by the third-best play-off winners.
Continental allocation/Contenders
AFC: 2 (Chinese Taipei, Thailand)
CAF: 2 (Cameroon, Senegal)
CONCACAF: 2 (Haiti, Panama)
CONMEBOL: 2 (Chile, Paraguay)
OFC: 1 (Papua New Guinea)
UEFA: 1
The teams will be split into three groups: two of three teams and one of four, with seeding decided by FIFA ranking. All three groups will be played as separate knockout competitions, with the winner of each qualifying for the World Cup finals. In the two three-team groups, the seeded team will go straight to the final (after playing a friendly against New Zealand or a guest nation) and meet the winners of the semi-final between the other two sides in their group.
Who has qualified for the World Cup so far?
Hosts: 2 (Australia, New Zealand)
AFC: 5 (China, Japan, Philippines*, South Korea, Vietnam*)
CAF: 4 (Morocco*, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia*)
CONCACAF: 4 (Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, United States)
CONMEBOL: 3 (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia)
UEFA: 11 (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, 2 play-off winners TBC)
Inter-confederation play-offs: 3 TBC
*Debut
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