Cameroon celebrate first title as Women’s World Cup 2027 line-up takes shape

The Women’s World Cup 2027 will take place in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July, with 18 nations already guaranteed a place at the tournament and seven more set to compete for the final three berths in an intercontinental play-off.

Cameroon secured one of Africa’s four direct qualification places by winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat on Sunday. They defeated Malawi 3-0, denying a first-time World Cup appearance to their opponents and claiming their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.

The other semi-finalists, Algeria and Morocco, also qualified automatically for the tournament in South America.

Ghana and South Africa will represent Africa in the intercontinental play-off. Ghana beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-1, while South Africa produced a surprise 2-1 victory over Nigeria, one of the continent’s leading sides.

The 10-team intercontinental tournament will be played between October and December. Only three of the participating nations will progress to the 2027 World Cup.

Africa’s direct qualifiers: Algeria, Malawi, Cameroon and Morocco Africa’s intercontinental play-off entrants: Ghana and South Africa

European qualification

Europe’s qualification campaign was determined by the Nations League. Germany, France, Denmark and Spain all earned automatic qualification after finishing as League A group winners.

England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland remain in contention through the European play-offs.

England will meet Greece in the first round. Should they advance, the Lionesses will face either Ukraine or Slovakia in the next stage.

Wales, who have never qualified for a Women’s World Cup, face Albania before a possible second-round tie against either Norway or Romania.

Scotland must overcome Czechia to set up a potential meeting with Sweden, while the Republic of Ireland begin against Kazakhstan and could then face Belgium or Poland.

Northern Ireland play Portugal, with Iceland or Croatia awaiting the winners.

The first-round play-offs are scheduled for October, with seeded teams playing the second leg at home. Second-round ties will be held in November and December.

The possible second-round pairings are:

– Slovakia or Ukraine v Greece or England – Finland or Serbia v Belarus or Italy – Northern Ireland or Portugal v Croatia or Iceland – Albania or Wales v Romania or Norway – Israel or Switzerland v Kosovo or Austria – Czechia or Scotland v Lithuania or Sweden – Belgium or Poland v Kazakhstan or Republic of Ireland – Turkiye or Slovenia v Hungary or Netherlands

Europe’s direct qualifiers: Germany, France, Denmark and Spain

Six Asian nations qualify

Australia, Japan, China, DPR Korea, the Philippines and South Korea have all qualified from Asia.

The six teams secured their places through the Women’s Asian Cup in March, which acted as the continent’s direct World Cup qualifying competition.

Japan, Australia, China and South Korea won their quarter-finals, while DPR Korea and the Philippines prevailed in their intercontinental play-off matches.

Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan, who lost those matches, will now enter the intercontinental play-off in October.

Japan won the Asian Cup after beating Australia 1-0 in Sydney.

Asia’s qualifiers: Australia, Japan, China, DPR Korea, the Philippines and South Korea Asia’s intercontinental play-off entrant: Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan

Brazil joined by Colombia and Argentina

CONMEBOL held an independent South American qualifying tournament for the first time, with eight teams competing in a group stage.

Colombia and Argentina claimed the two direct qualifying places by finishing first and second respectively. They will join host nation Brazil at next summer’s tournament.

Colombia collected 20 points from a possible 24. They attracted global attention in 2023 by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Venezuela and Ecuador finished third and fourth and will enter the intercontinental play-off, which begins in October.

South America’s qualifiers: Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, the host nation South America’s intercontinental play-off entrants: Venezuela and Ecuador

New Zealand take Oceania’s place

New Zealand won Oceania’s only automatic qualification place after defeating Papua New Guinea, who will instead compete in the intercontinental play-off.

The regional competition was staged in the Cook Islands and featured eight teams. The winners and runners-up from each group advanced to a knockout phase, but only the tournament winners were guaranteed automatic qualification.

Oceania’s qualifier: New Zealand Oceania’s intercontinental play-off entrant: Papua New Guinea

The nations currently qualified are Algeria, Cameroon, Malawi and Morocco from Africa; Australia, China, Japan, DPR Korea, the Philippines and South Korea from Asia; Denmark, France, Germany and Spain from Europe; New Zealand from Oceania; and Argentina, Brazil and Colombia from South America.

The intercontinental play-off places currently belong to Ghana, South Africa, Venezuela, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan.