England and Wales face play-offs as Spain, France, Germany and Denmark seal direct spots at 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil

The 10th Women's World Cup will be staged in Brazil between 24 June and 25 July 2027, and the picture of who will be there is rapidly taking shape. Twenty-eight of the 32 participants are already confirmed, with hosts Brazil joined by 11 European nations having completed the first phase of qualifying — though some of the home nations will have to take the long route through the play-offs.

Current champions Spain, who beat England to win their first World Cup title in 2023, are among those who have booked their place, having topped their League A group in European qualifying. Denmark, France and Germany also won their groups to seal direct qualification.

How did European qualifying work?

The first round of European qualifying took place between March and June 2026, with 53 nations split into three leagues set by the 2025 Uefa Women's Nations League — 16 teams in each of Leagues A and B, and 21 in League C.

The four group winners from League A earned direct qualification to the World Cup. The remaining League A teams dropped into the play-offs, including England and the Republic of Ireland. The top three sides from each League B group also enter the play-offs, as do the six League C group winners and the two best League C runners-up.

As well as determining World Cup qualification, the campaign also served as a promotion and relegation decider for the next edition of the Uefa Women's Nations League.

Who has qualified so far?

Confirmed to be joining hosts Brazil are:

Europe: France, Denmark, Germany, Spain
Asia: Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, North Korea
Africa: Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Malawi
South America: Brazil (host nation), Argentina, Colombia
Oceania: New Zealand

No teams have yet qualified from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, nor from the inter-confederation play-off tournament.

How many spots are available?

A total of 32 teams will qualify from six confederations and the inter-confederation play-off tournament:

Europe: 11 slots
Asia: 6 slots
Africa: 4 slots
North America, Central America and the Caribbean: 4 slots
South America: 3 slots
Oceania: 1 slot
Inter-confederation play-off tournament: 3 slots

A total of 10 teams will enter the inter-confederation play-offs, with Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Ghana, South Africa, Venezuela, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea the seven nations guaranteed to enter at present.

Who is in the European play-offs?

The play-offs will take place in two rounds between October and December 2026. In the first round, 32 teams enter and are split across two paths, with all ties played over two legs in October. In the second round, across November and December, Path 1 winners will face Path 2 winners, with the winners qualifying for the World Cup.

One additional nation that does not qualify directly will earn a spot in the inter-confederation play-offs, where they will get a final chance to reach the tournament.

Path 1 (first round)

Lithuania vs Sweden
Romania vs Norway
Greece vs England
Croatia vs Iceland
Kazakhstan vs Republic of Ireland
Kosovo vs Austria
Hungary vs Netherlands
Belarus vs Italy

Path 2 (first round)

Albania vs Wales
Turkey vs Slovenia
Slovakia vs Ukraine
Israel vs Switzerland
Belgium vs Poland
Czech Republic vs Scotland
Northern Ireland vs Portugal
Finland vs Serbia

In Path 1, teams who finished second and third in League A play against the sides who reached the play-offs from League C. In Path 2, the bottom-placed sides from League A and the top League B winners go up against the second and third-place teams from League B.

The venues

In May 2025, Fifa announced that Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo would be the host cities. All eight selected stadiums were previously used for the men's 2014 World Cup.

Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
Estadio Nacional, Brasilia
Arena Castelao, Fortaleza
Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
Arena de Pernambuco, Recife
Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro
Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
Arena Itaquera, Sao Paulo

The legendary Maracana in Rio, which hosted both the 1950 and 2014 men's World Cup finals, is the largest stadium selected with a capacity of 78,838. It was also the stage for the final of the women's Olympic football tournament in 2016.

This will be the second and final edition of the tournament with 32 teams, with the 2031 Women's World Cup expanding to 48 teams.