There are only a handful of events that can bring people together from across cultures, countries, and continents like the FIFA World Cup can. The world’s more popular sport, soccer transcends language; it’s the love of the game that bonds us for life.
It wasn’t until 61 years after the inaugural Men’s World Cup did women around the world finally get a chance to shine in their own tournaments. And we’re lucky they did.
Since the 1991 Women’s World Cup held in China, support for the event has only grown. In fact, the 2019 Women’s World Cup final was watched by 14.3 million people in the U.S., 2.9 million more than the men’s tournament in 2018.
This year’s tournament is being hosted in Australia and New Zealand and will begin in July, but the players on these teams have been waiting their whole lives for this.
Before the games begin, let’s get to know the 32 teams competing for the title and how they got there.
And once the tournament does start, stay up to date on every match, elimination, and celebration with DIRECTV STREAM’s world-class sports coverage. If you like soccer, you’ll love watching it on DIRECTV.
How Do You Qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
The world of FIFA is divided into six different groups based on location, called confederations. Each of these confederations is allotted a certain number of spots in the World Cup. Teams within a confederation compete with one another to fill those coveted spots.
And now, with just a few months to go until the event kicks off, the teams have been chosen and schedules have been built. So, who’s who in this year’s Women’s World Cup?
Meet the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Teams
To start the tournament, teams will compete in eight different groups, playing the three other teams in those groups. Once the groups have played their matches, the top two teams from each group will continue to the knockout round.
Here are the groups, along with the teams in each.
GROUP A
NEW ZEALAND
As one of the host countries, New Zealand’s national football team automatically qualified for this year’s tournament. The team has represented the country on six occasions: 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
NORWAY
Norway’s national team has participated in the tournament on eight occasions: 1991, 1995(W), 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippines women’s national football team will be the first team from its country to qualify for a FIFA World Cup of any gender or age level.
SWITZERLAND
This will be the Switzerland Women’s national football team’s second appearance in the tournament, following their first in 2015.
GROUP B
AUSTRALIA
Australia, the other host country of the Cup, automatically qualified. The country has been represented seven other times, in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
2023 is the country’s first appearance in the Women’s World Cup.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s women’s national football team is one of seven teams to represent their country at all eight occurrences of the tournament. They have only progressed to the knockout round in 1999 and 2019.
CANADA
Canada’s national team has represented the country in the tournament seven times, missing only the inaugural tournament in 1991.
GROUP C
SPAIN
Spain’s women’s team has made it to the World Cup twice: 2015 and 2019.
COSTA RICA
This will be Costa Rica’s second appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the first being in 2015.
ZAMBIA
Zambia’s team, the Copper Queens, will make history this year as the first landlocked African nation to qualify for the World Cup.
JAPAN
Another team that has qualified for every staging of the Women’s World Cup, Japan won the Cup in 2011.
GROUP D
ENGLAND
England has qualified for five of the Women’s World Cups: 1995, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
HAITI
Another first-time team on the pitch, Haiti’s women’s football team made history by qualifying for this year’s event.
DENMARK
Denmark has played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on four occasions: 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2007.
CHINA
China’s women’s national football team has attended seven of the previous Cup tournaments: 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2019.
Group E
UNITED STATES
The most decorated women’s national team in the history of the World Cup, the US has been represented in every tournament. The team won the championship four times, came in runner-up once and third place three times. Read more about the US Women’s National Team.
VIETNAM
The 2023 tournament is the first time Vietnam has qualified for the Women’s World Cup.
NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup twice, in 2015 and 2019.
PORTUGAL
Portugal’s women’s team is making their debut at the Women’s World Cup this year.
GROUP F
FRANCE
The women’s national football team in France has represented the country on four occasions: 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
JAMAICA
This year will be Jamaica’s second chance at the tournament, having previously qualified in 2019.
BRAZIL
Brazil’s team has qualified for all eight occasions of the competition.
PANAMA
Another new team, Panama’s women’s team will be making its first appearance at World Cup.
GROUP G
SWEDEN
Sweden has qualified for every FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.
SOUTH AFRICA
2019 was South Africa’s first time being represented at a FIFA Women’s World Cup.
ITALY
Italy has participated in the women’s tournament three times: 1991, 1999 and 2019.
ARGENTINA
Argentina’s women’s team has qualified for the event three times: 2003, 2007 and 2019.
GROUP H
GERMANY
Another team that has attended all eight iterations, Germany’s women’s team won the World Cup title back-to-back in 2003 and 2007.
MOROCCO
Morocco’s women’s team qualified for the tournament for the first time this year.
COLOMBIA
Colombia’s women’s team has been represented in the World Cup twice: 2011 and 2015.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea has been represented in the Women’s World Cup three times: 2003, 2015 and 2019.
Wrap Up
And there you have it. The 32 teams that will be competing for the title of 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions.
Lucky for you, you don’t have to wait until July to get in on some of the action. Leading up to the tournament, we will take deep dives into the teams competing, the players to watch, and anything else you need to know about this year’s tournament. You can find it right here on DIRECTV Insider.
A worldwide leader in sports, DIRECTV brings you robust coverage so you can watch your favorite teams. From World Cup matches to Sunday football, DIRECTV has got you covered.
Get DIRECTV STREAM today so you can watch the World Cup and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2023 Women's World Cup?
The FIFA Women's World Cup will begin on July 20, 2023, and will last one month, finishing on August 20th.
Where is the Women's World Cup this year?
The Women's World Cup tournament is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
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