South Africa, Zambia, Morocco and Nigeria are the four nations that will be representing the African continent at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, scheduled to run from 20 July to 20 August.
But this could all change and Africa could have a record six teams – if Cameroon and Senegal both win.
The two African nations are among the 10 that are taking part in the first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-offs to battle it out for three spots that will complete the 32 nations that will feature at the women’s world soccer showpiece.
The Play-offs will be held from 18-23 February in Hamilton, New Zealand.
The teams
Get the lowdown on the ten teams.
- AFC (Asia): Chinese Taipei, Thailand
- CAF (Africa): Cameroon, Senegal
- CONCACAF (North America): Haiti, Panama
- CONMEBOL (South America): Chile, Paraguay
- OFC (Oceania): Papua New Guinea
- UEFA (Europe): Portugal
Cameroon and Senegal missed out on automatic qualification when they were bundled out of the quarterfinals of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco in July last year.
Cameroon lost 1-0 to Nigeria, but booked their place in the play-offs when they defeated Botswana 1-0 in a once-off match.
For the first time in 22 years, the Indomitable Lionesses failed to make the last four of WAFCON, and failure to qualify for the World Cup will spell disaster.
Cameroon face Thailand in the early hours of Saturday (18 February), and a win will guarantee them a group final against Group A top seed Portugal four days later (22 February).
As for Lionesses of Teranga, they lost to the Copper Queens (Zambia) on penalties in Morocco – but were able to defeat Tunisia to snatch the other play-off spot.
Senegal, who qualified for the 2022 WAFCON after a 10-year absence, has never been to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in their history, but they will be perhaps be inspired by the successes of the Lions of Teranga who won their maiden Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in 2021 as well as the African Nations Championship (CHAN) last year.
FORMAT OF PLAY:
The 10 teams from six confederations will play in three groups with one group comprising four teams.
- Group A: Portugal, Cameroon, Thailand
- Group B: Chile, Senegal, Haiti
- Group C: Chinese Taipei, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Panama
Top seeds Portugal and Chile will face the winners between Cameroon versus Thailand and Senegal versus Haiti respectively.
The winners of the two matches will face off in the group final.
In Group C, the two seeded teams will earn the top spots and will face off against the two unseeded teams.
The winners of each of the group will then qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
South Africa and Nigeria were Africa’s representatives in France four years ago, and will be joined by Women’s World Cup debutants Zambia and Morocco.
No women’s team from the African continent has gone beyond the last eight – a feat achieved by Nigeria in 1999. In 2019 the Indomitable Lionesses and Nigeria’s Super Falcons managed to get out of their groups.
Click here for the Play-off Tournament match schedule, which includes kick-off times and venues.
Squads
Check out the full list of squads for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-off Tournament
FACT FILE:
- The Play-off Tournament for Australia & New Zealand 2023 takes place between 17 and 23 February
- Ten teams will compete in New Zealand for the three remaining FIFA Women’s World Cup berths
- Over 200 players set to represent their nations in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Hamilton/Kirikiriroa and Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau will also host some high-profile friendlies
How to watch online
FIFA+ will be the best place to access extensive coverage of the Play-off Tournament, including live match coverage, features and news.
By Matlhomola Morake
