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FIFA Women’s World Cup Update: 14 Spots Still Free
Oct 08 2026 06:49 · By onefootball.com · 15 Reads
As we enter the first of two FIFA International Breaks for women’s soccer in 2026, there are still 14 of the 32 slots open to qualify for next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Who’s Locked In
Obviously, Brazil as the host nation has their spot.
First to join them was Australia, China, South Korea and Japan, the four winners of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup that was held in mid-March. Because the AFC likes to keep things neat and tidy, they filled up their remaining two brackets with the Philippines and North Korea only a few days later. This will be the Philippines second straight qualification, and North Korea’s first return to the tournament since 2011.
On the Oceania front, good ol’ New Zealand returns for their 7th trip. They defeated Papua New Guinea 1-0 (hardly the most convincing win, if truth be told).
In June, when the entire world was focusing on the men’s competition, a bunch more nations punched their tickets. Argentina and Colombia won the CONMEBOL Nations League, while Germany, Denmark, France and Spain ensured their presence after dominating the initial group stages of the UEFA qualifying.
The UEFA League Phase of qualifying. Green teams advanced. Source: Wikipedia
August saw the CAF Nations League hit the quarter finals stage, with those four winners landing spots in Brazil. Congratulations to Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon and Malawi. Algeria and Malawi will be World Cup debutantes.
UEFA and CONCACAF Tickets Still Open
UEFA has seven more slots to fill, and CONCACAF has four. These two confederations have all completed their initial winnowing. For CONCACAF, the next international break will resolve which of the eight remaining teams heads south for the show. But this week UEFA will begin their second stage of qualifying with a play-off phase. The 32 highest finishing teams from the earlier league phase (minus the four automatic qualifiers), will play a series of home-and-away fixtures, the winner moving on into the next round.
The winner of each tie will go on in November/December to play a winner from a tie in the other path. For example, if the Netherlands defeats Hungary in Path 1, they play the winner of the Turkey vs. Slovenia from Path 2. Below are the two “paths”.
Path 1
List of UEFA nations in Path 1. Source: Wikipedia
Favorites in this group include: Italy, Netherlands, England, Sweden and Norway.
Path 2
List of UEFA nations in Path 2. Source: Wikipedia
Favorites in this group are a little less obvious. I like: Switzerland, Scotland, Portugal and Finland.
So in this break, all we do is set the stage for next month. Oh, and send sixteen disappointed teams home with their World Cup dreams crushed. Good times!
And the Last Three…
As you, dear reader, can perform arithmetic likely better than myself, you’ll have noticed that there are still three spots up for grabs. That is where the Inter-Confederation Playoff will make its impact. Like it did in the men’s tournament earlier this year, this mini-tournament will allow the runners-up and also-rans a chance for redemption. The event is scheduled to begin in the Nov/Dec international break and conclude in February 2027, when the final three nations will be known.