2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

The qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup determined which 23 teams joined Canada, the hosts of the 2015 tournament, to play for the Women's World Cup.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates4 April 2013 – 2 December 2014
Teams134 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played406
Goals scored1,686 (4.15 per match)
Top scorer(s) Vivianne Miedema (16 goals)

The field was expanded from 16 teams in the 2011 edition to 24 in the 2015 edition. As a result, a new distribution of slots to each confederation was announced by FIFA on 11 June 2012:[1]

  • AFC (Asia): 5 slots (up from 3)
  • CAF (Africa): 3 slots (up from 2)
  • CONCACAF (North/Central America, Caribbean): 3.5+1 (host) slots (up from 2.5)
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 2.5 slots (up from 2)
  • OFC (Oceania): 1 slot (same as 2011)
  • UEFA (Europe): 8 slots (up from 4.5+1)

A record of 134 FIFA member nations (not counting Canada) entered the qualifying tournaments. Additionally two non-FIFA nations entered the CONCACAF qualifying. Four African teams withdrew before playing any match.

  Qualified
  Did not qualify
  Did not enter
  Not active women's team

Qualified teams
Team Qualified as Qualification date Appearance
in final		 Consecutive
streak		 Previous best performance FIFA
Ranking1
 CanadaHosts3 March 20116th6Fourth place (2003)8
 Japan2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup winner18 May 20147th7Winners (2011)3
 Australia2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup runner-up18 May 20146th6Quarterfinals (2007, 2011)10
 China PR2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 3rd place17 May 20146th1Runners-up (1999)14
 South Korea2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 4th place17 May 20142nd1First round (2003)17
 Thailand2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 5th place21 May 20141st1Debut30
  SwitzerlandUEFA qualification group 3 winner15 June 20141st1Debut18
 EnglandUEFA qualification group 6 winner21 August 20144th3Quarterfinals (1995, 2007, 2011)7
 NorwayUEFA qualification group 5 winner13 September 20147th7Winners (1995)9
 GermanyUEFA qualification group 1 winner13 September 20147th7Winners (2003, 2007)2
 SpainUEFA qualification group 2 winner13 September 20141st1Debut16
 FranceUEFA qualification group 7 winner13 September 20143rd2Fourth place (2011)4
 SwedenUEFA qualification group 4 winner17 September 20147th7Runners-up (2003)5
 Brazil2014 Copa América Femenina winner26 September 20147th7Runners-up (2007)6
 Colombia2014 Copa América Femenina runner-up28 September 20142nd2First Round (2011)31
 Nigeria2014 African Women's Championship winner22 October 20147th7Quarterfinals (1999)35
 Cameroon2014 African Women's Championship runner-up22 October 20141st1Debut51
 United States2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship winner24 October 20147th7Winners (1991, 1999)1
 Costa Rica2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship runner-up24 October 20141st1Debut40
 Ivory Coast2014 African Women's Championship 3rd place25 October 20141st1Debut64
 Mexico2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship 3rd place26 October 20143rd2First Round (1999, 2011)25
 New Zealand2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup winner29 October 20144th3First Round (1991, 2007, 2011)19
 NetherlandsUEFA qualification play-off winner27 November 20141st1Debut15
 EcuadorCONMEBOL-CONCACAF play-off winner2 December 20141st1Debut49
1.^ The rankings are shown as of 19 September 2014 – the last rankings published prior to the official draw.[2]

Qualifying tournaments
Confederation Tournament Nations started Qualified Slots Qualification started Qualification ends
AFC2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup205521 May 201321 May 2014
CAF2014 African Women's Championship263314 February 201425 October 2014
CONCACAF2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship28+113+13½+119 May 20142 December 2014
CONMEBOL2014 Copa América Femenina1032½11 September 20142 December 2014
OFC2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup41125 October 201429 October 2014
UEFA2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)46884 April 201327 November 2014
Total 134+1 23+1 23+1 4 April 2013 2 December 2014
  • 1 30 nations started, but Martinique and Guadeloupe are not eligible for World Cup qualification. They are only members of CONCACAF and not FIFA.

Confederation qualification

AFC
Main article: 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup

(20 teams competing for 5 berths)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament. A total of 20 AFC teams competed for five berths.

The final tournament, held in Vietnam from 14 to 25 May 2014, was competed by eight teams, four of which – Australia, China, Japan and South Korea – were automatically qualified though their 2010 placement, while the others were determined via a qualification tournament.[3] North Korea was banned from the tournament due to the sanction on their doping cases in 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.[4]

Group stage

The top two teams from each group advanced to the semifinals of the tournament as well as qualifying for the World Cup. The third placed teams advanced to a playoff against each other to determine the fifth and final qualifying team from the AFC.

Group A
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Japan 3 7
2  Australia 3 7
3  Vietnam (H) 3 3
4  Jordan 3 0
Source: AFC
(H) Host.
Group B
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  South Korea 3 7
2  China PR 3 7
3  Thailand 3 3
4  Myanmar 3 0
Source: AFC

Japan, Australia, China and South Korea qualified for the World Cup. Vietnam and Thailand advanced to the fifth-place play-off.

Fifth place play-off
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Vietnam  1–2  Thailand

Thailand qualified for the World Cup.

CAF
Main article: 2014 African Women's Championship

(26 teams competing for 3 berths)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 African Women's Championship served as the qualification tournament for the Women's World Cup. The qualifying saw a record entry of 25 CAF teams (26 if including final tournament host Namibia). Four teams though withdrew before playing any matches.

A total of eight teams (the host nation and seven teams which came through the qualifying rounds) competed at the final tournament in Namibia from 11 to 25 October 2014. The top three teams of the final tournament qualified for the World Cup.

Knockout stage
 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
22 October
 
 
 Nigeria2
 
25 October
 
 South Africa1
 
 Nigeria2
 
22 October
 
 Cameroon0
 
 Cameroon (a.e.t.)2
 
 
 Ivory Coast1
 
Third place
 
 
25 October
 
 
 South Africa0
 
 
 Ivory Coast1

Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup.

CONCACAF
Main article: 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship

(28 teams competing for 3 or 4 berths, host nation Canada also qualifies)

As with the previous World Cups, the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship served as the region's qualification tournament. A total of 30 teams entered qualifying, with Martinique and Guadeloupe not eligible for World Cup qualification as they are only members of CONCACAF and not FIFA. Therefore, a total of 28 teams were in contention for the three direct places plus the play-off place against CONMEBOL's Ecuador. Canada did not participate as they already qualified to the World Cup as hosts.

The final tournament was held in the United States from 15 to 26 October 2014, and the final group draw took place on 5 September.[5] The United States and Mexico received byes to the tournament's final round, where they were joined by Costa Rica and Guatemala from Central America and by Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago from the Caribbean zone. Both finalists and the third placed team qualified automatically to the 2015 Women's World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to play the third placed team from CONMEBOL for an additional World Cup berth. It was announced during the Final Draw on 5 September that Martinique was not able to advance beyond the group round, and that the next best team would have taken their place in the semifinals if they finished in the top two in their group.[6][7]

Knockout stage
 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
24 October
 
 
 Costa Rica (pen.)1 (3)
 
26 October
 
 Trinidad and Tobago1 (0)
 
 Costa Rica0
 
24 October
 
 United States6
 
 United States3
 
 
 Mexico0
 
Third place match
 
 
26 October
 
 
 Trinidad and Tobago2
 
 
 Mexico (a.e.t.)4

United States, Costa Rica and Mexico qualified for the World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off.

CONMEBOL
Main article: 2014 Copa América Femenina

(10 teams competing for 2 or 3 berths)

As with previous World Cup qualifications, the 2014 Copa América Femenina served as the qualification tournament to the World Cup finals.

All 10 CONMEBOL teams competed in the tournament, held in Ecuador from 11 to 28 September 2014. The top two teams of the second stage qualified directly for the World Cup, while the third placed team advanced to play the fourth placed team from CONCACAF for an additional World Cup berth.

Final stage
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Brazil 3 7
2  Colombia 3 5
3  Ecuador (H) 3 3
4  Argentina 3 1
Source: CONMEBOL
(H) Host.

OFC
Main article: 2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup

(4 teams competing for 1 berth)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup served as the qualifying tournament.

Only four OFC teams played in the tournament, held in Papua New Guinea from 25 to 29 October 2014.[8] That was fewer than in the last four editions of the tournament. The winner qualified.

Final stage
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  New Zealand 3 9
2  Papua New Guinea (H) 3 6
3  Cook Islands 3 1
4  Tonga 3 1
Source: OFC
(H) Host.

New Zealand qualified for the World Cup.

UEFA
Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)

(46 teams competing for 8 berths)

A record 46 UEFA teams entered qualification. The eight lowest teams entered the tournament in the preliminary round and were drawn into two groups of four, played in single round-robin format from 4 to 9 April 2013 in Malta and Lithuania respectively. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the group stage.

The group stage was played in home-and-away round-robin format from 20 September 2013 to 17 September 2014. All seven group winners qualified directly to the final tournament, while the four runners-ups with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth, and fifth in their groups advanced to play-off matches for the remaining berth.

The play-off matches were played in home-and-away two-legged format on 25/26 and 29/30 October (semi-finals), and 22/23 and 26/27 November 2014 (finals).

Group stage
Group 1
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Germany 10 30
2  Russia 10 22
3  Republic of Ireland 10 17
4  Croatia 10 8
5  Slovenia 10 6
6  Slovakia 10 4
Source: UEFA
Group 2
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Spain 10 28
2  Italy 10 25
3  Czech Republic 10 14
4  Romania 10 11
5  Estonia 10 7
6  North Macedonia 10 1
Source: UEFA
Group 3
Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Switzerland 10 28
2  Iceland 10 19
3  Denmark 10 18
4  Israel 10 12
5  Serbia 10 10
6  Malta 10 0
Source: UEFA
Group 4
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Sweden 10 30
2  Scotland 10 24
3  Poland 10 16
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 9
5  Northern Ireland 10 5
6  Faroe Islands 10 2
Source: UEFA
Group 5
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Norway 10 27
2  Netherlands 10 25
3  Belgium 10 19
4  Portugal 10 12
5  Greece 10 3
6  Albania 10 3
Source: UEFA
Group 6
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  England 10 30
2  Ukraine 10 22
3  Wales 10 19
4  Turkey 10 12
5  Belarus 10 6
6  Montenegro 10 0
Source: UEFA
Group 7
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  France 10 30
2  Austria 10 21
3  Finland 10 21
4  Hungary 10 12
5  Kazakhstan 10 4
6  Bulgaria 10 1
Source: UEFA

Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, England and France qualified for the World Cup. Italy, Scotland, Netherlands and Ukraine advanced to the play-offs.

Play-offs
Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs
  Semifinals Final
                         
 Scotland 1 0 1  
 Netherlands 2 2 4  
     Netherlands 1 2 3
   Italy 1 1 2
 Italy 2 2 4
 Ukraine 1 2 3  

Netherlands qualified for the World Cup.

CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off
Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off)

The play-off was contested between Trinidad and Tobago, CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, and Ecuador, CONMEBOL's third-placed team. The draw for the order of legs was held in Zürich on 22 July 2014.[9] Ecuador hosted the first leg on 8 November 2014, and Trinidad and Tobago hosted the second leg on 2 December 2014.[10]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ecuador  1–0  Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 1–0

Ecuador qualified for the World Cup.

References and notes
  1. "Qualification slots for Canada 2015 confirmed". FIFA.com. 11 June 2012.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  3. "Women's giants to know opponents". Asian Football Confederation. 18 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  4. "VN eyes Women's World Cup on 'golden chance'". Tuổi Trẻ. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  5. "Host Cities and Qualification Format Announced for CONCACAF Women's Championship 2014". concacaf.com. 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  6. "Draw Yields Matchups for CONCACAF Women's Championship USA 2014". concacaf.com. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  7. "CONCACAF Women's Championship USA 2014 Regulations". CONCACAF. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. "OFC Women's Nations Cup dates finalised". Oceania Football Confederation. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  9. "New international calendar for women's football in the spotlight". FIFA.com. 22 July 2014.
  10. "@FIFAWWC". Twitter. 21 October 2014.
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