2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Qualification for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup determines which 15 teams join Germany, the hosts of the 2011 tournament, to play for the Women's World Cup. Europe has 5.5 qualifying berths (including the hosts), Asia 3 berths, North and Central America 2.5 berths, Africa 2 berths, South America 2 berths and Oceania 1 berth. The 16th spot was determined through a play-off match between the third-placed team in North/Central America and the winner of repechage play-offs in Europe.[1]

Qualified teams

  Country qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Country did not enter qualification
  Country not a FIFA member
Team Qualified as Qualification date Appearance
in finals		 Consecutive
streak		 Previous best performance FIFA
Ranking1
 GermanyHost nation30 October 2007 6th6 Champions (2003, 2007)2
 Australia2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup winner 27 May 20105th5 Quarter-finals (2007)11
 North Korea2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup runner-up 27 May 20104th4 Quarter-finals (2007)8
 Japan2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup third place 30 May 20106th6 Quarter-finals (1995)4
 FranceUEFA qualifying competition play-off winner 15 September 20102nd1 First Round (2003)7
 NorwayUEFA qualifying competition play-off winner 15 September 20106th6 Champions (1995)9
 SwedenUEFA qualifying competition play-off winner 16 September 20106th6 Runner-Up (2003)5
 EnglandUEFA qualifying competition play-off winner 16 September 20103rd2 Quarter-finals (1995, 2007)10
 New Zealand2010 OFC Women's Championship winner 8 October 20103rd2 First round (1991, 2007)24
 Canada2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup winner 5 November 20105th5 Fourth place (2003)6
 Mexico2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup runner-up 5 November 20102nd1 First round (1999)22
 Nigeria2010 African Women's Football Championship winner 11 November 20106th6 Quarter-finals (1999)27
 Equatorial Guinea2010 African Women's Football Championship runner-up 11 November 20101st1 First appearance 61
 Brazil2010 Sudamericano Femenino winner 19 November 20106th6 Runner-Up (2007) 3
 Colombia2010 Sudamericano Femenino runner-up 21 November 20101st1 First appearance 31
 United StatesUEFA-CONCACAF play-off winner 27 November 20106th6 Champions (1991, 1999)1
1.^ The rankings are shown as of 18 March 2011, the latest published. [2]

Africa

(24 teams competing for 2 berths)

As in the previous World Cup cycle the African Women's Championship will serve as the qualification tournament for the Women's World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 31 October to 14 November 2010 in South Africa.[3] The two finalists will advance to the Women's World Cup finals in Germany.

Eight teams will compete in the continental finals in South Africa, with qualification consisting of two rounds of knock-out home and away ties. The preliminary round was held in March 2010, with winners advancing to the first round of qualification, which was held in May and June 2010.

The seven winners from this round, along with hosts South Africa, advanced to the continental finals. These finals will consist of two round-robin groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the two semi-finals, with each semi-final winner qualifying for the World Cup finals.

Final tournament

Knockout stage

Semi finals Final
11 November
  Nigeria  5  
  Cameroon  1  
 
14 November
      Nigeria  4
    Equatorial Guinea  2
Third place play-off
11 November 14 November
  Equatorial Guinea  3 (aet)   Cameroon  0
  South Africa  1     South Africa  2

Asia

(17 teams competing for 3 berths)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as a qualifying tournament.

The five leading AFC nations, North Korea (the defending AFC women's champions), South Korea, Japan, China and Australia were automatic qualifiers for the finals (held from 19-30 May 2010). They were joined by the winners of each of three qualification groups held in July 2009. A preliminary round of qualification held in April and May 2009 began the qualifiers for the 2011 finals.

The final tournament was held in Chengdu, China.[4] The two finalists – Australia and North Korea – and the winner of the third place play-off – Japan – qualified for the Women's World Cup finals. For the first time in the history of FIFA Women's World Cup, China failed to qualify for the finals.

Final qualification

Knockout stage

Semi finals Final
  Japan  0  
  Australia  1  
 
      Australia  1 (5)
    North Korea  1 (4)
Third place playoff
  China PR  0   Japan  2
  North Korea  1 (aet)     China PR  0

Europe

(41 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths, host nation Germany also qualifies)

Forty-one teams from Europe were drawn into eight groups on 17 March 2009.[5] These groups were played between August 2009 and August 2010. The group winners advanced to four home-and-away play-offs (held in September 2010), with the winners advancing to the World Cup finals. The four losing teams competed in repechage play-offs the following month to determine a team to play against the third-placed CONCACAF team for the 16th place in the finals.[6]

Unlike previous qualification tournaments, all UEFA member nations were eligible to qualify. In the past, only those nations in the top tier of European nations played in qualification groups.

Direct qualification play-offs

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
France  3–2  Italy 0–0 3–2
England  5–2   Switzerland 2–0 3–2
Ukraine  0–3  Norway 0–1 0–2
Sweden  4–3  Denmark 2–1 2–2

Repechage play-offs

Italy advanced to the UEFA-CONCACAF playoff.

  Repechage I Repechage II
                         
  Ukraine 0 0 0  
  Italy 3 0 3  
      Italy 1 4 5
     Switzerland 0 2 2
  Denmark 1 0 1
   Switzerland 3 0 3  

North America, Central America and Caribbean

(26 teams competing for 2 or 3 berths)

As with the last World Cup, the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup served as the region's qualification tournament. The United States, Canada and Mexico received byes to the tournament, where they were joined by three teams from the Caribbean zone and two from Central America. Both finalists qualified automatically to the 2011 Women's World Cup. The third placed team met the fifth placed team from UEFA for an additional World Cup berth. The tournament was held in Cancún, Mexico, from 28 October to 8 November 2010.[7]

Women's Gold Cup

Knockout stage

Semi finals Final
5 November
  Canada  4  
  Costa Rica  0  
 
8 November
      Canada  1
    Mexico  0
Third place play-off
5 November 8 November
  United States  1   Costa Rica  0
  Mexico  2     United States  3

Oceania

(8 teams competing for 1 berth)

As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2010 Oceania Women's Nations Cup served as a qualifying tournament. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 29 September to 8 October 2010.[8]

Teams played in two groups of four, followed by semi-finals and a final and third-place play-off. The winners, New Zealand, qualified for the Women's World Cup finals.

Final qualification

Knockout stage

Semi finals Final
6 October
  New Zealand  8  
  Solomon Islands  0  
 
8 October
      New Zealand  11
    Papua New Guinea  0
Third place
6 October 8 October
  Papua New Guinea  1   Solomon Islands  0
  Cook Islands  0     Cook Islands  2

South America

(10 teams competing for 2 berths)

As with previous World Cup qualifications, the Sudamericano Femenino was used to determine the qualification to the World Cup finals. Qualification was held between 4 November and 21 November in Ecuador.[9]

Final positions

Second stage
Team Pld Pts
 Brazil 39
 Colombia 34
 Chile 32
 Argentina 31

UEFA-CONCACAF play-off

The winner of the third-place play-off at the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup will play-off against the winner of the repechage play-offs from the UEFA qualification tournament.

The matches were played on 20 and 27 November 2010, with the order the matches were played announced following a draw held at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich on 17 March 2010.[10]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Italy  0–2  United States 0–1 0–1

References and notes

    1. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions, from FIFA.com, retrieved 19 March 2009.
    2. ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
    3. ↑ Ekurhuleni Municipality set to host cream of African women's football talent, from South African Football Association, retrieved 21 September 2010.
    4. ↑ AFC Women’s Committee meeting, from the-afc.com, retrieved 4 November 2009.
    5. ↑ EURO rivals to meet in World Cup qualifying, from UEFA.com, retrieved 26 August 2010.
    6. ↑ Women's World Cup hopefuls await draw, from UEFA.com, retrieved 26 August 2010.
    7. ↑ Women's World Cup Qualifying set for Cancun, from www.concacaf.com, retrieved 13 August 2010.
    8. ↑ Women's Nations Cup teams learn fate, from www.oceaniafootball.com, retrieved 20 August 2010.
    9. ↑ Sudamericano Femenino Ecuador 2010: nueva fecha de disputa, from www.conmebol.com, retrieved 11 October 2010.
    10. ↑ CONCACAF to host second leg of WWC playoff, from concacaf.com, retrieved 18 March 2010.
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