Scotland, Wales and Portugal won Thursday’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off round 1 ties to progress to the next stage on Tuesday, when two finals spots and another in the inter-confederation play-offs will be decided.
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Round 2 (Tuesday 11 October)
Portugal vs Iceland (19:00 CET)
Switzerland vs Wales (19:00 CET)
Scotland vs Republic of Ireland (21:00 CET)
Round 1 (Thursday 6 October)
Portugal 2-1 Belgium
Wales 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina (aet)
Scotland 1-0 Austria (aet)
All play-offs level after 90 minutes will go to extra time, and if necessary a penalty shoot-out.
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Who qualifies directly?
The two play-off winners with the highest rankings – based on results in the qualifying group stage (against the sides ranked first, third, fourth and fifth in their section) and the round 2 play-offs – will qualify for the finals in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August 2023. The remaining play-off winners will compete in the inter-confederation play-offs in New Zealand from 17 to 23 February; the draw is at 12 CET on Friday. The finals draw is on 20 October in Auckland.
Round 1: Thursday 6 October
Portugal 2-1 Belgium
Fatima Pinto’s 89th-minute goal took Portugal through to a round 2 tie against Iceland (also seeking to reach a first World Cup) on Tuesday in Paços de Ferreira. In a frantic finish, Belgium had substitute Amber Tysiak sent off and Carole Costa hit the bar before Pinto got to the far post to turn in Joana Marchão’s corner.
Marchão had made the 29th-minute opener in Vizela, providing the cross for Diana Silva to score. But Belgium equalised before the break when Marchão’s handball conceded a penalty converted by Tessa Wullaert. The Belgian forward ends the campaign with 17 goals, equalling the best for any UEFA women’s qualifying campaign, set by Germany’s Célia Šašić for UEFA Women’s EURO 2013.
Portugal now face Iceland in round 2
Portugal now face Iceland in round 2
BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
Wales 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina (aet)
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Wales, in front of a record home crowd of 15,200 in Cardiff, somehow could not find a way through in the 90 minutes of a meeting between two teams in their first major women’s play-off, having the ball in the net four times only for the offside flag to intervene on each occasion.
However, just before the end of the first extra time period, Jess Fishlock – in her ninth major qualifying campaign dating back to the 2007 World Cup – met Rachel Rowe’s free-kick with a chipped volley to send Wales to Zürich to face 2015 qualifiers Switzerland on Tuesday.
Jess Fishlock takes the congratulations for her Wales goal
Jess Fishlock takes the congratulations for her Wales goal
Getty Images
Scotland 1-0 Austria (aet)
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Scotland probably had the better of the chances in a tight first 90 minutes at a rainy Hampden Park in Glasgow, but just as in Cardiff, extra time was needed. And just two minutes into the additional half-hour substitute Abi Harrison headed in an Erin Cuthbert corner to delight Scotland’s competitive home record crowd of 10,182.
That proved enough for Scotland to knock out the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 quarter-finalists, and move closer to a second straight World Cup. On Tuesday they welcome a Republic of Ireland team aiming for a major tournament bow, under former Scotland coach Vera Pauw.
How the play-off winner ranking is decided
To determine the ranking of the play-off winners, the results of the round 2 play-offs (three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat; result after extra time is counted but not any penalty shoot-out) are added to the results of the group stage matches used to determine the ranking of the group runners-up (see Paragraph 14.04 of the official regulations). The following criteria are applied in the order given:
1: Higher number of points
2: Superior goal difference
3: Higher number of goals scored
4: Higher number of away goals scored
5: Higher number of wins
6: Higher number of away wins
7: Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points)
8: Higher position in the UEFA women’s national team coefficient rankings used for the group stage draw (see Annex B.1.2 of the official regulations)
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Ranking after group stage
Inter-confederation play-offs
A ten-team tournament will be held in New Zealand from 17 to 23 February to decide the last three finalists, with UEFA represented by the third-best play-off winners.
Continental allocation/Contenders
AFC: 2 (Chinese Taipei, Thailand)
CAF: 2 (Cameroon, Senegal)
CONCACAF: 2 (Haiti, Panama)
CONMEBOL: 2 (Chile, Paraguay)
OFC: 1 (Papua New Guinea)
UEFA: 1
The teams will be split into three groups: two of three teams and one of four, with seeding decided by FIFA ranking. All three groups will be played as separate knockout competitions, with the winner of each qualifying for the World Cup finals. In the two three-team groups, the seeded team will go straight to the final (after playing a friendly against New Zealand or a guest nation) and meet the winners of the semi-final between the other two sides in their group.
Who has qualified for the World Cup so far?
Hosts: 2 (Australia, New Zealand)
AFC: 5 (China, Japan, Philippines*, South Korea, Vietnam*)
CAF: 4 (Morocco*, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia*)
CONCACAF: 4 (Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, United States)
CONMEBOL: 3 (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia)
UEFA: 11 (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, 2 play-off winners TBC)
Inter-confederation play-offs: 3 TBC
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
lay-Off Tournament Draw to take place at 12:00 CET on Friday 14 October 2022; inaugural tournament to be played in Aotearoa New Zealand from 17 to 23 February 2023; ten teams will compete early next year for the final three slots at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™.
FIFA has announced today that the Draw for the first-ever Play-Off Tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place on Friday 14 October at 12:00 CET.
The Draw for the Play-Off Tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be streamed live on FIFA+ (https://fifa.fans/3eqbvAX) and will confirm the qualification pathway for the ten teams vying for the final three remaining spots at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, which takes place from 20 July to 20 August next year.
The ten participating teams in the Play-Off Tournament – which will be played in Hamilton/Kirikiriroa and Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau in Aotearoa New Zealand (https://fifa.fans/3yTkMJ9) from 17 to 23 February 2023 – will come from Asia (Chinese Taipei and Thailand), Africa (Cameroon and Senegal), North and Central America and the Caribbean (Haiti and Panama), South America (Chile and Paraguay), Oceania (Papua New Guinea) and Europe (one team – TBC).
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
The European representative at the Play-Off Tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be confirmed following the final round of qualifying matches on 11 October 2022. The Draw Procedures for the Play-Off Tournament are available here (https://fifa.fans/3fX9ooW).
As part of the match schedule (https://fifa.fans/3EOmv6j), New Zealand’s Football Ferns will also play three friendly matches around the event against a top-seeded team in the tournament and another high-profile guest team, which will be confirmed in due course.
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
To receive the latest ticketing news and information for the Play-Off Tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, please register your interest at FIFA.com/tickets (https://fifa.fans/3TtSVaj).
Following the Draw for the Play-Off Tournament on 14 October, the Draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ (https://fifa.fans/3MtDtbS) will take place in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau on Saturday, 22 October 2022.
For the latest news and updates on the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, please click here (https://fifa.fans/3TgBWbn).
Women’s World Cup play-offs 2022 : Scotland host Republic of Ireland, Wales visit Switzerland and Portugal play Iceland on Tuesday
Ticket packages for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 are now available. To secure your seat and for the latest ticketing news, please visit FIFA.com/tickets (https://fifa.fans/3MnBSEb).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of FIFA.
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