A Vote, a Draw and the Last Roads to Brazil
The women's game is heading into what might be its most consequential month in a while. On Nov. 23, FIFA's member associations will confirm who hosts 2031 and 2035. On Dec. 11, Brazil 2027 gets its groups. And in between, the U.S., Canada, England, Sweden, the Netherlands and plenty more teams with real World Cup pedigree still have to finish the job of actually getting there.
For Georgia, the November 23 vote carries a little extra weight. This state already owns one of the great days in women's soccer history. On Aug. 1, 1996, the United States beat China 2-1 to win the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in the women's game, and they did it at Sanford Stadium in Athens.
What Georgia has never had is a Women's World Cup match. The U.S. hosted in 1999 and again in 2003. Neither tournament came to Atlanta.
The Next Decade Gets Its Hosts
FIFA published its bid evaluation reports for the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cups on Wednesday, and both bids cleared the bar. Each one meets FIFA's minimum hosting requirements, which sends them to an Extraordinary FIFA Congress that will meet by videoconference on Nov. 23.
The 2031 bid is a joint submission from U.S. Soccer, the Mexican Football Association, the Costa Rican Football Association and the Jamaica Football Federation. The 2035 bid comes from The Football Association, the Irish Football Association, the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales.
Neither bid has a rival. So Nov. 23 is a confirmation more than a contest. But FIFA's reports are worth a look anyway, because the evaluation model covers far more than stadiums: event vision, key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial plans, sustainability and human rights all get scored.
2031 will be the first Women's World Cup with 48 teams. It'd be the third time the U.S. has hosted, the first for Mexico, and the first senior World Cup of any kind in Costa Rica or Jamaica. The bid book the four federations submitted last November projected about 4.5 million fans and roughly $4 billion in revenue.
That bid book is where Atlanta comes in. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of 14 primary U.S. venues identified for evaluation, and bid officials also put Atlanta forward as the site of the 2031 draw. FIFA makes both of those calls, and the final venue list isn't expected until after Brazil 2027. Still, the building that hosted a men's World Cup semifinal this July is on the list for the women's tournament five years from now.
The 2035 plan would bring the World Cup back to the U.K. for the first time since England hosted the men's tournament in 1966. The original bid outlined 22 potential stadiums across 16 cities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. FIFA's latest evaluation identifies 19 proposed venues across 15 cities and gives the bid an overall score of 4.3 out of 5.
Four Pots at MAM Rio
FIFA also released the procedures for the Brazil 2027 final draw on Wednesday, one month out. The draw is Friday, Dec. 11 at 1:30 p.m. local time in Rio de Janeiro (11:30 a.m. in Atlanta), at the Museum of Modern Art, better known as MAM Rio. It'll be the first time representatives of the qualified teams are together in Brazil.
This is the last 32-team Women's World Cup, so the shape is familiar: eight groups of four. Brazil goes in Pot 1 and is locked into position A1, which was already set when the match schedule came out in August.
Everybody else gets sorted by the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking that comes out Monday, Dec. 7. By draw day, 28 teams besides Brazil should be qualified, and three placeholders will stand in for the playoff winners who won't be decided until late winter. That's 31 teams across four pots of eight, filled like this:
Pot 1: Brazil plus the seven highest-ranked qualified teams
Pots 2 and 3: the next 16 qualified teams in ranking order
Pot 4: the five lowest-ranked qualified teams plus the three playoff placeholders
Brazil's ball comes out first. Then the rest of Pot 1, then Pots 2, 3 and 4, with each pot emptied before the next one opens.
Two constraints are worth knowing. Each group must contain at least one UEFA team and no more than two, with Europe guaranteed 11 places and potentially adding a 12th through the intercontinental playoffs. Teams from other confederations generally cannot share a group.
FIFA is also borrowing a feature from the 2026 men's World Cup by establishing separate routes through the knockout rounds for the highest-ranked teams. The top two teams in the December rankings will be placed on opposite pathways, keeping them apart until the final if both win their groups. The third- and fourth-ranked teams will also be separated.
The day before, on Thursday, Dec. 10, FIFA will draw the final phase of the playoff tournament. Once the groups are set, FIFA will publish the updated schedule with group matches assigned to host cities and kickoff times confirmed.
The tournament itself runs June 24 to July 25, 2027, across eight host cities. It's the first Women's World Cup in South America, with the Maracanã hosting both the opener and the final.
The Teams Still Driving to Brazil
Eighteen teams are in: Brazil, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, North Korea, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, Argentina, Colombia, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon and Malawi.
Malawi is going to its first Women's World Cup. Nigeria isn't going at all. The Super Falcons lost 1-0 to eventual champions Cameroon in the WAFCON quarterfinals, then lost 2-1 to South Africa in the African playoff. It's the first Women's World Cup without Nigeria since the tournament began in 1991.
Eleven more spots get handed out between now and Dec. 5. The last three wait until late February.
CONCACAF: Four Tickets in Texas
The Concacaf W Championship runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 5 at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield and Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. It's a straight knockout, and the four quarterfinal winners go directly to Brazil. Here's the bracket, with times in Eastern:
Date | Quarterfinal | Kickoff (ET) |
Friday, November 27 | Jamaica vs Costa Rica | 5 p.m. |
Friday, November 27 | United States vs El Salvador | 8:30 p.m. |
Saturday, November 28 | Canada vs Panama | 1 p.m. |
Saturday, November 28 | Mexico vs Haiti | 4:30 p.m. |
The USWNT opens on Black Friday against an El Salvador team making its W Championship debut. Mexico brings Charlyn Corral, whose 13 goals led CONCACAF qualifying. And Jamaica vs. Costa Rica is a match between two of the 2031 co-hosts, four days after the vote, with only one of them guaranteed a direct path to Brazil.
The four quarterfinal losers aren't finished. They play off for CONCACAF's two spots in the final phase of the intercontinental playoff tournament. The tournament will also determine the three CONCACAF sides that will join the U.S. at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
UEFA: Eight Ties, Seven Direct Spots
Europe's second playoff round is played over two legs on Dec. 1 and Dec. 5. Germany, Spain, France and Denmark have already qualified as League A group winners. Eight ties will determine the remaining seven direct European berths and one place in the intercontinental playoff.
Ukraine vs. England
Finland vs. Italy
Portugal vs. Iceland
Wales vs. Norway
Switzerland vs. Austria
Scotland vs. Sweden
Poland vs. Republic of Ireland
Slovenia vs. Netherlands
The seven winners ranked highest from the league phase go straight to Brazil. The eighth goes to the intercontinental playoff.
Three of the four 2035 hosts are still alive here. England, the 2023 finalists, beat Greece 8-1 on aggregate in round one. Scotland draws Sweden, whose Felicia Schröder has five goals in the playoffs already. Wales, still chasing a first Women's World Cup, gets Norway. Northern Ireland went out to Portugal in round one.
The Intercontinental Playoff
The preliminary phase runs Nov. 28 to Dec. 5 in Rabat, Morocco, with six teams: Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Ghana and Ecuador. Each plays three matches, and the top two in the table move on.
Those two join Venezuela, two CONCACAF teams and one UEFA team in the final phase, played Feb. 23 to March 6, 2027. That's three single matches, with teams from the same confederation kept apart. The three winners fill the placeholders in Pot 4.
Before the First Ball
By the time the first ball comes out of the bowl at MAM Rio, the 2031 tournament should have its hosts. The USWNT will know whether its road to Brazil ran through Mansfield as planned. And soon, Brazil will know the teams standing between it and a first Women's World Cup title.
And somewhere in a bid book FIFA already has on file, there's a stadium on Northside Drive.
Key Dates: The Road to Brazil 2027
All times Eastern.
Date | What happens |
Monday, Nov. 23, 2026 | Extraordinary FIFA Congress, by videoconference, confirms the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cup hosts |
Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, 2026 | Concacaf W Championship in Mansfield and Houston, Texas; the four quarterfinal winners (Nov. 27 and 28) qualify |
Nov. 28 to Dec. 5, 2026 | Preliminary phase of FIFA's intercontinental playoff tournament in Rabat, Morocco |
Dec. 1 to Dec. 5, 2026 | UEFA playoff round two; the seven highest-ranked winners qualify for Brazil |
Monday, Dec. 7, 2026 | FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking used to set the draw pots is published |
Thursday, Dec. 10, 2026 | Draw for the final phase of the playoff tournament |
Friday, Dec. 11, 2026 | Final draw at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, 11:30 a.m. |
Feb. 23 to March 6, 2027 | Playoff tournament final phase decides the last three World Cup spots |
June 24 to July 25, 2027 | FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027, opener and final at the Maracanã |
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2027 Women's World Cup draw?
The final draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027 is Friday, Dec. 11, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. Eastern) at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM Rio) in Rio de Janeiro. Thirty-two teams will be drawn into eight groups of four.
How do the pots work for the Brazil 2027 draw?
Hosts Brazil go in Pot 1 at position A1, joined by the seven highest-ranked qualified teams in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking published Dec. 7. Pots 2 and 3 hold the next 16 teams. Pot 4 holds the five lowest-ranked qualifiers plus three playoff placeholders. Every group gets one or two UEFA teams.
Has the USWNT qualified for the 2027 Women's World Cup?
Not yet. The U.S. qualifies by winning its Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal against El Salvador on Friday, Nov. 27, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas. All four quarterfinal winners go to Brazil. The four losers play off for two spots in FIFA's intercontinental playoff tournament.
Which teams have qualified for the 2027 Women's World Cup?
As of Nov. 11, 2026, 18 teams have qualified: Brazil, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, North Korea, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, Argentina, Colombia, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon and Malawi. Concacaf adds four and UEFA adds seven by Dec. 5. The last three come from a playoff tournament in early 2027.
Who is hosting the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cups?
The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica are the only bidders for 2031. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the only bidders for 2035. FIFA's evaluation reports found both bids meet minimum hosting requirements, and member associations confirm the hosts at an Extraordinary FIFA Congress, held by videoconference, on Nov. 23, 2026.
Is Atlanta a host city for the 2031 Women's World Cup?
Not officially yet. Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of 14 U.S. venues proposed in the 2031 bid, and bid officials also proposed Atlanta as the site of the tournament draw. FIFA makes both decisions, and the final venue list isn't expected until after the 2027 tournament in Brazil.
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