FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
FIFA Women's World Cup qualification is the process a national women's association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organised by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of berths awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. Since the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the number of finalists increased from 16 to 24.[1]
Qualification berths by continent
The table below lists the numbers of berths allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament.
Places in the intercontinental play-offs are indicated by fractional (".5") representations. Intercontinental play-offs are played as two home-and-away matches. The team that scores a greater aggregate number of goals qualifies for the World Cup. Away goals rule applies. If these rules fail to determine the winner, extra time and penalty shootouts are used.
A + or − respectively indicates the winners or losers of the intercontinental play-offs. "+H" denotes an additional spot for hosts.
Continental zone | 1991![]() |
1995![]() |
1999![]() |
2003![]() |
2007![]() |
2011![]() |
2015![]() |
2019![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Asia | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.5++ H | 2.5++H | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Oceania | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Europe | 5 | 4+H | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4.5−+H | 8 | 8+H |
North and Central America and Caribbean |
1 | 2 | 1.5++H | 2.5− | 2.5− | 2.5+ | 3.5−+H | 3.5 |
South America | 1 | 1 | 1.5− | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.5+ | 2.5 |
Total | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 24 |
- 1 In 1991, China PR hosted the tournament, but the location was determined after Asian qualifying had been completed.
- 2 Originally to be held in China PR, the tournament was moved to the United States. China retained its automatic qualifying status as original host.
Qualification competition entrants over time
Continental zone | 1991![]() (12) |
1995![]() (12) |
1999![]() (16) |
2003![]() (16) |
2007![]() (16) |
2011![]() (16) |
2015![]() (24) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | 8 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 35 | 24 | 26 |
Asia | 9 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 |
Oceania | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
Europe | 18 | 30 | 161 | 161 | 251 | 41 | 46 |
North and Central America and Caribbean |
8 | 5 | 112 | 223 | 32 | 26 | 28 |
South America | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Total | 49 | 55 | 69 | 98 | 129 | 126 | 134 |
Teams played | 45 | 52 | 66 | 84 | 109 | 119 | 130 |
Matches played | 111 | 135 | 152 | 195 | 263 | 355 | 406 |
Goals scored | 445 | 655 | 803 | 867 | 1,032 | 1,436 | 1,686 |
- 1 Only teams in European Class A could qualify for the Women's World Cup finals. Other sides could at best be promoted to Class A for subsequent tournament.
- 2 A second Guatemalan side also competed, but their matches are not included in the list.
- 3 The United States (eventual hosts of the finals) competed in the qualifying tournament.
First appearance in qualification by team
Listed are the first appearance in the qualifying stages by a national team.[2] Teams that entered for the first time but withdrew before playing a match are written in italics.
National team results in preliminary competition
This table covers results from qualifying competition for Women's World Cups from 1991-2011[2]
Key to colours in the table | |
---|---|
Country has won the Women's World Cup | |
Country has qualified for the main tournament |
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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50 | 40 | 7 | 3 | 160 | 30 | 127 |
![]() |
43 | 39 | 2 | 2 | 175 | 17 | 119 |
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50 | 35 | 9 | 6 | 170 | 34 | 114 |
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45 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 164 | 34 | 113 |
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46 | 31 | 7 | 8 | 108 | 33 | 100 |
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34 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 14 | 99 |
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54 | 29 | 10 | 15 | 123 | 48 | 97 |
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52 | 27 | 11 | 14 | 110 | 42 | 92 |
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30 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 195 | 13 | 87 |
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38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 92 | 41 | 80 |
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35 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 145 | 26 | 72 |
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29 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 124 | 12 | 69 |
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23 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 137 | 5 | 66 |
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26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 131 | 16 | 66 |
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27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 150 | 9 | 66 |
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38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 80 | 42 | 64 |
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42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 64 | 57 | 62 |
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32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 84 | 40 | 61 |
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24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 179 | 9 | 60 |
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33 | 19 | 3 | 11 | 114 | 68 | 60 |
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38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 80 | 44 | 60 |
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28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 123 | 17 | 58 |
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40 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 72 | 69 | 58 |
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31 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 87 | 53 | 57 |
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33 | 18 | 3 | 12 | 90 | 67 | 57 |
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40 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 101 | 52 | 55 |
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27 | 18 | 0 | 9 | 62 | 30 | 54 |
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31 | 17 | 1 | 13 | 58 | 62 | 52 |
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28 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 52 | 53 | 45 |
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46 | 13 | 4 | 29 | 54 | 105 | 43 |
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27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 46 | 39 |
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28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 50 | 60 | 32 |
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19 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 68 | 31 |
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24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 44 | 51 | 31 |
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34 | 10 | 1 | 23 | 42 | 93 | 31 |
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19 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 43 | 42 | 30 |
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20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 46 | 51 | 30 |
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24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 42 | 121 | 30 |
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20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 53 | 29 |
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30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 29 | 74 | 29 |
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22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 55 | 54 | 28 |
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22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 31 | 47 | 27 |
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19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 26 |
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21 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 53 | 46 | 26 |
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26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 36 | 64 | 26 |
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17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 30 | 36 | 25 |
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14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 35 | 31 | 24 |
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17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 30 | 24 |
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20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 28 | 24 |
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23 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 40 | 58 | 24 |
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15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 49 | 22 |
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19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 44 | 21 |
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16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 37 | 20 |
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34 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 47 | 82 | 20 |
![]() |
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 16 | 19 |
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14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 18 | 19 |
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16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 35 | 19 |
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13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 28 | 17 |
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11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 14 | 16 |
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11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 16 |
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13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 19 | 16 |
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16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 59 | 16 |
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10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 30 | 15 |
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12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 40 | 15 |
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13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 24 | 15 |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 46 | 15 |
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16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 14 |
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6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 13 |
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9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 20 | 12 |
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12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 12 |
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13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 35 | 12 |
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16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 12 |
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18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 54 | 12 |
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10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 11 |
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14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 37 | 11 |
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17 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 54 | 11 |
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7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
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8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
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10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 10 |
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4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
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5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 9 |
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5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
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9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 26 | 9 |
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9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 9 |
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10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 | 55 | 9 |
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14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 52 | 9 |
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20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 63 | 9 |
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5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
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18 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 23 | 91 | 8 |
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6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
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8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 7 |
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9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 7 |
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10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 7 |
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10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 44 | 7 |
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11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 33 | 7 |
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16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 67 | 7 |
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3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 6 |
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 |
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 6 |
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5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
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5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 6 |
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5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 6 |
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6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
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6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 6 |
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7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 6 |
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8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 6 |
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14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 87 | 6 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 4 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 4 |
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5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
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6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 4 |
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7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 4 |
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7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 43 | 4 |
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8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 4 |
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8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 4 |
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9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 79 | 4 |
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2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
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4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 3 |
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9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 68 | 3 |
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4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
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4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 2 |
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 1 |
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
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5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 1 |
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7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 1 |
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8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 1 |
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11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 52 | 1 |
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10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 49 | 0 |
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9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 0 |
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8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
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8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 42 | 0 |
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8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 51 | 0 |
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8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 68 | 0 |
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6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 0 |
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6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
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5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
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1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
- ↑ "Regulations FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 "FIFA Women's World Cup - Previous Tournaments". FIFA.com. Retrieved 10 July 2014.