Women's World Cup draw 2023: Full group results, teams, match schedule, fixtures revealed

Joshua Thomas

Women's World Cup draw 2023: Full group results, teams, match schedule, fixtures revealed image

The 2023 Women's World Cup draw was held in Auckland on October 22, 2022. 

For the first time in Women's World Cup history, eight groups were formed for the tournament to be held in Australia and New Zealand with only the top-two sides from each qualifying for the knockout stages. 

New Zealand and Norway will kick off the tournament after being drawn in Group A, while Australia will start their campaign against the Republic of Ireland. 

Defending champions the USWNT will face Vietnam in their first match with the Netherlands and Portugal also looming in their group. 

The Sporting News provides a full group draw breakdown below. 

MORE: Complete 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup schedule and fixtures

Women's World Cup groups 2023

Group A A1: New Zealand A2: Norway  A3: Philippines A4: Switzerland
Group B B1: Australia B2: Republic of Ireland B3: Nigeria B4: Canada
Group C C1: Spain C2: Costa Rica C3: Zambia C4: Japan
Group D D1: England D2: Haiti D3: Denmark D4: China
Group E E1: USA E2: Vietnam E3: Netherlands 

E4: Portugal

Group F F1: France F2: Jamaica F3: Brazil F4: Panama
Group G G1: Sweden G2: South Africa G3: Italy G4: Argentina
Group H H1: Germany H2: Morocco H3: Colombia H4: Korea Republic

MORE: When does the 2023 Women's World Cup start? | New World Cup mascot revealed

Women's World Cup draw as it happened: Commentary, highlights

(All times AEDT)

6:55 p.m.: And that concludes the draw in Auckland. Not a bad one for the two hosts with New Zealand handed quite an even group. 

6:50 p.m.: Just a reminder on those playoff groups. Group A contains Cameroon, Thailand and Portugal. Group B contains Senegal, Haiti and Chile. Group C contains Chinese Taipei, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and Panama. The playoff winners will be decided on February 23. 

6:45 p.m.: The Pot 4 draw is as follows:

  • Group A: Philippines (A3)
  • Group B: Nigeria (B3)
  • Group C: Zambia (C3)
  • Group D: Playoff winner Group B (D2) 
  • Group E: Playoff winner Group A (E4)
  • Group F: Playoff winner Group C (F4)
  • Group G: South Africa (G2)
  • Group H: Morocco (H2)

6:42 p.m.: Some more intriguing games locked in with the USA set to kick off their title defence against Vietnam as things stand, while Australia will begin their campaign against the Republic of Ireland.

6:35 p.m.: The Pot 3 draw is as follows:

  • Group A: Switzerland (A4)
  • Group B: Republic of Ireland (B2)
  • Group C: Costa Rica (C2)
  • Group D: Denmark (D3)
  • Group E: Vietnam (E2)
  • Group F: Jamaica (F2)
  • Group G: Argentina (G4)
  • Group H: Colombia (H3)

6:33 p.m.: Our first matchups have been confirmed with New Zealand and Norway set to play the first match of the tournament. Australia vs. Canada also looms as a blockbuster group-stage match. 

6:32 p.m.: The Pot 2 draw is as follows:

  • Group A: Norway (A2)
  • Group B: Canada (B4)
  • Group C: Japan (C4)
  • Group D: China (D4)
  • Group E: Netherlands (E3)
  • Group F: Brazil (F3)
  • Group G: Italy (G3)
  • Group H: Korea Republic (H4)

6:22 p.m.: The Pot 1 draw is as follows:

  • Group A: New Zealand (A1)
  • Group B: Australia (B1)
  • Group C: Spain (C1)
  • Group D: England (D1)
  • Group E: USA (E1)
  • Group F: France (F1)
  • Group G: Sweden (G1)
  • Group H: Germany (H1)

6:10 p.m.: A quick draw explainer is being played before it actually starts. Just minutes to go now.  

6:05 p.m.: Maia Jackman, Cate Campbell, Gilberto Silva, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Julie Dolan, Ian Wright, Geremi and Alexi Lalas are all brought out to help conduct the draw. 

6:00 p.m.: The balls and bowls are now out on stage...

5:57 p.m.: Looks like one final video is being shown before the actual draw begins. Not too long now! 

5:55 p.m.: A rather moving video is played highlighting the journeys of past female footballers turned coaches before Jill Ellis fittingly brings out the trophy on stage.

5:45 p.m.: FIFA president Gainni Infantino is up speaking now. Starts by showing off his scope of languages and suggests they're hoping some two billion viewers will tune into the 2023 Women's World Cup.  

5:40 p.m.: New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern now takes the stage to welcome everyone to the draw. 

5:35 p.m.: Indigenous performances from both countries kick off the draw with a video package then also played highlighting each of the cities set to host matches during the tournament.

5:30 p.m.: Here we go! The draw ceremony has started in Auckland. We'll be updating the above group table regularly and confirming here as teams from each pot are placed in their groups.

5:15 p.m.: We've put together a complete 2023 Women's World Cup schedule which will be updated as soon as the draw is completed. This will run through when and where each team will play during the tournament. 

5:05 p.m.: The balls for tonight's draw have two distinct patterns which pay tribute to both Australia and New Zealand, who will co-host the tournament in 2023. 

4:45 p.m.: Less than 45 minutes now until the draw gets underway! USWNT legend Carli Lloyd will be doing the honours this evening with CNN sports anchor Amanda Davies assisting the two-time Women's World Cup winner. 

4:10 p.m.: Best possible draw for Australia? Manager Tony Gustavsson is keeping that to himself.

3:45 p.m.: FIFA's president immerses himself in the local culture in New Zealand.

3:15 p.m.: In this expanded World Cup, there are five nations that will be participating for the first time in the history of their women's program.

2:30 p.m.: Here's all you need to know about how the draw works:

1:00 p.m.: Ever wondered how a World Cup draw comes together? FIFA have provided a behind-the-scenes glimpse at today's preparations below.

10:45 a.m.: The countdown is well and truly on to the draw taking place. Along with determining the eight groups, the draw will also work out who will play New Zealand in the opening game of the tournament.

6:00 a.m.: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News live coverage of the 2023 Women's World Cup draw. We'll know the groups for the tournament in about 12 hours time and will be providing updates leading up to and during the draw. As we await the official draw, take a look at our dream group stage scenario for the tournament

How to watch the FIFA Women's World Cup draw

The Women's World Cup draw will be televised globally via on FIFA's official website and YouTube channel as previous World Cup draws have been.

Select countries will also provide their own broadcasts and live streams of the event. 

  Date Time TV channel Streaming
Australia Sat, Oct. 22 5:30 p.m. 
AEDT
Channel Seven Optus Sport
FIFA.com
USA Sat, Oct. 22 2:30 a.m.
ET
FS1  fuboTV,
Fox Sports App,
 FIFA.com
Canada Sat, Oct. 22 2:30 a.m.
ET
TSN 1, TSN 3 TSN GO,
TSN Direct, 
FIFA.com
UK Sat, Oct. 22 7:30 a.m.
 BST
BBC iPlayer,
FIFA.com
New Zealand Sat, Oct. 22 7:30 p.m.
NZST
FIFA.com
India Sat, Oct. 22 12:00 p.m.
IST
FIFA.com
Malaysia Sat, Oct. 22 3:30 p.m.
 MT
FIFA.com
Singapore Sat, Oct. 22 3:30 p.m.
SST
FIFA.com

Pots for Women's World Cup draw 2023

The pots for the 2023 Women's World Cup draw were decided on October 13, 2022 based upon the latest FIFA rankings. 

As co-hosts Australia and New Zealand were automatically placed in Pot 1, with the highest-ranked qualifying teams also joining them in that section of the draw.

Remaining sides were placed in pots in descending order based on their ranking. 

The undecided playoff winners were automatically put in Pot 4 as per the FIFA rules. 

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
New Zealand (#22) Canada (#7) Denmark (#18) Nigeria (#45)
Australia (#13) Netherlands (#8) Switzerland (#21) Philippines (#53)
United States (#1) Brazil (#9) Rep. of Ireland (#24) South Africa (#54)
Sweden (#2) Japan (#11) Colombia (#27) Morocco (#76)
Germany (#3) Norway (#12) Argentina (#29) Zambia (#81)
England (#4) Italy (#14) Vietnam (#34) Playoff Group A winner
France (#5) China (#15) Costa Rica (#37) Playoff Group B winner
Spain (#6) South Korea (#17) Jamaica (#43) Playoff Group C winner

Joshua Thomas

Joshua Thomas Photo

Josh has been covering sport for nearly a decade now having fallen in love with football at a young age. A UTS graduate, Josh has previously worked for GOAL and now covers football closely for The Sporting News.