Team USA is making an improbable run through the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup tournament.

Might the U.S. Women’s Team make a similar run during the women’s World Cup next year, if it gets there?

USWNT, led by rising stars like defender Naomi Girma, fullback Emily Fox and captain Trinity Rodman, still have a ways to go to qualify for the 32-team women's tournament.

Here’s the women’s side’s path to World Cup 2027.

Where the USWNT stands on 2027 World Cup qualification

The U.S. Women's National Team has not yet qualified for the '27 World Cup.

According to Just Women's Sports, the USWNT goes into qualifying as FIFA’s No. 1‑ranked women’s team and the top seed in Concacaf — the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.

The 2026 Concacaf W Championship runs from November 27 through December 5 in Texas. That eight‑team knockout tournament includes Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama.

Team USA will open in the quarterfinals against El Salvador, the lowest‑ranked team in the field.

Concacaf has four direct World Cup spots, and those go to the four semifinalists, meaning if the USWNT wins its quarterfinal vs. El Salvador, it qualifies automatically for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

What Happens if the USWNT Stumbles at Concacaf?

If the women's team somehow loses that quarterfinal, it isn’t out of the World Cup — but the team would need to survive a Concacaf playoff and then an intercontinental tournament, turning a one‑game clinch into a much tougher, multi‑step climb.

In previous World Cup cycles, teams from other regions have recovered from knockout‑round losses to qualify via confederation playoffs and intercontinental tournaments, and Concacaf now has a similar back‑door route built into its format.

Where Is the 2027 Women’s World Cup, and who’s already in?

The FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027 begins June 24 and runs through July 25.

These teams have already qualified for the women's World Cup:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Brazil (host)
  • China PR
  • Colombia
  • Denmark
  • France
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Korea DPR
  • Korea Republic
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Spain

Similar to the 2026 men’s World Cup, the 2027 women’s World Cup will be staged across multiple South American cities in Brazil: Belo Horizonte (Estádio Mineirão), Brasília (Estádio Nacional), Fortaleza (Arena Castelão), Porto Alegre (Estádio Beira‑Rio), Recife (Arena de Pernambuco), Rio de Janeiro (Estádio do Maracanã), Salvador (Arena Fonte Nova) and São Paulo (Arena Itaquera).

The women’s tournament will feature 32 teams; the men’s expands to 48 in 2026.

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending, breaking and service-related topics across the Mid-Atlantic region for the USA Today Network. 

Source: The News Journal