Women's World Cup: Dates, schedule, history & key info

The ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand this summer and the tournament promises to be bigger and better than ever.

An expanded competition means 32 teams will be competing at the finals for the first time, including reigning champions USA and Sarina Wiegman's England side, who were crowned European champions less than 12 months ago.

What	Women's World Cup 2023
Where	Australia and New Zealand
When	Thursday 20th July - Sunday 20th August 2023
How to watch	Channel 7
Odds	USA Women 4.00, England Women 4.50, Spain Women 7.00, Germany Women 8.00, France Women 8.50

When is the Women's World Cup?

The 2023 Women's World Cup is due to get underway on Thursday 20th July 2023, with the opening match between one of the hosts, New Zealand, and Norway taking place at Eden Park, Auckland.

There will be a record 64 matches contested across the following month, with the final set to take place at the Accor Stadium, Sydney on Sunday 20th August, 2023.

Where is the Women's World Cup?

For the first time, hosting duties for the Women's World Cup will be shared across two countries, with Australia and New Zealand winning the rights to host the tournament in 2020, holding off competition from Colombia.

This will also be the first time the Women's World Cup has been held in the Southern Hemisphere, with the tournament set to be contested during the winter in Australia and New Zealand as a result.

Can I watch the Women's World Cup?

Yes. It is expected the Women's World Cup will be shown on Channel 7.

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What format changes have been made for the 2023 Women's World Cup?

This year's Women's World Cup is an expanded competition, with 32 teams set to compete at the finals for the first time, eight more than were involved at the last finals in France in 2019.

There will also be 12 more matches played at these finals compared to four years ago, with the 32 teams being split into eight groups of four, with the top two from each group progressing through to the knockout stages.

This is the same format that has been adopted by the men's competition since 1998, although the Men's World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams from 2026.

What is the draw for the 2023 Women's World Cup?

The draw for the 2023 Women's World Cup was held in Auckland last October, with the 32 teams being split into eight groups of four.

Group A: New Zealand (H), Norway, Philippines, Switzerland

Group B: Australia (H), Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada

Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan

Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, China

Group E: United States, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal

Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama

Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina

Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea

How many times has the Women's World Cup taken place?

The 2023 Women's World Cup will be the ninth staging of the tournament, with the first edition being held in China in 1991.

Sweden, the United States, Germany, Canada and France have also hosted the tournament ahead of this year's edition being staged across Australia and New Zealand.

Who has won the Women's World Cup on the most occasions?

The United States are the most successful team in Women's World Cup history, as they have lifted the trophy on four occasions in 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019, while they were also beaten finalists in 2011.

Germany are the only other nation that have claimed Women's World Cup glory more than once, as they triumphed at consecutive finals in 2003 and 2007, while Japan (2011) and Norway (1995) have been crowned world champions once apiece.

Brazil, China, the Netherlands and Sweden have all reached the final once, but, as of yet, none of those countries have gone on to lift the trophy.

Who are the favourites for the 2023 Women's World Cup?

As the two-time defending champions, the United States are unsurprisingly 4.00 favourites in the To Win Outright market to go all the way this year.

There is no doubting the quality within Vlatko Andonovski's squad, with the likes of Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Rose Lavelle once again set to star for the US at the finals, making them the team to beat.

That's exactly what England did in a friendly last October, securing a 2-1 success over the US just months after they also claimed European Championship glory on home soil, with the Lionesses now 4.50 to go all the way at this year's World Cup.

England have fallen at the semi-final stage of the last two editions of the World Cup and they will be determined to go all the way in 2023, but one note of caution for Wiegman and her side is the recent friendly loss they suffered at the hands of Australia, which brought their 30-match unbeaten run to an abrupt end.

Co-hosts Australia are 13.00 to go all the way on home soil this year, while Spain (7.00), Germany (8.00) and France (8.50) are also rated as realistic contenders.