France will step into the spotlight against Latvia on Saturday night, already assured of a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The friendly, kicking off at 21:00, offers Les Bleues a first chance to look towards Brazil, where the next global tournament will run from 24 June to 25 July.
Brazil won the hosting vote ahead of the joint Belgium-Germany-Netherlands project and will stage matches in eight cities: Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Salvador and Recife. The Maracana will provide the grand setting for both the opening match and the final, with the host nation placed in Group A.
The 32-team format used in 2023 will remain in place. Eight groups of four will send their top two sides into the round of 16, beginning the knockout route to the final. Spain arrive as the reigning champions after defeating England in the 2023 final.
France among the early qualifiers
France secured their passage by finishing top of their qualifying group ahead of the Netherlands. Spain, Germany and Denmark have also booked European places, while Australia, China, Japan, North Korea, the Philippines and South Korea are the six confirmed Asian representatives.
Elsewhere, Algeria, Cameroon, Malawi and Morocco have qualified from Africa. Argentina and Colombia are through from South America alongside hosts Brazil, while New Zealand have taken Oceania’s direct berth.
Europe will ultimately provide 11 direct qualifiers, compared with six from Asia, four each from Africa and Concacaf, two from South America and one from Oceania. Three more places will be settled through intercontinental play-offs involving 10 teams: two each from Asia, Africa, Concacaf and South America excluding Brazil, plus one European and one Oceanian side.
A six-team preliminary stage is scheduled for November and December, before a further six-team play-off phase in February. The winners of the three decisive ties will complete the field for Brazil.
The group-stage draw is set for 11 December at Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art. For France, it will mark the start of another attempt to break a frustrating pattern: Les Bleues have fallen at the quarter-final stage in each of their past three major World Cup campaigns.
