Explained: How can India qualify for the Women's FIFA World Cup 2027?

How can India qualify for Women's FIFA World Cup

Indian women's football team recently took a big step towards the qualification for FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 after booking their slot in the 2026 AFC Women's Asia Cup. The Blue Tigresses defeated Thailand 2-1 to book their berth in the tournament set to held in Australia next year.

India is among the 12 nations set to compete in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, with a golden opportunity to secure a historic first-ever qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Here's what they need to do now to qualifiy for FIFA World Cup...

The 12 participating teams will be divided into three groups of four. Each team will play the others in their group once in a round-robin format. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will progress to the quarterfinals.

The four teams that win their quarterfinal matches will automatically book their place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The quarterfinal losers will face off in a set of play-in matches, and the winners of these games will also qualify.

Indian goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan tweeted after the historic win against Thailand, saying that the women’s team matches should be shown on national TV instead of fans having to watch them on another country’s YouTube channel. #allindiafootball #indianfootball #BlueTigresses pic.twitter.com/SZkw5TRLMT

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— All India Football (@AllIndiaFtbl) July 7, 2025

Those who fall short in the play-ins will still have one final opportunity to qualify through the inter-confederation play-offs.

Also Read - Indian eves get USD 50,000 reward for historic AFC Asian Cup qualification

The All India Football Federation on Sunday announced a reward of USD 50,000 for the senior Indian women’s team following their historic qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for the first time through the qualifiers.

The Blue Tigresses delivered a flawless campaign, winning all four matches convincingly to seal their spot at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026.