CONCACAF Women's World Cup qualifying will be a four-city affair, taking teams to Kansas City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. The tournament figures to an easy qualification for the United States, who are huge favorites for one of the three automatic places in the Women's World Cup.
CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying in KC, Chicago, D.C. and Philadelphia
CONCACAF’s road to the Women’s World Cup is set.
Kevin C. Cox
The tournament will take place from October 15 to 26, and the eight teams split into two groups of four. Every team will play one match in Kansas City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., then the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals in Philadelphia. The two semifinal winners will automatically qualify for the Women’s World Cup and play for the CONCACAF championship, while the two semifinal losers will play in the third place match, where the winner will also qualify for the Women’s World Cup. The loser of the third place match will go to a a play-off against a South American country for a place in the World Cup.
The U.S. is expected to roll through the tournament. Not only are they the best team in the region, but the second best team, Canada, automatically qualified for the World Cup as hosts and are not going to play in the qualifying tournament. The only other pretty good team in the tournament is Mexico so with three World Cup spots available, it's tough to imagine the U.S. having much problem, let alone failing to qualify.
Teams will find out their path through qualifying on September 5 in Miami, when the draw is held.
The Women’s World Cup will begin on June 6 in Edmonton and run through July 5, when the final is played in Vancouver. The qualifying tournament, as well as the World Cup, will be televised on Fox sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 in the U.S.
Schedule
October 15 - Group A doubleheader at Sporting Park, Kansas City, KS.
October 16 - Group B doubleheader at Sporting Park, Kansas City, KS.
October 17 - Group A doubleheader at Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
October 18 - Group B doubleheader at Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
October 20 - Group A doubleheader at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
October 21 - Group B doubleheader at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
October 24 - Semifinals at PPL Park, Chester, PA.
October 26 - Final and third place at PPL Park, Chester, PA.
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