USWNT road to Brazil set as 2027 Women's World Cup qualification takes shape
USWNT road to Brazil set as 2027 Women's World Cup qualification takes shape
Jon Arnold, USA TODAYSun, April 19, 2026 at 11:02 AM UTC
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USWNT road to Brazil set as 2027 Women's World Cup qualification takes shape
The United States women's national team is still recovering and learning from its three-match series with Japan but soon will turn its attention to the rest of its 2026 slate.
While there are two more international windows before this year's Concacaf W Championship, manager Emma Hayes and her coaching staff will also begin looking toward the fall when one victory would clinch a place in the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
The W Championship field was completed Saturday, and the U.S. now knows who it is facing in November.
Who will the USWNT play in 2027 Women's World Cup qualification?
As the highest-ranked team in the FIFA rankings, the U.S. will meet the lowest-ranked team in the FIFA rankings. That is El Salvador, which sat 78th before April's matches.
The four teams that win in the quarterfinal round will advance to the World Cup. The losers of the quarterfinals play each other for the right to go to the inter-confederation playoff. That means the U.S. would be in with a victory over La Selecta − but a loss would be a disaster and require two more victories to reach Brazil.
The Central Americans clinched their place in the W Championship, which also serves as the final round of World Cup qualification and Olympic qualification, with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago. Atlas forward Brenda Ceren scored both goals.
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El Salvador manager Eric Acuña said earlier this month that he couldn't promise his improving team would be able to clinch a World Cup place in 2027 but promised to put in maximum effort against the favorites.
"The reality is there are great teams like the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, but we can promise that if the team loses, it will lose having given everything," he said in a Salvadoran TV interview.
1 / 0Nike unveils new USMNT and USWNT kits for 2026PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 9: Diego Luna of the United States poses during a USMNT portrait session on November 9, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.When will the USWNT attempt to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil?
The high-pressure matches won't take place until late November of this year, with the tournament concluding in early December. Concacaf is yet to announce where the tournament will take place.
In addition to the Americans' matchup with El Salvador, Canada is set to meet Panama, Mexico will play Haiti and Jamaica meets Costa Rica.
Those teams are hoping not only to secure a World Cup place but also to finish in the top three to make the 2028 Olympics. The U.S. already is qualified as the host nation.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USWNT learns rival for 2027 Women's World Cup qualification
Source: “AOL Sports”
