Cape Town – Cameroon and Senegal have failed in their final bids to qualify for the Fifa Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 later this year.
Following their failures to qualify via the African Women's World Cup qualification, Cameroon and Senegal were invited to play in the inaugural Play-Off Tournament which ended on Wednesday in Hamilton and Auckland in New Zealand.
Cameroon featured in Group A along with Thailand and Portugal, the eventual winners.
In Group B, Senegal played Haiti and Chile. Haiti, the Caribbean country, qualified.
In Group C, Panama, the central American country, won. These three nations – Haiti, Portugal and Panama – will feature at the Fifa Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Following these failures, the two African countries will not join Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia who sealed their berths at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.
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Portugal, Haiti and Panama will complete the line-up of 32 teams for the global showpiece.
Fifa secretary-general Fatma Samoura said: “I am delighted to welcome Haiti, Portugal and Panama to the final line-up of teams who will play at the ninth edition of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
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“All three teams will bring colour and excitement to the tournament, which will capture the imagination of fans around the world as women’s football goes Beyond Greatness in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand, this July and August.”
Nigeria, at 45, is Africa's highest world-ranked team at the Fifa Women’s World Cup this year. The next best is South Africa (53), followed by Morocco (76) and Zambia (81).
IOL Sport