2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It took place between 7 June and 7 July 2019, with 52 matches staged in nine cities in France,[1] which was awarded the right to host the event in March 2015, the first time the country hosted the tournament. The tournament was the first Women's World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. This was the second and last edition with 24 teams before expanding to 32 teams for the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
Coupe du Monde Féminine de la FIFA – France 2019
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates7 June – 7 July
Teams24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions United States (4th title)
Runners-up Netherlands
Third place Sweden
Fourth place England
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored146 (2.81 per match)
Attendance1,131,312 (21,756 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Ellen White
United States Alex Morgan
United States Megan Rapinoe
(6 goals each)
Best player(s)United States Megan Rapinoe
Best young playerGermany Giulia Gwinn
Best goalkeeperNetherlands Sari van Veenendaal
Fair play award France
2015
2023

The United States entered the competition as defending champions after winning the 2015 edition in Canada and successfully defended their title with a 2–0 victory over the Netherlands in the final. In doing so, they secured their record fourth title and became the second nation, after Germany, to have successfully retained the title. Unlike Germany, however, this victory held a distinction as the United States won both 2015 and 2019 tournaments under one manager, Jill Ellis. It was the first time in 81 years since Vittorio Pozzo did so for the Italian men's team at the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups.

The matches were broadcast globally and attracted a combined audience of 1.12 billion people.

Host selection

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On 6 March 2014, FIFA announced that bidding had begun for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Member associations interested in hosting the tournament had to submit a declaration of interest by 15 April 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 31 October 2014.[2] As a principle, FIFA preferred the 2019 Women's World Cup and the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be hosted by the same member association, but reserved the right to award the hosting of the events separately.

Initially, five countries indicated interest in hosting the events: France, England, South Korea, New Zealand and South Africa. Both England and New Zealand registered expressions of interest by the April 2014 deadline,[3][4] but in June 2014 it was announced that each would no longer proceed.[5][6] South Africa registered an expression of interest by the April 2014 deadline;[7] but later decided to withdraw prior to the final October deadline.[8] Both Japan and Sweden had also expressed interest in bidding for the 2019 tournament, but Japan chose to focus on the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics,[9] whilst Sweden decided to focus on European U-17 competitions instead.[10][11] France and South Korea made official bids for hosting the tournament by submitting their documents by 31 October 2014.[12][13]

On 19 March 2015, France officially won the bid to host the Women's World Cup and the U-20 Women's World Cup.[14] The decision came after a vote by the FIFA Executive Committee.[15] Upon the selection, France became the third European nation to host the Women's World Cup (following Sweden and Germany), and the fourth country to host both the men's and women's World Cup, having hosted the men's tournament in 1938 and 1998. By the time France hosted the women's World Cup, the country had also earlier hosted the UEFA Euro 2016, which served as a precursor for France's preparation to host this competition.

Vote First ballot
  France 17
  South Korea 5

Qualification

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The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Council on 13–14 October 2016.[16] The slots for each confederation are unchanged from those of the previous tournament except the slot for the hosts has been moved from CONCACAF (Canada) to UEFA (France).[17]

  • AFC (Asia): 5 slots
  • CAF (Africa): 3 slots
  • CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): 3 slots
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 2 slots
  • OFC (Oceania): 1 slot
  • UEFA (Europe): 8 slots
  • Host nation: 1 slot
  • CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off: 1 slot

Qualifying matches started on 3 April 2017 and ended on 1 December 2018.

Qualified teams

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A total of 24 teams qualified for the final tournament.[18] Each team's FIFA Rankings in March 2019 are shown in parentheses.[19]

AFC (5)
CAF (3)
CONCACAF (3)
CONMEBOL (3)
OFC (1)
UEFA (9)
 
  Teams qualified for World Cup
  Teams failed to qualify for World Cup
  Teams expelled from the tournament by FIFA
  Teams did not enter qualification

Chile, Jamaica, Scotland and South Africa made their Women's World Cup debuts,[20] while Italy took part in the event for the first time since 1999 and Argentina took part for the first time since 2007. Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and the United States qualified for their eighth World Cup, continuing their streak of qualifying for every World Cup held so far.

Venues

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Twelve cities were candidates.[21] The final nine stadiums were chosen on 14 June 2017; Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, Stade Marcel-Picot in Nancy, and Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps in Auxerre were cut.[22]

The semi-finals and final were played at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in the Lyon suburb of Décines-Charpieu, with 58,000 capacity, while the opening match was played at Parc des Princes in Paris.[23] The 2019 tournament is the first under the 24-team format to be played without double-header fixtures.[24]

Lyon
(Décines-Charpieu)
Paris Nice Rennes
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
(Stade de Lyon)
Parc des Princes Allianz Riviera
(Stade de Nice)
Roazhon Park
Capacity: 57,900[25] Capacity: 45,600[26] Capacity: 35,100[27] Capacity: 28,600[28]
 
     
Le Havre
Location of the host cities of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Stade Océane
Capacity: 24,000[29]
 
Valenciennes Reims Montpellier Grenoble
Stade du Hainaut Stade Auguste-Delaune Stade de la Mosson Stade des Alpes
Capacity: 22,600[30] Capacity: 20,500[31] Capacity: 19,300[32] Capacity: 18,000[33]
       

Match officials

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On 3 December 2018, FIFA announced the list of 27 referees and 48 assistant referees for the tournament.[34][35][36] On 4 June 2019, FIFA announced that Canadian referee Carol Anne Chenard and Chinese assistant referee Cui Yongmei had pulled out for "health reasons."[37]

On 15 March 2019, the FIFA Council approved the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first time in a FIFA Women's World Cup tournament. The technology was previously deployed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[38] The fifteen male VAR officials were announced by FIFA on 2 May 2019.[39][40]

French referee Stéphanie Frappart was in charge for the final between the United States and the Netherlands.[41]

Draw

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The draw for the final tournament was held on 8 December 2018, 18:00 CET (UTC+1), at the La Seine Musicale on the island of Île Seguin, Boulogne-Billancourt.[42] The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams.[43]

The 24 teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings released on 7 December 2018, with hosts France automatically placed in Pot 1 and position A1 in the draw.[44] Teams from Pot 1 were drawn first and assigned to Position 1. This was followed by Pot 2, Pot 3, and finally Pot 4, with each of these teams also drawn to one of the positions 2–4 within their group. No group could contain more than one team from each confederation apart from UEFA, which have nine teams, where three groups had to contain two UEFA teams.[45][46]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  France (3) (hosts)
  United States (1)
  Germany (2)
  England (4)
  Canada (5)
  Australia (6)
  Netherlands (7)
  Japan (8)
  Sweden (9)
  Brazil (10)
  Spain (12)
  Norway (13)
  South Korea (14)
  China (15)
  Italy (16)
  New Zealand (19)
  Scotland (20)
  Thailand (29)
  Argentina (36)
  Chile (38)
  Nigeria (39)
  Cameroon (46)
  South Africa (48)
  Jamaica (53)

Squads

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Each team had to provide to FIFA a preliminary squad of between 23 and 50 players by 26 April 2019, which was not to be published. From the preliminary squad, each team had to name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by 24 May 2019. Players in the final squad could be replaced by a player from the preliminary squad due to serious injury or illness up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.[47]

Group stage

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The match schedule for the tournament was released on 8 February 2018.[48] Following the final draw, seven group stage kick-off times were adjusted by FIFA.[49]

The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16.[47]

All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).[49]


Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   France (H) 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Norway 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3   Nigeria 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
4   South Korea 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts
France  4–0  South Korea
Report
Norway  3–0  Nigeria
Report

Nigeria  2–0  South Korea
Report
France  2–1  Norway
Report
Attendance: 34,872[53]

Nigeria  0–1  France
Report
Attendance: 28,267[54]
South Korea  1–2  Norway
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Germany 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Spain 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4
3   China 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4   South Africa 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
Source: FIFA
Germany  1–0  China
Report
Spain  3–1  South Africa
Report
Attendance: 12,044[57]

Germany  1–0  Spain
Report
South Africa  0–1  China
Report
Attendance: 20,011[59]

South Africa  0–4  Germany
Report
China  0–0  Spain
Report

Group C

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Australia vs Italy in Valenciennes
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Italy 3 2 0 1 7 2 +5 6 Advance to knockout stage
2   Australia 3 2 0 1 8 5 +3 6
3   Brazil 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
4   Jamaica 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0
Source: FIFA
Australia  1–2  Italy
Report
Brazil  3–0  Jamaica
Report
Attendance: 17,668[63]

Australia  3–2  Brazil
Report
Jamaica  0–5  Italy
Report

Jamaica  1–4  Australia
Report
  • Kerr   11', 42', 69', 83'
Italy  0–1  Brazil
Report

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   England 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Japan 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4
3   Argentina 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
4   Scotland 3 0 1 2 5 7 −2 1
Source: FIFA
England  2–1  Scotland
Report
Argentina  0–0  Japan
Report

Japan  2–1  Scotland
Report
Attendance: 13,201[70]
England  1–0  Argentina
Report
Attendance: 20,294[71]
Referee: Qin Liang (China PR)

Japan  0–2  England
Report
Attendance: 14,319[72]
Scotland  3–3  Argentina
Report
Attendance: 28,205[73]

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Netherlands 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Canada 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3   Cameroon 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4   New Zealand 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source: FIFA
Canada  1–0  Cameroon
Report
New Zealand  0–1  Netherlands
Report

Netherlands  3–1  Cameroon
Report
Canada  2–0  New Zealand
Report

Netherlands  2–1  Canada
Report
Cameroon  2–1  New Zealand
Report

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United States 3 3 0 0 18 0 +18 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Sweden 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 6
3   Chile 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
4   Thailand 3 0 0 3 1 20 −19 0
Source: FIFA
Chile  0–2  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 15,875[80]
United States  13–0  Thailand
Report

Sweden  5–1  Thailand
Report
Attendance: 9,354[82]
United States  3–0  Chile
Report
Attendance: 45,594[83]

Sweden  0–2  United States
Report
Thailand  0–2  Chile
Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

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The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C   Brazil 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2 B   China 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
3 E   Cameroon 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4 A   Nigeria 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
5 F   Chile 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
6 D   Argentina 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points; 5) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each), where each team was allowed to make a fourth substitution. If the score was still level after extra time, the winners were determined by a penalty shoot-out.[47]

Bracket

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Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
22 June – Nice
 
 
  Norway (p)1 (4)
 
27 June – Le Havre
 
  Australia1 (1)
 
  Norway0
 
23 June – Valenciennes
 
  England3
 
  England3
 
2 July – Décines-Charpieu
 
  Cameroon0
 
  England1
 
23 June – Le Havre
 
  United States2
 
  France (a.e.t.)2
 
28 June – Paris
 
  Brazil1
 
  France1
 
24 June – Reims
 
  United States2
 
  Spain1
 
7 July – Décines-Charpieu
 
  United States2
 
  United States2
 
25 June – Montpellier
 
  Netherlands0
 
  Italy2
 
29 June – Valenciennes
 
  China0
 
  Italy0
 
25 June – Rennes
 
  Netherlands2
 
  Netherlands2
 
3 July – Décines-Charpieu
 
  Japan1
 
  Netherlands (a.e.t.)1
 
22 June – Grenoble
 
  Sweden0 Third place play-off
 
  Germany3
 
29 June – Rennes6 July – Nice
 
  Nigeria0
 
  Germany1  England1
 
24 June – Paris
 
  Sweden2   Sweden2
 
  Sweden1
 
 
  Canada0
 

Round of 16

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Germany  3–0  Nigeria
Report

Norway  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Australia
Report
Penalties
4–1
Attendance: 12,229[87]

England  3–0  Cameroon
Report

France  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Brazil
Report

Spain  1–2  United States
Report

Sweden  1–0  Canada
Report
Attendance: 38,078[91]

Italy  2–0  China
Report

Netherlands  2–1  Japan
Report
Attendance: 21,076[93]

Quarter-finals

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Norway  0–3  England
Report
Attendance: 21,111[94]

France  1–2  United States
Report
Attendance: 45,595[95]

Italy  0–2  Netherlands
Report

Germany  1–2  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 25,301[97]

Semi-finals

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England  1–2  United States
Report

Netherlands  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Sweden
Report

Third place play-off

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England  1–2  Sweden
Report

Final

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United States  2–0  Netherlands
Report

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[102][103] The Golden Ball (best overall player), Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) awards were sponsored by Adidas, while the Goal of the Tournament was sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company.[104] FIFA.com shortlisted ten goals for users to vote on as the tournaments' best,[105] with the poll closing on 17 July 2019.[106]

Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
  Megan Rapinoe   Lucy Bronze   Rose Lavelle
Golden Boot Silver Boot Bronze Boot
  Megan Rapinoe   Alex Morgan   Ellen White
6 goals, 3 assists
428 minutes played
6 goals, 3 assists
490 minutes played
6 goals, 0 assists
514 minutes played
Golden Glove
  Sari van Veenendaal
FIFA Young Player Award
  Giulia Gwinn
Goal of the Tournament
  Cristiane
  38' for 2–0 in Group C vs Australia (matchday 2; 13 June)
FIFA Fair Play Award
  France

Players who Dared to Shine

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The FIFA Technical Study Group announced a list of ten key players of the tournament who "dared to shine".[107]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Sari van Veenendaal   Lucy Bronze
  Crystal Dunn
  Jill Scott
  Julie Ertz
  Rose Lavelle
  Ellen White
  Vivianne Miedema
  Sofia Jakobsson
  Megan Rapinoe

Prize money

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Prize money amounts were announced in October 2018.[108]

Position Amount (million USD)
Per team Total
Champions 4.0 4.0
Runner-up 2.6 2.6
Third place 2.0 2.0
Fourth place 1.6 1.6
5th–8th place (quarter-finals) 1.45 5.8
9th–16th place (round of 16) 1.0 8.0
17th–24th place (group stage) 0.75 6.0
Total 30.0

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 146 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match.

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: FIFA[103]

Assists

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4 assists

3 assists

2 assists

1 assist

Source: FIFA Technical Report[107]

Discipline

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A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[47]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expire after the completion of the quarter-finals (yellow card suspensions are not carried forward to any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the tournament:

Player Offence(s) Suspension
  Anouk Dekker   in qualifying vs Switzerland (13 November 2018) Group E vs New Zealand (matchday 1; 11 June)
  Nothando Vilakazi     in Group B vs Spain (matchday 1; 8 June) Group B vs China PR (matchday 2; 13 June)
  Formiga   in Group C vs Jamaica (matchday 1; 9 June)
  in Group C vs Australia (matchday 2; 13 June)
Group C vs Italy (matchday 3; 18 June)
  Taneekarn Dangda   in Group F vs United States (matchday 1; 11 June)
  in Group F vs Sweden (matchday 2; 16 June)
Group F vs Chile (matchday 3; 20 June)
  Ngozi Ebere     in Group A vs France (matchday 3; 17 June) Round of 16 vs Germany (22 June)
  Rita Chikwelu   in Group A vs South Korea (matchday 2; 12 June)
  in Group A vs France (matchday 3; 17 June)
Round of 16 vs Germany (22 June)
  Fridolina Rolfö   in Round of 16 vs Canada (24 June)
  in Quarter-finals vs Germany (29 June)
Semi-finals vs Netherlands (3 July)
  Millie Bright     in Semi-finals vs United States (2 July) Third place play-off vs Sweden (6 July)

Branding

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The emblem and slogan were launched on 19 September 2017 at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris.[109] The emblem mimics the shape of the World Cup trophy and features a stylised football surrounded by eight decorative shards of light, symbolising the eighth edition of the Women's World Cup. It alludes to several French cultural icons:

The World Cup's official English-language slogan is "Dare to Shine"; its French slogan is "Le moment de briller".[23]

Ticketing

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FIFA and the local organising committee sold tickets for the Women's World Cup beginning with a pre-sale of individual tickets in December 2018, single-city ticket packages in late 2018, and single-ticket sales for the general public beginning on 7 March 2019.[110] The online platform, hosted by AP2S, permitted fans to print their tickets beginning on 20 May 2019, which included seating assignments that had separated ticketholders who had purchased their tickets as a group or family. FIFA responded to online complaints by referring to a warning in the online system that had reminded purchasers that its tickets would not be guaranteed in the same areas, inciting further outrage, but allowed families with underage children to have adjacent seating.[111][112][113]

Marketing

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Mascot

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The official mascot, "Ettie" (stylised in lowercase as "ettie) was unveiled on 12 May 2018 at the TF1 Group headquarters, and was broadcast on LCI. She made her first public appearance in Paris in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower. FIFA describe her as "a young chicken with a passion for life and football" and state that "she comes from a long line of "feathered mascots" and is the daughter of Footix, the Official Mascot of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France".[114]

Sponsorships

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FIFA partners[115] National Supporters

Broadcasting

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FIFA sold the broadcasting rights for the World Cup to broadcasters through several companies.[122] A total of 1.12 billion people globally watched the matches, and the final match attracted 82.18 million viewers, setting a new FIFA Women's World Cup record, surpassing the 2015 final.[123] The 2019 tournament set several new viewership records for various countries.[24][124]

Participating nations

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Country Broadcaster
Free Pay
  France (host) TF1 (French) Canal+ (French)
  Cameroon CRTV (English and French)
SuperSport (English)
  Nigeria
  South Africa
  Argentina Televisión Pública TyC Sports
DirecTV Sports
  Chile Chilevisión
  Australia SBS Optus Sport
  Brazil Grupo Globo
Grupo Bandeirantes
  Canada CTV (English) TSN (English)
RDS (French)
  China CCTV
  Germany ARD DAZN
ZDF
  Italy RAI Sky Sport
  Jamaica TVJ
  Japan NHK J Sports
Fuji TV
  NetherlandsEBU NOS
  New Zealand Sky Sport
  Norway NRK
TV2
  South Korea KBS
MBC
  Spain Gol
  Sweden SVT
TV4
  Thailand PPTV[125] beIN Sports
  United Kingdom BBC
  United States Fox (English) Fox Sports 1/2 (English)
NBC Sports
* Telemundo (Spanish)
NBC Sports (Spanish)
* Universo
* NBC Sports Network (selected USWNT games)

Non-participating nations

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Country/Region Broadcaster
Free Pay
  Afghanistan ATN
  AlbaniaEBU RTSH
  Andorra Gol (Spanish) Canal+ (French)
TF1

(French)

  Monaco
Francophone countries La 1ère (French)
Sub-saharan Africa non-participants

English language only

Also available in French language

Also available in Portuguese language

SuperSport (English and Portuguese)
  ArmeniaEBU APMTV
  AustriaEBU ORF
  Azerbaijan İTV
  BelarusEBU Belteleradio
  BelgiumEBU
  LuxembourgEBU
  Bolivia Unitel Tigo SportsCTA
Red Uno
  Paraguay
Central America
Televisa
  Mexico
  Brunei Astro
  Malaysia
  BulgariaEBU BNT
  Caribbean DirecTV Sports
South America non-participants
  Cambodia beIN Sports
  Indonesia
  Laos
Middle East and North Africa
  Philippines
  Singapore
  Timor-Leste
  Colombia Caracol
RCN
  Costa Rica Teletica
  CroatiaEBU HRT
  Curaçao Direct Media
  CyprusEBU RIK
  Czech RepublicEBU ČT
  Denmark
  Faroe Islands
  Greenland
  El Salvador TCS
  EstoniaEBU ERR
  Finland YLE
  Honduras TVC
  Hong Kong Hong Kong Open TV i-Cable
  HungaryEBU MTVA
  IcelandEBU RÚV
Indian subcontinent