# 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process decided the 15 teams which played at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the host China initially qualified automatically as the host nation. The qualification process for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup saw 99 teams from the six FIFA confederations compete for the 16 places in the tournament's finals. The places were divided as follows:
* Africa - represented by the CAF: 2 berths
* Asia - AFC: 3.5
* Europe - UEFA: 5
* North, Central America & the Caribbean - CONCACAF: 2.5
* Oceania - OFC: 1
* South America - CONMEBOL: 2

## Qualified teams

| Team | Qualified as | Qualification date | Appearance in finals | Last appearance | Consecutive streak | Previous best performance |
| China | Hosts Runners-up (2003 AFC Women's Championship) | 26 October 2000 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Runners-up (1999) |
| Germany | UEFA qualification Group 4 winners | 18 April 2002 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Runners-up (1995) |
| Norway | UEFA qualification Group 1 winners | 9 May 2002 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Champions (1995) |
| Russia | UEFA qualification Group 3 winners | 8 June 2002 | 2nd | 1999 | 2 | Quarter-finals (1999) |
| Sweden | UEFA qualification Group 2 winners | 26 June 2002 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Third place (1991) |
| Canada | 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup runners-up | 6 November 2002 | 3rd | 1999 | 3 | Group stage (1995) |
| United States | 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup champions | 6 November 2002 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Champions (1991, 1999) |
| France | UEFA qualification Play-Off winners | 16 November 2002 | 1st | – | 1 | Debut |
| Ghana | 2002 African Women's Championship runners-up | 17 December 2002 | 2nd | 1999 | 2 | Group stage (1999) |
| Nigeria | 2002 African Women's Championship champions | 18 December 2002 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Quarter-finals (1999) |
| Australia | 2003 OFC Women's Championship champions | 13 April 2003 | 3rd | 1999 | 3 | Group stage (1995, 1999) |
| Brazil | 2003 South American Women's Football Championship champions | 27 April 2003 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Third place (1999) |
| Argentina | 2003 South American Women's Football Championship runners-up | 27 April 2003 | 1st | – | 1 | Debut |
| North Korea | 2003 AFC Women's Championship champions | 19 June 2003 | 2nd | 1999 | 2 | Group stage (1999) |
| South Korea | 2003 AFC Women's Championship 3rd place | 21 June 2003 | 1st | – | 1 | Debut |
| Japan | CONCACAF–AFC play-off winners | 12 July 2003 | 4th | 1999 | 4 | Quarter-finals (1995) |

## Confederation qualification
### AFC

Like the previous edition, the AFC Women's Championship served as the tournament qualification for AFC members. Fourteens competed in the competition which included the World Cup hosts in China. After the group stage which eliminated ten teams from qualifying, the semi-finals saw the first team in North Korea as they defeated Japan 3-0. After China won the second semi, the third-place play-off would see South Korea qualify with a 1-0 victory over Japan which meant Japan had to qualify via play-off against the third place team from CONCACAF (Mexico).

#### Final tournament

Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| North Korea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 2 | +43 | 10 |
| South Korea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 | +18 | 10 |
| Thailand | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 21 | −15 | 6 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 24 | −22 | 3 |
| Singapore | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | −24 | 0 |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | +34 | 12 |
| Myanmar | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 7 |
| Chinese Taipei | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Philippines | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 26 | −24 | 3 |
| Guam | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| China | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | +29 | 9 |
| Vietnam | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 6 |
| India | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 3 |
| Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 21 | −19 | 0 |
Knockout stage (top two teams qualify for World Cup)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 19 June - Bangkok | 19 June - Bangkok |
| North Korea | 3 |
| North Korea | 3 | 21 June - Bangkok | 21 June - Bangkok |
| Japan | 0 | 21 June - Bangkok | 21 June - Bangkok |
| Japan | 0 | North Korea | 2 |
| 19 June - Bangkok | 19 June - Bangkok | | North Korea | 2 |
| 19 June - Bangkok | 19 June - Bangkok | China | 1 |
| China | 3 | China | 1 |
| South Korea | 1 | | |
| South Korea | 1 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 21 June - Bangkok | 21 June - Bangkok |
| | | Japan | 0 |
| | | South Korea | 1 |

### CAF

Like the previous edition, the Africa Women's Championship served as the tournament qualification for CAF members.
* Qualifying stage: Qualifying for the 2002 edition took place between 10 August to 13 October 2002. 21 teams entered the qualification with seven teams getting the bye into the second-round. Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The seven winners of the second round qualified for the final tournament to join the hosts Nigeria who qualified automatically.
* Final tournament: Eight teams played in the 2002 African Women's Championship, which was held from 7 to 20 December 2002 in Nigeria. They were drawn into two groups of four teams. The top two teams of each group advanced to the knockout stage, where the winners of the semi-finals and the third place play-off qualified for the World Cup.

#### Qualifying stage

The seven winners of the second qualifying round advanced to the final tournament: Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

#### Final tournament

Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Ghana | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| Mali | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | |
| Ethiopia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 | |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Angola | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |
Knockout stage (top two teams qualify for World Cup)
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 17 December - Warri | 17 December - Warri |
| Ghana | 3 |
| Ghana | 3 | 20 December - Warri | 20 December - Warri |
| Cameroon | 2 | 20 December - Warri | 20 December - Warri |
| Cameroon | 2 | Ghana | 0 |
| 18 December - Warri | 18 December - Warri | | Ghana | 0 |
| 18 December - Warri | 18 December - Warri | Nigeria | 2 |
| South Africa | 0 | Nigeria | 2 |
| Nigeria | 5 | | |
| Nigeria | 5 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 20 December - Warri | 20 December - Warri |
| | | Cameroon | 3 |
| | | South Africa | 0 |

### Europe (UEFA)

       Qualified: Sweden -- Russia -- Germany -- Norway -- France
The 16 teams belonging to Class A of European women's football were drawn into four groups, from which the group winners qualify for the World Cup. The four runners-up were played in playoff-matches for the 5th berth.

### North, Central America & the Caribbean (CONCACAF)

       Qualified: United States -- Canada
The 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup second-placed Canada qualified for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. The winner USA qualified as host. The third-placed Mexico played against Japan in two play-off matches for qualification.

### Oceania (OFC)

       Qualified: Australia
The 2003 OFC Women's Championship determined the OFC's one qualifier for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup — the winner Australia.

### South America (CONMEBOL)

       Qualified: Brazil -- Argentina
The fourth edition of the Sudamericano Femenino (Women's South American Championship) in 2003 determined the CONMEBOL's qualifiers Brazil and Argentina.

## CONCACAF–AFC play-off

The draw for the order of legs was held at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland on 4 March 2003. The matches were originally scheduled to take place on 10 and 17 May 2003. However, due to the postponement of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the matches instead took place on 5 and 12 July 2003.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Mexico | 2–4 | Japan | 2–2 | 0–2 |