Ghana to find World Cup playoff opponent in Zurich draw

Ghana's Black Queens will find out who they face in the preliminary phase of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 Play-Off Tournament on Thursday, August 20. The draw is scheduled to take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich at 14:00 local time.

Six teams have been confirmed for the play-off tournament. Ghana will compete alongside South Africa, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, and Papua New Guinea. The draw will establish how these six nations are divided for the opening stage of the competition.

FIFA has organized the teams into three separate pots using the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking from June 16, 2026. Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan are in Pot 1, while South Africa and Papua New Guinea occupy Pot 2. Ghana and Ecuador have been placed in Pot 3. A rule in the draw prevents teams from the same confederation from being matched against one another.

The preliminary phase is set to run from November 24 to December 5, 2026, during the international window. In this stage, every team will play three matches. Only the top two teams from the preliminary phase will progress to the final phase of the playoffs.

These two advancing teams will join four sides that have already secured direct qualification for the final phase. That final stage will decide the last three participants for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. The main tournament is scheduled to take place between June 24 and July 25, 2027.