The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup has delivered plenty of surprises throughout which resulted in Spain beating England in the final.
The 2023 tournament saw the increase from 24 to 32 national teams competing for glory in the largest bracket the competition has seen.
There were 16 teams eliminated after the group stage with only two teams advancing from each group.
The Sporting News tracked the teams as they were eliminated throughout the tournament.
- Group stage: Thu, Jul. 20 - Thu, Aug. 3
- Round of 16: Sat, Aug. 5 - Tue, Aug. 8
- Quarterfinals: Fri, Aug. 11 - Sat, Aug. 12
- Semifinals: Tue, Aug. 16 - Wed, Aug. 16
- Third-place: Sat, Aug. 19
- Final: Sun, Aug. 20
MORE: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 groups and tables
Teams out of the Women's World Cup: Every nation eliminated
The table below was updated throughout the 2023 tournament as teams are eliminated with the final entrant being the losing finalist on August 20.
With the group stage completed, 16 of the 32 sides that began the World Cup were knocked out. A further eight followed in the Round of 16.
The most high-profile team knocked out during the group stage was Olympic champions Canada, who began their final matchday in second spot before getting hammered 4-0 by Australia and suffering elimination.
There was then a shock when South Africa won a Women's World Cup match for the first time, eliminating Italy in the process. However, a seismic upset came later on August 2, when Brazil were held to a 0-0 draw with Jamaica that meant they did not qualify for the next round.
A day later, Germany — the No.2-ranked side in the world, twice World Cup winners, and the beaten finalists at last year's Euros — were eliminated after drawing 1-1 with South Korea. And just when it seemed as though the surprises would end, USA — winners of the past two tournaments — were eliminated on penalties by Sweden.
The next Round of 16 match saw England scrape past Nigeria on penalties with star player Lauren James receiving a straight red card. Co-hosts Australia progressed in more convincing style, beating Denmark 2-0 and then defeated France on penalties to reach their first semifinal. England overcame Colombia to set up a meeting with the Matildas.
Spain edged a 1-0 win over England in the final with La Roja winning their first major trophy.
| Nation | FIFA Ranking |
Date Eliminated |
Stage Eliminated |
How Eliminated |
| England | 4 | Aug. 20 | Final | Loss vs. Spain |
| Australia | 10 | Aug. 16 | Semifinals | Loss vs. England |
| Sweden | 3 | Aug. 15 | Semifinals | Loss vs. Spain |
| Colombia | 25 | Aug. 12 | Quarterfinals | Loss vs. England |
| France | 5 | Aug. 12 | Quarterfinals | Loss vs. Australia |
| Netherlands | 9 | Aug. 11 | Quarterfinals | Loss vs. Spain |
| Japan | 11 | Aug. 11 | Quarterfinals | Loss vs. Sweden |
| Morocco | 72 | Aug. 8 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. France |
| Jamaica | 43 | Aug. 8 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. Colombia |
| Denmark | 13 | Aug. 7 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. Australia |
| Nigeria | 40 | Aug. 7 | Round of 16 | PS loss vs. England |
| USA | 1 | Aug. 6 | Round of 16 | PS loss vs. Sweden |
| South Africa | 54 | Aug. 6 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. Netherlands |
| Norway | 12 | Aug. 5 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. Japan |
| Switzerland | 20 | Aug. 5 | Round of 16 | Loss vs. Spain |
| South Korea | 17 | Aug. 3 | Group Stage | Draw vs. Germany |
| Germany | 2 | Aug. 3 | Group Stage | Draw vs. South Korea |
| Brazil | 8 | Aug. 2 | Group Stage | Draw vs. Jamaica |
| Argentina | 28 | Aug. 2 | Group Stage | Losses vs. Italy, Sweden |
| Italy | 16 | Aug. 2 | Group Stage | Loss vs. South Africa |
| China | 14 | Aug. 1 | Group Stage | Loss vs. England |
| Haiti | 53 | Aug. 1 | Group Stage | Three losses |
| Portugal | 21 | Aug. 1 | Group Stage | Draw vs. USA |
| Canada | 7 | July 31 | Group Stage | Loss vs. Australia |
| New Zealand | 26 | July 30 | Group Stage | Draw vs. Switzerland |
| Philippines | 46 | July 30 | Group Stage | Loss vs. Norway |
| Panama | 52 | July 29 | Group Stage | Losses vs. Brazil, Jamaica |
| Vietnam | 32 | July 27 | Group Stage | Losses vs. USA, Portugal |
| Costa Rica | 36 | July 26 | Group Stage | Losses vs. Spain, Japan |
| Zambia | 77 | July 26 | Group Stage | Losses vs. Japan, Spain |
| Rep. of Ireland | 22 | July 26 | Group Stage | Losses vs. Australia, Canada |
MORE: Women's World Cup attendance tracker 2023
How many teams play at the Women's World Cup?
The changes ahead of the 2023 tournament have brought the competition entrants up to 32 nations spread across FIFA's continental federations.
With more teams involved, extra games have been added to the schedule, with eight groups of four teams meaning each side will play a minimum of three group-stage games.
The process to decide the qualifiers for the knockout Round of 16 is now simplified, with the top two teams from each group moving to the next phase, with group standings determined by overall points. There is a set of tiebreakers in case teams are level on points during the group stage.
Each game from the Round of 16 onwards is a straight knockout match, with 30 minutes of extra time added if a game is tied after 90 minutes of play, with a penalty shootout then used if the scores remain level.