Very soon the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Championship will start, and to prepare the preview of this interesting world soccer event, here we will tell you about the format of the tournament and what happens in each phase in case there is a tie.

The women’s tournament has exactly the same rules as the men’s. If you already know how the men’s tournament works, then it will be easy for you to understand how the women’s tournament works; and if not, don’t worry, we will explain it here.

It will be 8 groups of 4 members each. The best two will advance to the next phase. That is determined based on the number of points obtained by each team (in this instance a match can end in a draw). However, it could happen that several teams end up with the same points.

What happened if teams draw in point?

In case multiple teams end up with the same number of points in a group, tiebreakers are used to determine the final standings. The tiebreakers are applied in a specific order:

  1. Goal difference: The team with the highest goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded) will rank higher.
  2. Goals scored: If teams have the same goal difference, the team with the most goals scored will be ranked higher.
  3. Head-to-head result: If two teams are still tied after considering goal difference and goals scored, the result of the match played between the tied teams will determine their ranking. The winner of the head-to-head match will be ranked higher.
  4. Fair play record: If two teams are still tied after considering the above factors, fair play record will be used. The fair play record is determined based on the number of cards received by each team throughout the group stage, similar to the rules explained in the previous response

Knock-out stage and final

In the knockout stage and the final of the 2023 Women’s World Championship, a game cannot end in a tie, and there must be a winner. The 90-minute regulation time is played first to determine which team advances to the next round.

If the score is still tied after the regulation 90 minutes, two additional periods of 30 minutes each, called extra time, are played. These periods are split into two 15-minute halves. If the tie persists after extra time, the winner is determined through a penalty shootout.