Banyana Banyana have learned their opponents in the preliminary phase of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 Play-Off Tournament, with South Africa drawn alongside Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan in their three-team group.
The draw was conducted at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Thursday, August 20, with six nations competing in the preliminary phase for two places in the final stage of the inter-confederation play-offs.
South Africa will open their campaign against Chinese Taipei, while their second and third matches will be against Uzbekistan and the other team in their group according to the final fixture schedule.
The six teams in the preliminary phase are South Africa and Ghana from Africa, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan from Asia, Ecuador from South America and Papua New Guinea from Oceania.
The preliminary phase has been divided into two three-team groups. Group One consists of Ghana, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea, while Group Two comprises South Africa, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan.
Each team will play three matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the final phase of the play-off tournament.
The preliminary phase is scheduled to take place during the FIFA international window between November 24 and December 5, 2026, while the final phase will be played between February 23 and March 6, 2027. FIFA said the exact venues, dates and kick-off times will be confirmed at a later stage.
Banyana earned their place in the play-off tournament after beating Nigeria 2-1 in a crucial WAFCON play-off match in Casablanca on August 13. The victory kept South Africa’s hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive Women’s World Cup alive.
South Africa had earlier missed out on automatic qualification after losing 2-1 to hosts Morocco in the WAFCON quarter-finals. The four WAFCON semi-finalists — Cameroon, Morocco, Malawi and Algeria — secured Africa’s direct places at the 2027 World Cup.
The FIFA Play-Off Tournament will determine the final three teams to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The first phase involves six teams, with the top two from each group progressing to a second phase alongside teams from other confederations.
For Banyana, the route to Brazil therefore remains firmly in their own hands, but they will have to navigate a demanding play-off campaign if they are to make their third successive appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The 2027 Women’s World Cup will be staged in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, 2027.