There are officially less than six months ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with so many important matches and competitions to be played in the build-up. The final months of preparation mean there are only a few remaining official FIFA windows for teams to gather and build chemistry. The international tournaments scheduled for this month are a unique opportunity to take a look at some of the big names that may feature during the World Cup.
The multiple tournaments are scheduled to take place between Feb. 13 through Feb. 25, and some World Cup-qualified nations will get to play one another. The February window will also feature an inter-confederation playoff to determine the final three World Cup spots.
Take a look at some of the upcoming window of tournaments featuring several World Cup teams:
February tournaments
SheBelieves Cup (Feb. 16-22): USA (hosts) Canada, Brazil, Japan
Arnold Clark Cup (Feb. 16-22): England (hosts), South Korea, Belgium, Italy
Tournoi de France (Feb 15-21): France (hosts) Denmark, Norway, Uruguay
Revelations Cup (Feb. 15-21): Mexico (hosts) Costa Rica, Colombia, Nigeria
Cup of Nations (Feb. 15-22): Australia (hosts), Spain, Jamaica, Czech Republic
Pinatar Cup (Feb. 15-21): Iceland, Philippines, Scotland, Wales
Cyprus Women's Cup (Feb. 16-22): Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Romania
Alanya Women's Tournament (Feb. 15-21): Turkey (hosts) Uzbekistan, Slovenia, Venezuela, Zambia, South Africa, Jordan, Hong Kong, Estonia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria
Matchups to watch
The Arnold Clark Cup is only in its second edition, but the tournament hosts, England, are also reigning Euro champions. The round-robin style tournament will be a chance to see the Lionesses without their top scorer Beth Mead, as they look to replace her after tearing her ACL last month. South Korea is the only non-European team among the four participating nations and could shake up the tournament with their ability to lull teams to sleep with their tactical possession.
The SheBelieves Cup may well be a final test for any players on the bubble of head coach Vlatko Andonovski's U.S. women's national team World Cup roster. A number of players are in return to play protocol, and their rotation back into the pool means other players will be rotated out. Three games against the top-15 ranked World Cup-qualified teams will narrow the pool as the World Cup looms closer. The competition is the only tournament taking place this month with teams being World Cup participants.
The FFA Cup of Nations finally returns after a four-year absence. The Australian-hosted event first launched in 2019 and was then derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now the tournament is back, and this time Australia are also the co-host of the World Cup. This edition will feature the Matildas with the Czech Republic, Spain, and Jamaica.
Mexico's women's national team will participate in their first-ever Revelations Cup. The competition was typically utilized as a U-20 men's tournament and will now include the senior women's team. Mexico's path to a World Cup took another blow in July after they failed to qualify for a second consecutive. The federation is eager to boost the profiles of both their men's and women's programs after varying disappointments and the addition of a hosted cup competition is a good first step in added resources for the senior women's program. Invited nations Colombia, Nigeria and Costa Rica are all World Cup-bound but look for Colombia -- Copa Femenina runners-up -- to lift the first-ever Revelations Cup.
Inter-confederation playoff
Three World Cup spots are still up for grabs and 10 countries will battle for the final slots in an upcoming inter-confederation play-off. The 10 teams have been divided into three groups and the winner of each group will clinch the final spots. The entire competition will take place in World Cup co-host nation New Zealand.
During the February window, Portugal have traditionally hosted the Algarve Cup. However, with their inclusion within the inter-confederation playoff, there is no Algarve Cup this year.
Here are the groups:
Group A
- Portugal
- Cameroon
- Thailand
Group B
- Chile
- Haiti
- Senegal
Group C
- Chinese Taipei
- Paraguay
- Papua New Guinea
- Panama
Each group will have a semifinal and a final match stage. Portugal and Chile have already earned a bye to the final stage based on ranking. The official World Cup draw has already occurred with playoff winner A in Group E, playoff winner B in Group D, and playoff winner C in Group F.
