Spain
FIFA Ranking: 6
Nickname: La Roja
Coach: Jorge Vilda
How they qualified: It was a perfect record for the Spanish. While the male side are currently struggling with Scotland in their Euro 2024 group, the female outfit had no trouble. Vilda's players won all eight group matches, scoring 53 without a concession.
Previous tournaments: This will be the third tournament in a row for Spain. Their best finish came at the 2019 edition as they qualified through the group phase.
Prospects: There's no doubt Spain have the talent to be very deep in the competition even if they haven't achieved much on the world stage. Defeat to England in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals after extra-time showed what a force Spain are. They notched nine goals against Vietnam last Friday and are coming into this competition very well placed.
Japan
FIFA Ranking: 11
Nickname: Nadeshiko
Coach: Futoshi Ikeda
How they qualified: With three wins and a draw it relatively easy for Japan to go through. They sealed their spot with a 7-0 win over Thailand. In a week field, qualification is the easy part for Japan.
Previous tournaments: Japan have competed every year and won the competition in 2011 and followed it up by finishing second in the next edition.
A difficult draw last edition saw them beaten by the Netherlands in 2019.
Prospects: Japan will be very confident of progressing further. They've beaten Canada, one of Ireland's opponents, in a friendly as well as Portugal. It remains to be seen who they face in the next stage but they could go deep here. A quarter-final spot will be seen as the minimum.
Costa Rica
FIFA Ranking: 36
Nickname: Las Ticas
Coach: Amelia Valverde
How they qualified: Costa Rica finished second in Group B of last year's CONCACAF W Championship after a loss to Canada and victories over Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. The top two from each group qualified for the World Cup.
Previous tournaments: Costa Rica return to the World Cup after making their debut in the 2015 edition in Canada, where they failed to qualify for the knockout stages following a defeat by Brazil and draws against Spain and South Korea.
Prospects: Costa Rica, who finished fourth in the CONCACAF W Championship, will find it difficult to get out of a group that also includes Japan and Spain. However, they will fancy their chances of recording a win in Group C against World Cup newcomers Zambia.
Zambia
FIFA ranking: 77
Nickname: Copper Queens
Coach: Bruce Mwape
How they qualified: Zambia finished third in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), losing 1-0 to South Africa in the semi-finals before beating Nigeria 1-0 in the third-place playoff match.
The top four teams in the tournament qualified for the World Cup.
Previous tournaments: This will be Zambia's first appearance at the World Cup.
Prospects: Zambia enjoyed a standout 2022 and defied the odds at AFCON but suffered two heavy defeats to South Korea and are untested against top opposition. They are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and unlikely to advance from Group C, which includes Spain, Japan and Costa Rica.
