FIFA Women's World Cup

Panama became the final team to book their ticket for the upcoming Women's World Cup after they defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the final qualifying playoff at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Thursday.

Panama, who will play at the World Cup for the first time, will be in Group F with France, Jamaica and Brazil.

No sé quienes son, pero mándenles el pasaporte y háganlos ciudadanos honorarios de Panamá pic.twitter.com/bGZ1xb8Yhl

With a 2-1 victory over Chile on Wednesday in Auckland, Haiti made history by securing qualification for their first-ever Women's World Cup finals. It's a remarkable achievement that highlights the growth of the team after not even reaching the final stage of Concacaf qualifying during the previous cycle, although there's one clear star of the show: 19-year-old phenom Melchie Dumornay.

Panama secured a 2-0 win over Papua New Guinea in the final qualifying playoffs for the Women's World Cup in New Zealand on Sunday and will face Paraguay, who beat Taiwan 4-2 on penalties in a thrilling game.

With both teams seeking World Cup qualification for the first time, Panama and Paraguay will face off in Hamilton on Thursday.

Cameroon will face Portugal, and Haiti will take on Chile in the other two playoffs on Wednesday for the July 20 to Aug. 20 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, which will be the first edition to feature 32 teams.

Portugal and Chile start with a slight advantage as 10 teams battle it out for the remaining three berths at this year's Women's World Cup in the final qualifying playoffs over the next week in New Zealand.

Cameroon, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal, Thailand, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea are also involved in the tournament, which will complete the field for the first 32-team Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia later this year.

Spain women's coach Jorge Vilda on Wednesday defended his depleted squad as the best he wants and bristled at questions about a revolt that has seen 15 players frozen out of the national setup for nearly five months.

The Spanish FA in September said the 15 had threatened to quit the team if Vilda was not fired and they would not be welcomed back until they recognized their mistake and asked for forgiveness.

MELBOURNE - Former New Zealand international Maia Jackman said Saudi sponsorship of the Women's World Cup would be in "complete opposition" to female empowerment and set back her work as an ambassador for the tournament.

Australia and New Zealand, co-hosts of this year's World Cup, wrote to global soccer governing body FIFA on Wednesday seeking urgent clarification after The Guardian reported Visit Saudi will be named as a major sponsor of the tournament.