The seventh placed team qualified to the three–match playoff series held in Cannock, which was to be played against the United States.

All five confederations received quotas for teams to participate allocated by the International Hockey Federation based upon the FIH World Rankings.

She was initially ignored by the match officials, but Ireland appealed and the tournament director ruled the shoot-out should be replayed the next day.

[8] After Ireland defeated Scotland 2–1 in this match they were initially confirmed as the final qualifier for the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup.

The United States had been unable to participate in the original tournament due to the disruption of airline schedules after the 11 September attacks.