[2] The opening match was won by co-host New Zealand, beating Norway at Eden Park in Auckland on 20 July 2023 and achieving their first Women's World Cup victory.

[43] In July 2019, Infantino proposed an expansion of the Women's World Cup from 24 to 32 teams, starting with the 2023 edition, and doubling the tournament's prize money.

For the first time since the 2002 FIFA World Cup, both qualified teams from each group were kept on the same side of the draw in the knockout stage, meaning they could potentially meet again in the semi-final.

[47] Australia and New Zealand proposed 13 possible venues across 12 host cities for the tournament in the bid book submitted to FIFA, suggesting a minimum of 10 stadiums be used—5 in each country.

[57] The Women's World Cup forced many domestic Australian sporting teams to move matches from grounds under the FIFA lockout, particularly those in the National Rugby League.

Australia and New Zealand, as co-hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament, leaving the remaining 207 FIFA member associations eligible to enter qualification if they chose to do so.

[79] North Korea and Turkmenistan withdrew from the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers due to safety concerns and travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The play-off slot allocation was as follows:[87][88] Of the 32 nations qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2019.

Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia made their debuts at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

[91] The qualified teams, listed by region, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the FIFA Women's World Ranking before the tournament were:[92]

Each confederation had a retired international representing them as a draw assistant: Maia Jackman of New Zealand for the OFC and Julie Dolan of Australia for the AFC, alongside men's internationals Ian Wright of England for UEFA, Alexi Lalas of the United States for CONCACAF, Geremi of Cameroon for the CAF and 2002 World Cup winner Gilberto Silva of Brazil for CONMEBOL.

They were also joined by female assistant referees Neuza Back, Kathryn Nesbitt, and Karen Díaz Medina, who also participated at the men's tournament.

[100][101] The VAR at the tournament had the spoken explanations broadcast in the stadium and on television as part of a year-long trial of the technique intended to give more transparency to often-controversial decisions.

[108] There was also an extended pre-game ceremony featuring a Māori poi performance prior to the first semi-final at Eden Park, Auckland as it was the final match to be held in New Zealand.

[112] Australian TV broadcast viewership records were broken multiple times, with 11.15 million watching the Matildas' match against England on the Seven Network.

[113] Live viewing sites were set up in cities around the country,[114] with major stadiums being used to show the match in Sydney to cope with massive crowds.

The emblem featured a football encircled by 32 coloured squares, reflecting the expanded field of the tournament, and the natural terrains of the two host nations.

Alongside the emblem, the official slogan of the tournament, "Beyond Greatness", reflected FIFA's goal for the event to further expand the prominence of women's football, was also revealed.

[132] Some European broadcasters were concerned about the timezone difference affecting viewership figures, something that was not an issue with the France-hosted 2019 Women's World Cup, while Gianni Infantino threatened a media blackout for Europe's "big five" (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain) if they did not offer more.

[167] Oceaunz's design was inspired by the unique natural landscapes of the two host nations, with visuals nodding to the vast mountains of New Zealand and Australia's connection with the Indian Ocean.

[171][172] In July 2023, the "official walk-out track" for the matches at the tournament was revealed to be "Bring It On" by Australian singer Tones and I, American rapper BIA and French-Senegalese singer-songwriter Diarra Sylla.

The Nike player commercials "Let It Rip", depicting Megan Rapinoe as an All-American Hero,[174][175][176] and "Like a Lioness", showcasing the England team, featured original songs.

Hope FC featured British musicians including Melanie C, Self Esteem, Alex Greenwood of Sports Team, Olivia Dean, Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice, and Shura (a former youth player herself).

[187][182] The group of players also petitioned football governing bodies to make carbon concerns a more important factor in the bidding processes for future tournaments.

[191] There were various controversies relating to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, with a main focus on players from a variety of teams going public about disputes with their respective football associations over various elements of professionalism, collective bargaining and development that they felt were not being met.

[197] After FIFA experienced criticism for specifically banning OneLove captain's armbands hours before the 2022 Men's World Cup, it spent months in discussion with the women's teams to communicate on the matter.

[207][208] Moments of silence were observed on matchday one in respect to the victims of the shooting;[209][106] security at and around Eden Park, the location of the opening match in Auckland, was heightened, with a statement saying this measure was taken for "reassurance".

[212] After New Zealand won the opening match in a surprise victory, Ali Riley paid tribute to the victims, saying that the team had "wanted to bring something amazing" in response to the shooting.

[213] Another fatal shooting in the Auckland CBD, on the same street, occurred on 3 August; considered an unrelated and isolated incident, one person was killed and the perpetrator fled the scene after a fight broke out.

At 7:48 pm on 22 July, the players and staff had to evacuate after fires broke out in multiple locations around the hotel due to a suspected arson attack; they were later allowed to return.