New soccer fans, don’t despair! The Women’s World Cup is less than a year away.

While the men’s World Cup came to a close Sunday, newly converted soccer fanatics and longtime diehards won’t have to wait four years for their next drink of the Cup.

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The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup — hosted by Brazil from June 24 to July 25 next year — is likely to be the most competitive tournament ever on the women’s side.

In the early years of the tournament, just a handful of teams — the United States included — sat comfortably at the top and waited for the rest of the world to catch up. That narrative has shifted drastically in recent years. The 2023 tournament had the most parity of any edition thus far. Following another four years of worldwide growth, the 2027 edition is anyone’s for the taking.

Here’s some things to look forward to.

The field of 32 will compete in 64 games across eight Brazilian cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo. It’s the first time a South American nation has hosted the women’s tournament.

Fourteen teams have already qualified, including host nation Brazil, as well as Argentina, Australia, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, North Korea, the Philippines, South Korea, and defending champion Spain.

But the famed US team, which has won four World Cups since the tournament began in 1991, hasn’t earned its spot just yet.

They can qualify automatically by winning its Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal match against El Salvador on Nov. 27 (all four quarterfinal games will qualify).

But should coach Emma Hayes’s squad that game, the Americans can still earn a spot through an inter-confederation playoff tournament held in December and February.

The US is coming off its worst World Cup finish after finishing second in its group behind the Netherlands, and then losing to Sweden on penalties in the round of 16. The team rebounded the following year under new leadership (Hayes), winning Olympic gold in Paris and setting the stage for a Cup comeback.

The NWSL is home to some of the top players in the world, many of whom are likely to be the top stars shining in Brazil.

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The league hopes it can offer a bridge between this summer’s men’s tourney and next year’s go-around by marketing its elite players and parlaying the current US soccer fever into long-term fandom.

“Now you’re hooked, we hope,” said NWSL chief marketing officer Rachel Epstein. “Our job is to say now that, that’s concluded, we have more world-class soccer for you at the NWSL.”

The roster of Boston Legacy FC features players representing 11 national teams, is among the most internationally diverse in the league, and offers a preview of some of the top talent likely to play next summer.

Legacy defender and Hingham native Lilly Reale is a shoo-in for the US squad. Just 22, she already has nine caps and said it would be “crazy” to say she’s not thinking about making the World Cup roster.

Josefine Hasbo has been a staple on the Danish national team since her first call-up in 2020, and made four appearances in the 2023 Cup while she was a sophomore at Harvard. The midfielder is likely to feature for her country’s squad again in 2027.

Striker Amanda Guttieres is a regular on the Brazilian senior national team and played a key role at the 2025 Copa América Femenina, which Brazil won.

Other Legacy players with senior national team appearances since 2023 include Aïssata Traoré (Mali), Barb Olivieri (Venezuela), Bianca St-Georges (Canada), Fauzia Najjemba (Uganda), Jorelyn Carabali (Colombia), Kaká (Brazil), Nichelle Prince (Canada), Hannah Stambaugh (Japan), and Nicki Hernandez (Mexico).

Legacy coach Filipa Patão is working to prepare her players who have World Cup aspirations, and the club is keeping close contact with their national teams to give them the best shot at making their country’s final rosters.

“We need to understand that inside the national teams, they will have other roles, other missions inside their game models,” Patão said. “It’s about how we can combine and share this information between the departments of both environments [club and national team] to allow us to better prepare players.”

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