2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying


Fourteen teams participated in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. In August 2014 it was announced that seven teams had been granted automatic qualification, with four regional qualification tournaments selecting the remaining seven teams. Qualification began in earnest on 9 May 2015 when Spain played Latvia in a knock-out match, although the European Group B competition began on 17 May 2014.

Qualified teams

Eight teams automatically qualified for the World Cup. Seven of the teams which reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup were granted automatic qualification; the other quarter-finalists, USA, were denied automatic qualification due to an internal governance dispute and instead forced to enter the qualification process. Papua New Guinea were granted automatic qualification as co-hosts in 2015.
TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Consecutive
finals
appearances		Previous best
performance
Host19 February 201415th201315Winners
Host19 February 201415th201315Winners
Automatic qualifier5 August 20146th20135Runners-up
Automatic qualifier5 August 20145th20135Semi-final
Automatic qualifier5 August 201415th201315Runners-up
Automatic qualifier5 August 20145th20135Quarter-finals
Automatic qualifier5 August 20144th20134Quarter-finals
Host8 October 20157th20137Quarter-finals
Asia-Pacific play-off winner17 October 20155th20135Group stage
Middle East-Africa play-off winner31 October 20152nd20001Group stage
Americas qualifying group winner12 December 20152nd20132Quarter-finals
European qualifying group 1 winner29 October 20165th20132Semi-final
European qualifying group 2 winner29 October 20164th20134Quarter-finals
European qualifying Play-off winner4 November 20162nd20132Group stage

Continental qualification

European

; Qualified
Three additional teams qualified from this region. A two-group, round-robin tournament took place in October 2016 to determine the qualifying nations - this was contested by the winners of the 2015 European Championship C tournament, the top three teams from the 2014–15 European Championship B tournament, and seeded nations Wales and Ireland.
The tournament featured two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, while the runners-up faced each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw took place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015.
Group A
Group B

European play-off

Asia-Pacific

; Qualified
Two additional qualifying places were initially allocated to this region. Papua New Guinea were granted automatic qualification in 2015 after being confirmed as co-hosts, leaving one additional team to qualify from this region. A single play-off between Tonga and Cook Islands determined the final qualifier.

Americas

; Qualified
One team qualified from this region. A three-team round robin tournament was held in Florida in December 2015 to determine the qualifier.

Middle East-Africa

; Qualified
One team qualified from this region. A two match series was held between South Africa and Lebanon to determine the qualifier.