England will face Greece in the first round of the Women's World Cup play-offs after missing the group’s only automatic qualification spot for Brazil. Sarina Wiegman’s side still have to win two home-and-away rounds to reach the finals, with the route now set after UEFA’s draw.
Wiegman said, "We knew what the play-offs would look like and, while we're pleased with the draw against Greece, the focus now is on making sure we're really well prepared," She added: "We want to dominate games and have a lot of the ball and that's something we will prepare for carefully."
Sarina Wiegman on Greece
England’s route is simple on paper and tight in practice. If they beat Greece, they will face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine in round two, where the seven best-ranked winners will go straight to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup and the one remaining round 2 play-off winner will move into the inter-confederation play-offs.
Wiegman pointed to the gap in the schedule as a chance to reset. "There's still time with players on holiday and then returning to their clubs, but we're looking forward to coming together again and performing with England," she said. Fixture dates are to be confirmed, but the ties are scheduled across October, November and December.
England’s group setback
The draw followed a sharp end to England’s qualifying group. Earlier this month they lost 4-0 to Spain, and that result left Spain on top of the group with the only automatic place. England had won five of their six World Cup qualifiers, but the defeat in Spain still pushed them into the play-offs.
That is the complication in England’s path: the numbers were strong, but the margin for error disappeared in one match. UEFA set the play-offs for 32 teams in two rounds of home-and-away ties, and England now sit in the section that begins with Greece and could end with a place in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July 2027.
UK and Ireland ties
Other UK and Ireland teams also learned their first-round opponents. Wales will face Albania, Scotland will play the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland will take on Portugal and the Republic of Ireland will play Kazakhstan. For England, the priority is narrower: get through Greece, then deal with the winner of Slovakia v Ukraine and stay on the direct path to the finals.
