It feels like only yesterday we were all singing Heather Small’s Proud outside Buckingham Palace, celebrating yet another European Championship triumph for the Lionesses.
But after reaching the World Cup final in Sydney in 2023 and falling just short, Sarina Wiegman’s side have already turned their focus to the next challenge - qualification for the 2027 tournament in Brazil.
England, along with the rest of Europe, will discover their road to South America on Tuesday November 4, when the draw for Women’s World Cup qualifiers for UEFA teams is made. Eleven European nations (plus one who enters the inter-continental play-offs) can ultimately book their place at the 32-team finals in two years’ time.
How will the Women's World Cup draw work?
The 2025 Women’s Nations League has dictated the European qualifiers, dividing 52 teams into three leagues. There will be 16 teams (four groups of 4) in League A, 16 (four groups of 4) in League B and 21 (seven groups of 3) in League C. Each country will play one home match and one away match against the other countries in their group.
England are in League A, Scotland and Wales will be in League B, while Northern Ireland’s Nations League play-off outcome will determine their league. They will be in League A if they can overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Iceland in the return leg on Wednesday 29 October, after the match was postponed from Tuesday due to snow.
Who is in what group?
League A
- Austria
- Denmark
- England
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Republic of Ireland
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- Iceland / Northern Ireland
League B
- Iceland / Northern Ireland
- Albania
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Israel
- Latvia
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Montenegro
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Wales
League C
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Georgia
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Hungary
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Moldova
- North Macedonia
- Romania
- Cyprus
- Kosovo
What happens next?
The four winners of League A groups will qualify automatically for the 2027 World Cup.
The remaining seven European places will be decided through two rounds of play-offs in October and November 2026.
All League A teams are guaranteed at least a place in the play-offs. In the first round:
- The second and third-placed teams from League A groups face the six winners and two best runners-up from League C
- The fourth-placed League A teams and the four League B group winners play the second and third-placed sides from League B.
- League A teams and League B group winners are seeded and play the second leg at home.
The eight winners from these ties move into the second round of play-offs. In the second round, there will be eight fixtures:
- The seven best-ranked winners (based on qualification rankings) qualify directly for the World Cup, making up the 11 teams.
- The lowest-ranked winner advances to the intercontinental play-offs in February 2027
Qualifying league stage draw | 4 November 2025 |
Qualifying league stage matchdays 1 & 2 | 26 February–7 March 2026 |
Qualifying league stage matchdays 3 & 4 | 9–18 April 2026 |
Qualifying league stage matchdays 5 & 6 | 3–9 June 2026 |
Play-off round 1 and round 2 draw | 24 June 2026 |
Play-off round 1 (2 legs) | 7–13 October 2026 |
Play-off round 2 (2 legs) | 26 November–5 December 2026 |
Inter-confederation play-offs | February 2027 |
Finals (Brazil) | 24 June–25 July 2027 |
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