How the home nations can qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland begin UEFA play-off first legs on Friday, 9 October as they seek places at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, which is scheduled to run from 24 June to 25 July 2027.

Qualification for England requires progression through two rounds of home-and-away ties; the Lionesses meet Greece in round one with the first leg in Crete on Friday at 17:30 BST and the return at King Power Stadium in Leicester on Tuesday, 13 October at 19:30 BST. Commentary for both England matches will be on BBC Radio 5 Live. If England overcome Greece over two legs they would face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine, with the away leg played first and the second-leg dates to be confirmed between 26 November and 5 December 2026.

Head coach Sarina Wiegman named an initial squad last month that omitted Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly; on their absences she said: "They have not been playing to their full potential. "Of course, I still believe in these players. They are really good and have shown so much for us." Wiegman added on BBC Radio 5 Live: "That is also why I didn't pick them this time, because they have not played to their potential in my opinion in the last couple of weeks. "I had those conversations with them and that was very hard to take. They took it well and, of course, they want to work on that." England recorded five wins from six qualifying matches but finished second behind world champions Spain, who took the automatic place in the group.

Fixtures for the other home nations in round one are Wales v Albania at 17:00 BST (coverage on BBC Two Wales from 16:45 BST), Scotland v the Czech Republic at 18:00 BST (available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Alba), Northern Ireland v Portugal at 19:00 BST (on BBC iPlayer) and the Republic of Ireland v Kazakhstan at 12:00 BST. Wales beat Albania 4-0 during the qualifying group stage.

Opposition and route difficulty varies by nation: Northern Ireland lost twice to Portugal in Euro 2025 qualifying, and if Portugal progress they could meet Iceland, who "proved to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year." Scotland, seeking a second World Cup finals after their 2019 appearance and having failed to qualify in 2023, have delivered notable results this year including a draw with Belgium and could meet Sweden in round two, with Sweden described here as "semi-finalists in the past two Women's World Cups." The Republic of Ireland are described as having performed "superbly in qualifying" but face a long trip and a potentially difficult path, including a 3,100-mile journey to Kazakhstan and the possibility of Belgium in round two.

England hold a substantial ranking advantage over Greece in the Fifa world rankings, with Greece sitting 55 places beneath them, and England defeated potential round-two opponents Ukraine by an aggregate 9-1 in the qualifying group stage. The article notes England were given an "unkind draw" in qualifying when they met Spain, which forced them into the play-offs despite five wins.

For additional coverage and discussion, Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie return for another season of the Women's Football Weekly podcast; new episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, with interviews and extra content available via the Women's Football Weekly feed.

England's immediate next fixtures are the first leg in Crete on Friday, 9 October at 17:30 BST and the home second leg at King Power Stadium, Leicester on Tuesday, 13 October at 19:30 BST; should they advance the second-round tie against the Slovakia v Ukraine winners would conclude with a second leg scheduled between 26 November and 5 December 2026.