Lionesses will face Greece in World Cup play-offs
England won five of their six World Cup qualifiers but missed out on automatic qualification by losing 4-0 to Spain earlier this month
- Published
England have been drawn to play Greece in round one of the 2027 Women's World Cup play-offs.
The Lionesses must get through two rounds of home and away ties to qualify for the tournament in Brazil.
Should England beat Greece, they will face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine with the away fixture played first.
Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland also found out who they will be playing for a place at the World Cup.
In round one, Wales face Albania, Scotland play the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland take on Portugal.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will play Kazakhstan.
Fixture dates are to be confirmed, but matches will take place in October, November and December.
Despite England securing five wins from their six qualifying matches, Spain finished top of the group and secured the one automatic spot.
"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," said England manager Sarina Wiegman.
"We want to dominate games and have a lot of the ball and that's something we will prepare for carefully.
"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."
The full draw is:
Round 1, path 1
Lithuania v Sweden
Romania v Norway
Greece v England
Croatia v Iceland
Kazakhstan v Republic of Ireland
Kosovo v Austria
Hungary v Netherlands
Belarus v Italy
Round 1, path 2
Albania v Wales
Turkey v Slovenia
Slovakia v Ukraine
Israel v Switzerland
Belgium v Poland
Czech Republic v Scotland
Northern Ireland v Portugal
Finland v Serbia
Round 2
Slovakia or Ukraine v Greece or England
Finland or Serbia v Belarus or Italy
Northern Ireland or Portugal v Croatia or Iceland
Albania or Wales v Romania or Norway
Israel or Switzerland v Kosovo or Austria
Czech Republic or Scotland v Lithuania or Sweden
Belgium or Poland v Kazakhstan or the Republic of Ireland
Turkey or Slovenia v Hungary or Netherlands
Analysis: What are the home nations' chances?
England did not want to go through the play-offs but were given an unkind draw in the qualifying groups when they met world champions Spain.
It does mean, however, that Sarina Wiegman's side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances with a kind trip to Greece in October.
They beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, which will give them confidence too.
There is a tricky tie for Northern Ireland, who come up against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying.
Their task gets trickier if they make it through to round two with potential opponents Iceland proving to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year.
Scotland are hoping to reach just their second Women's World Cup finals having failed to qualify in 2023.
They performed well in this year's qualifying group stages, including draws with Belgium that showed they can compete with Europe's strongest teams.
They will need to produce their best in round two if they meet big-hitters Sweden, who have been semi-finalists in the past two Women's World Cup finals.
Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify - and their away form needs improvement.
But Rhian Wilkinson's side face familiar opponents in round one. They thrashed Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group so who says they can't do it again?
Meanwhile, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tricky play-off route with established European opposition Belgium potentially waiting in round two.
First, Carla Ward's side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, against relatively unknown opposition.
