Lionesses Will Face Greece in 2027 Women's World Cup Play-offs


England have been drawn to play Greece in the first round of the 2027 Women's World Cup play-offs. The Lionesses will have to get through two rounds of home and away matches to qualify for the tournament in Brazil. If England beat Greece, they will face the winner of Slovakia against Ukraine, with the away game played first. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have also found out who they will face for a place at the World Cup. In the first round, Wales will face Albania, Scotland will face the Czechs, and Northern Ireland will meet Portugal. Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will play against Kazakhstan. Match dates are still to be confirmed, but matches will take place in October, November and December. Although England managed five wins from their six qualifying matches, Spain finished top of the group and secured an automatic spot. "We know what the play-offs are like and, although we are delighted with the draw against Greece, our focus now is on making sure we are fully prepared," said England coach Sarina Wiegman. "We want to dominate the game and have a lot of possession, and that is something we will prepare for carefully. There is still time with players going on holiday and then returning to their clubs, but we are looking forward to regrouping and doing well with England." The complete draw is: Round 1, line 1: Lithuania vs Sweden, Romania vs Norway, Greece vs England, Croatia vs Iceland, Kazakhstan vs Republic of Ireland, Kosovo vs Austria, Hungary vs Netherlands, Belarus vs Italy. Round 1, lane 2: Albania vs Wales, Turkey vs Slovenia, Slovakia vs Ukraine, Israel vs Switzerland, Belgium vs Poland, Czechia vs Scotland, Northern Ireland vs Portugal, Finland vs Serbia. Round 2: Slovakia or Ukraine vs Greece or England, Finland or Serbia vs Belarus or Italy, Northern Ireland or Portugal vs Croatia or Iceland, Albania or Wales vs Romania or Norway, Israel or Switzerland vs Kosovo or Austria, Czechia or Scotland vs Lithuania or Sweden, Belgium or Poland vs Kazakhstan or Republic of Ireland, Turkey or Slovenia vs Hungary or the Netherlands. England did not want to go through the play-offs but were handed an unfortunate draw in the qualifying group when they met world champions Spain. However, it leaves Sarina Wiegman's side in a strong position for the play-offs and confident of an easier trip to Greece in October. They beat Ukraine, a potential second round opponent, in both games in the qualifying group stage, which will give them confidence as well. There is a tough challenge ahead for Northern Ireland, who will face a talented young squad from Portugal in the first round. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in qualifying for Euro 2025. Their task will be even more difficult if they make it through to the second round with potential opponents Iceland proving difficult to overcome in their match against England this year. Scotland are hoping to reach their second Women's World Cup final after failing to qualify in 2023. They performed well in this year's qualifying group stages, including a draw with Belgium that showed they can compete with Europe's strongest teams. They will need to show their best performance in the second half if they meet a strong Sweden team, who have been semi-finalists in the last two Women's World Cup finals. Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive match and will likely need to do so to qualify - and their away form will need to improve. However, Rhian Wilkinson's team faced familiar opponents in the first round. They crushed Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group, so who knows if they can't do it again? Meanwhile, after a superb performance in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tough play-off path with established European opponents Belgium possibly waiting in the second round. First, Carla Ward's team had to endure a 3,100-mile journey to Kazakhstan, against a relatively unknown opponent.