Women’s World Cup 2027: How can England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland qualify?

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.

However, Wiegman’s side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances against Greece, who sit 55 places beneath them in the Fifa world rankings.

England also beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, with an aggregate 9-1 score.

Northern Ireland face a tricky tie against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying.

Their task gets even harder 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, after a 2019 appearance. They failed to qualify in 2023 but have performed well this year, including drawing with Belgium, showing that they can compete with Europe’s strongest teams.

They would 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 Cups.

Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify.

There is optimism, though, as Rhian Wilkinson’s side thrashed play-off opponents Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group.

Elsewhere, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tough play-off route with Belgium potentially waiting in round two.

First, Carla Ward’s side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, to tackle relatively unknown opposition.