England have learned their route to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 as the qualifying play-off draw was made on Thursday.
The Lionesses will play Greece in the first round of their qualifying play-off this October.
Sarina Wiegman’s side must progress through two rounds of home and away ties in order to make the finals, held in Brazil next year.
If they beat Greece they will face the winner of Slovakia vs Ukraine, with England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales all to play their second legs at home. Northern Ireland will travel away for their second match.
The Lionesses won five of their six qualifying matches but reigning champions Spain topped their group and so have qualified directly for the tournament, alongside Denmark, France and Germany.
A 3-0 win over Ukraine in their final match was not enough to displace Spain from the automatic spots, as they thrashed England 4-0 in the second of the sides’ two meetings after the Lionesses won their first qualifier 1-0 in April.
Anything but defeat would have been enough to guarantee automatic progression to Brazil, with only the first-placed team in every qualifying group going through without the need for play-offs.
The play-offs will determine seven of the eight remaining UEFA places, while the final spot will be decided through an inter-confederation play-off.
The Republic of Ireland will take on Kazakhstan, Wales play Albania, Scotland face the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland have drawn Portugal.
Round one begins in October, and round two takes place in November and December, with fixture dates yet to be announced.
If they progress beyond the first match Republic of Ireland would face Belgium or Poland, Northern Ireland would play Croatia or Iceland, Wales would face Romania or Norway, and Scotland could see themselves taking on either Lithuania or Sweden.
The seven best-ranked winners from round two qualify for next year’s finals, while the remaining winner will still need to win the inter-confederation play-off.
European teams enter the second round of that play-off, taking place in February 2027.
