England draw Greece in Women's World Cup playoffs; Scotland face Czechia and likely Sweden

The draw

UEFA held the playoff draw for the 2027 Women's World Cup on Thursday in Nyon, Switzerland, mapping out the route for 32 teams chasing seven direct spots and one intercontinental playoff berth. Europe has 11 places at the 32-team finals in Brazil next July, with Spain, Denmark, France and Germany already qualified directly. The remaining hopefuls will contest two-legged ties in October and November-December, with the seven highest-ranked bracket winners booking their tickets.

England's path

England, the 2023 World Cup finalist, must first get past Greece in round one. The Lionesses took 15 points from a possible 18 in their qualifying group but finished second to Spain on head-to-head record, forcing them into the playoffs. Should they beat Greece, they will face the winner of Slovakia versus Ukraine, a side they defeated 3-0 in June during qualifying. The draw was widely seen as kind to Sarina Wiegman's team, who avoided higher-ranked opponents like Belgium or Switzerland.

Scotland's challenge

Scotland were handed a tougher assignment. Ranked 26th in the world, they meet 33rd-ranked Czechia in round one, and the winner will likely face Sweden, the eighth-ranked side and a semi-finalist in three of the past four World Cups. Sweden start against Lithuania. Scotland's only previous World Cup appearance came in 2019, and head coach Melissa Andreatta's side will need a major upset to return.

Other home nations

Wales face Albania, a team they beat twice in qualifying, with Romania or Gemma Grainger's Norway awaiting in round two. Northern Ireland take on Portugal, and the winners meet Croatia or Iceland. The Republic of Ireland, seeded after an impressive campaign that included a win over the Netherlands, play Kazakhstan in round one before a potential clash with Belgium or Poland. Ireland manager Carla Ward acknowledged the difficulty of the path.

I think everybody in the room would probably say that that was the one that everyone wanted to avoid, Belgium and Poland are top sides.

Key dates and logistics

Round one first legs are scheduled for 7-9 October, with the return fixtures on 11-13 October. Round two will be played between 26 November and 5 December. UEFA has kept Ukraine and Belarus apart in the draw due to the war, and Belarus must host matches in empty stadiums in neutral countries, as they did in Georgia during qualifying. Israel, also playing in neutral venues since October 2023, will host Switzerland in Hungary.