playNicholas SomMultiple AuthorsOct 7, 2026, 03:22 AM ETOpen Extended ReactionsThe 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil begins June 23, and there are still several places up for grabs.A total of 18 teams have already sealed their spots, leaving 14 still to be determined in the eventual field of 32. At least seven of those 14 will go to European nations, and those will be decided over the next few months in the final stage of UEFA’s qualification process.Here’s what you need to know about the UEFA playoffs for the Women’s World Cup.What has already happened in UEFA qualification for the World Cup?Fifty-three teams entered the European qualifying tournament, which began in March and will conclude in December. The first round was a league phase, in which the teams were divided into three leagues based on the 2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League overall phase rankings. They were further split into groups of four within those leagues, playing each team in their group home and away.The results of the league phase determined whether teams directly qualified for the World Cup, advanced to the UEFA playoffs or were eliminated.
Ultimately, four teams earned qualification, and 32 advanced to the second round — the playoff phase, which begins Oct. 7.Who has already qualified?Denmark, France, Germany and Spain were the four teams who qualified directly for the Women’s World Cup via the league phase.What’s at stake in October?For the playoff phase, teams were drawn into paths to play two rounds of two-legged knockout matches.These are effectively mini-brackets of four teams each; we already know that the winner of Lithuania-Sweden will play the winner of Czechia-Scotland, for example. To qualify for the World Cup (or advance to the interconfederation playoffs), a team must win their mini-bracket by winning two home-and-away ties.The first legs of each tie will be held Oct. 7, and the second legs on Oct. 13. After that, only 16 teams will be left in the running for World Cup qualification.Path 1Lithuania vs. Sweden Romania vs.
Norway Greece vs. England Croatia vs. Iceland Kazakhstan vs. Republic of Ireland Kosovo vs.
Austria Hungary vs. Netherlands Belarus vs. ItalyPath 2Albania vs. Wales Turkiye vs.
Slovenia Slovakia vs. Ukraine Israel vs. Switzerland Belgium vs. Poland Czechia vs.
Scotland Northern Ireland vs. Portugal Finland vs. SerbiaWhen will the second round of the playoffs be held?The two legs of each second-round tie will be played between Nov. 26 and Dec. 5.The seven best-ranked winners (according to the 2026 Women’s European Qualifiers overall league rankings) will qualify, and the one remaining winner qualifies to the intercontinental playoff tournament.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 Turkiye or Slovenia vs. Hungary or NetherlandsWho are the favorites still fighting for a spot?England, Sweden and the Netherlands are among the heavyweights in women’s soccer who still have work to do if they want to qualify.England are the reigning Women’s Euros champions and were runners-up at the 2023 World Cup. It would be an immense shock if the Lionesses failed to qualify — Greece are their opponents in the first round — but coach Sarina Wiegman’s squad must take care of business over the next few months.Sweden and the Netherlands are ranked eighth and 11th, respectively, in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, and both have achieved notable successes on the world stage.
Sweden were World Cup runners-up in 2003 and have finished in third place a whopping four times, most recently in 2023 after knocking out the United States. The Netherlands were the 2019 World Cup runners-up and won the 2017 Women’s Euros.What’s the deal with the intercontinental playoffs?The worst-ranked UEFA playoff winner will have to compete in the FIFA intercontinental playoffs, which determine the final three teams that will participate in the World Cup.A total of 10 teams enter the playoffs. The UEFA team that participates will go straight into the final phase, in which six teams square off in winner-take-all matches to determine the three qualifying teams.If the UEFA team is among the three highest-ranked teams, it will be a seeded team for its playoff match.
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