Women’s World Cup qualifying draw: Date, time and which teams could the Lionesses face? | OneFootball

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The European qualifying draw for the 2027 Women’s World Cup takes place this week, and here we reveal all the key details, including the list of potential opponents for England.

When is the European qualifying draw for the 2027 Women’s World Cup?

The draw for the 2027 Women’s World Cup European qualifiers will take place on Tuesday, November 4th at 12pm, GMT.

It will consist of 53 teams that are split into groups across three leagues. England are in League A alongside Europe’s heavyweight nations, including Spain, France and Germany.

The draw will take place at FIFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, and can be followed on FIFA’s official website or social media channels.

Which teams could England face in World Cup qualifying?

Teams have been split into three different leagues based off the 2025 Women’s Nations League. There are 16 teams in both League A and B, with 21 teams in League C.

England are in Group A, where the teams have been seeded into four separate pots.

The Lionesses are in Pot 2, meaning they will avoid clashes with Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.

However, the Lionesses could face a rematch of their Euro 2025 final win over Spain, who are in Pot 1.

The other three teams in Pot 1 that England could face include Germany, France and Sweden. England lost to France in the group stage at Euro 2025 and beat Sweden in a chaotic penalty shootout at the quarter-final stage.

From Pot 3, England will face one of Denmark, Austria, Iceland and Poland. Finally, from Pot 4, Sarina Wiegman’s side will also face one of Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine or the Republic of Ireland.

League A pots

Spain are the defending World Cup champions after beating England in 2023 (Victor Modo / SPP)

Who could Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face in qualifying?

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are in League B of European qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Scotland and Northern Ireland could play Wales, but won’t face each other as they are in the same pot.

Below are the pots for League B and C.

League B pots

League C pots 

What happens if England fail to win their group?

The four group winners from Group A will automatically qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

They will be joined by seven teams that qualify from the European playoffs and a potential further nation from the intercontinental playoffs.

Should England fail to win their group, they will advance to the two-round playoffs regardless of whether they finish second, third or fourth.

In the first round, the teams that finish second or third in League A will play against one of the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs from League C (six group winners and two runner-ups).

Meanwhile, the four sides that finished bottom of their League A group, and the four sides that won their League B group, will face a team that finished second or third in League B.

Eight teams will advance to the second round of playoffs, with the seven best-ranked playoff winners (according to FIFA rankings) qualifying directly for the Women’s World Cup. The lowest-ranked winning team will have to go through an intercontinental playoff in February 2027 to reach the tournament in Brazil.

World Cup qualifying schedule

The group stage of European qualifying for the Women’s World Cup will run from March to June 2026.

England will likely be without Michelle Agyemang for much of the playoffs after she suffered a ruptured ACL.

The playoffs will then run from October to December, with the intercontinental playoff in February 2027.

European qualifying dates