Lionesses draw Spain in World Cup qualifiers - what does it mean?

BASEL, SWITZERLAND - JULY 27: Irene Paredes of Spain is embraced by Leah Williamson of England after the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Final match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park on July 27, 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. .

England have been drawn against world champions Spain in their qualifying group for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, taking place in Brazil.

The Lionesses lost out to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, but England came out on top in the summer, as they retained their European title.

Iceland and Ukraine join England and Spain in the World Cup qualifying group - but what does this all mean?

How does qualifying work?

Which European teams will make it to the 32-team 2027 World Cup in Brazil? (Image credit: FIFA via Getty Images)

The European qualifiers will determine which teams qualify for the 32-team 2027 World Cup - UEFA has been allocated 11 spots, with an additional European team able to qualify through the inter-continental play-offs.

The 53 UEFA teams have been split across three leagues, in a format similar to the Women’s Nations League. Leagues A and B have 16 teams each (split in four groups of four teams) and League C has 21 teams (six groups of three or four teams).

England and the Republic of Ireland are in League A, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in League B.

Each team plays home and away against each team in their group across six matchdays.

• Matchday 1: Tuesday 3 March
• Matchday 2: Saturday 7 March
• Matchday 3: Tuesday 14 April
• Matchday 4: Saturday 18 April
• Matchday 5: Friday 5 June
• Matchday 6: Tuesday 9 June

What happens next?

Every team in League A is guaranteed at least a place in the play-offs. The winners of each League A group gain an automatic place for the World Cup - meaning England would need to finish ahead of Spain in their group to avoid play-offs.

The remaining seven spots (plus one additional inter-confederation play-off spot) is decided by two rounds of play-offs.

In the first round:

• The second and third-placed teams from League A groups face the six winners and two best runners-up from League C
• The fourth-placed League A teams and the four League B group winners play the second and third-placed sides from League B.
• League A teams and League B group winners are seeded and play the second leg at home.

The eight winners from these ties move into the second round of play-offs. In the second round, there will be eight fixtures:

• The seven best-ranked winners (based on qualification rankings) qualify directly for the World Cup, making up the 11 teams.
• The lowest-ranked winner advances to the intercontinental play-offs in February 2027

The groups in full

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League A

A1	Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Serbia
A2	France, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Ireland
A3	Spain, England, Iceland, Ukraine
A4	Germany, Norway, Austria, Slovenia

League B

B1	Wales, Czech Republic, Albania, Montenegro
B2	Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Turkey, Malta
B3	Portugal, Finland, Slovakia, Latvia
B4	Belgium, Scotland, Israel, Luxembourg

League C

C1	Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein
C2	Croatia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Gibraltar
C3	Hungary, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Andorra
C4	Greece, Faroe Islands, Georgia
C5	Romania, Cyprus, Moldova
C6	Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia

Key dates