Lionesses will face Greece in World Cup play-offs

Image source, PA Media Image caption, England won five of their six World Cup qualifiers but missed out on automatic qualification by losing 4-0 to Spain earlier this month By Sally Freedman BBC Sport senior journalist Published 18 June 2026, 12:10 BST Updated 1 hour ago England have been drawn to play Greece in round one of the 2027 Women's World Cup play-offs. The Lionesses must get through two rounds of home and away ties to qualify for the tournament in Brazil. Should England beat Greece, they will face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine with the away fixture played first. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland also found out who they will be playing for a place at the World Cup. In round one, Wales face Albania, Scotland play the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland take on Portugal. Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will play Kazakhstan. Fixture dates are to be confirmed, but matches will take place in October, November and December. Despite England securing five wins from their six qualifying matches, Spain finished top of the group and secured the one automatic spot. "We knew what the play-offs would look like and, while we're pleased with the draw against Greece, the focus now is on making sure we're really well prepared," said England manager Sarina Wiegman. "We want to dominate games and have a lot of the ball and that's something we will prepare for carefully. "There's still time with players on holiday and then returning to their clubs, but we're looking forward to coming together again and performing with England." The full draw is: Round 1, path 1 Lithuania v Sweden Romania v Norway Greece v England Croatia v Iceland Kazakhstan v Republic of Ireland Kosovo v Austria Hungary v Netherlands Belarus v Italy Round 1, path 2 Albania v Wales Turkey v Slovenia Slovakia v Ukraine Israel v Switzerland Belgium v Poland Czech Republic v Scotland Northern Ireland v Portugal Finland v Serbia Round 2 Slovakia or Ukraine v Greece or England Finland or Serbia v Belarus or Italy Northern Ireland or Portugal v Croatia or Iceland Albania or Wales v Romania or Norway Israel or Switzerland v Kosovo or Austria Czech Republic or Scotland v Lithuania or Sweden Belgium or Poland v Kazakhstan or the Republic of Ireland Turkey or Slovenia v Hungary or Netherlands Analysis: What are the home nations' chances? By Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter England did not want to go through the play-offs but were given an unkind draw in the qualifying groups when they met world champions Spain. It does mean, however, that Sarina Wiegman's side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances with a kind trip to Greece in October. They beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, which will give them confidence too. There is a tricky tie for Northern Ireland, who come up against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Irel