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4 hours ago
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England have been drawn with Spain in their qualifying group for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Spain beat the Lionesses in the 2023 World Cup final, but England gained revenge when they beat the world champions in the Euro 2025 final in July to retain their European title.
Iceland and Ukraine have also been placed in Group A3 alongside Sarina Wiegman's side.
Qualifying for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, follows the same format as the Nations League and is split into three tiers.
Only the four group winners in League A will automatically qualify for the finals, with the remaining teams having to go through the play-offs for the remaining eight places.
Scotland have been paired with Belgium, Israel and Luxembourg in Group B4, while Wales will face the Czech Republic, Albania and Montenegro in Group B1.
Northern Ireland have been placed in Group B2 with Switzerland, Turkey and Malta, and the Republic of Ireland are in Group A2 alongside the Netherlands, France and Poland.
The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays, on a home and away basis, during 2026, starting on 3 March and finishing on 9 June.
Uefa has been allocated 11 places for the 32-team 2027 World Cup.
An additional European team could also qualify through Fifa's intercontinental play-offs.
The biggest benefit of being in League A is that a play-off for the World Cup is guaranteed at the very least.
The four respective winners of the top-tier groups will automatically qualify for the finals in Brazil.
If England or the Republic of Ireland finish second or third they would face a League C side in their first-round play-off.
In they reached the next round, they would then play a side who finished fourth in their League A pool or a League B team for a place at the World Cup.
The bottom four sides in League A - who will be relegated for the next Nations League - face a first-round play-off against a side who finished second or third in League B.
The winners of those ties would then play the victors from the tie between the second and third-placed League A teams and the League C sides.
If Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are to earn a play-off they must avoid finishing bottom of their respective groups.
Not only would they be relegated to League C they would also miss out on a play-off.
On the other hand, if they were to win their respective groups, they would not only earn promotion to League A but their first-round play-off would be against a side who finished second or third in League B.
Likewise, if Scotland, Wales or NI were to finish second or third in their group they would face a side who finished in fourth place in League A or a League B group winner.
The second round of the play-offs are seeded, and if they progress they would likely face League A opposition.
So, in short, if Wales, Scotland or NI are to reach the World Cup they will likely have to defeat two strong nations along the way.
