2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3 March – 5 December 2026 |
| Teams | 53 (from 1 confederation) |
| Women's Nations League ← 2025 2027 →
Women's World Cup qualifying ← 2023 2031 → | |
| Qualification for women's championships (UEFA) |
|---|
The European qualifying tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup to determine the UEFA teams that will qualify directly for the final tournament and for the inter-confederation play-offs will take place from 3 March to 5 December 2026.[1] The results from the first phase of qualification will also be used to determine the leagues for the 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League.[1][2]
Format
On 24 September 2024, UEFA approved the initial regulations and tentative match schedule for qualification. Following FIFA's confirmation of qualification slots, UEFA finalized the regulations for qualification which will occur over two phases:[2]
- League phase: The teams entering qualification will be divided into three leagues based on the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League overall phase rankings (Regulations Article 21):[2]
- League A will consist of the teams ranked 1–16 to be drawn into four groups of four teams each.
- League B will consist of the teams ranked 17–32 to be drawn into four groups of four teams each.
- League C will consist of the remaining teams to be drawn into three groups of four teams each and three groups of three teams each; the number and sizes of groups may change based upon the number of teams entering qualification.
- All groups will play a league format, playing all other teams at home and away (Regulations Article 22).[2] The League A group winners will qualify directly for the Women's World Cup, and two rounds of play-offs will determine the remaining direct qualification slots and the inter-confederation play-offs representatives (Regulations Articles 27.01–27.02).[2]
- Play-off phase: Teams will be drawn into paths to play two rounds of home-and-away knockout matches (Regulations Articles 27.03–27.08):[2]
- Round 1:
- Path 1 will consist of the runners-up and third-place teams from League A competing against the group winners and two best-ranked runners-up from League C. The League A teams will be seeded and will play the second leg at home.
- Path 2 will consist of the fourth-place teams from League A and League B group winners competing against the runners-up and third-place teams from League B. The League A fourth-place teams and League B group winners will be seeded and play the second leg at home.
- The winners of each two-legged tie will advance to Round 2.
- Round 2: The round 1 path 1 winners will compete against the round 1 path 2 winners. The path 1 winners will be seeded and will play the second leg at home.
- Round 1:
- The seven round 2 winners with the best overall league phase rankings will qualify directly for the Women's World Cup, and the remaining round 2 winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The league phase will also determine the composition of the 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League, which uses an identical league structure. The group winners of League B and League C will be promoted to the higher league for that competition, while the fourth-place teams in Leagues A and League B, as well as the two lowest-ranked third-place teams in League B, will be relegated to the lower league.[1][2]
Tiebreakers
During the league phase, teams will be ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If teams are tied on points, tiebreaking criteria will be applied (Regulations Article 23):[2]
- higher number of points obtained in matches among the tied teams;
- greater goal difference obtained in matches among the tied teams;
- greater number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams;
- if teams remain tied, then criteria a–c are reapplied only to those teams that remain tied;
- If teams still remain tied, then the following criteria are applied only to those teams that remain tied:
- greater goal difference in all league phase matches;
- greater number of goals scored in all league phase matches;
- greater number of away goals scored in all league phase matches;
- greater number of wins in all league phase matches;
- greater number of away wins in all league phase matches;
- lower total of disciplinary points obtained by players and team officials in all league phase matches:
- Yellow card: 1 point;
- Second yellow card/indirect red card: 3 points;
- Direct red card: 3 points;
- higher position in the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League overall phase rankings
Schedule
The draw and match schedule is below.[1][3]
| Stage | Round | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| League phase | Draw | 4 November 2025 |
| Matchday 1 | 3 March 2026 | |
| Matchday 2 | 7 March 2026 | |
| Matchday 3 | 14 April 2026 | |
| Matchday 4 | 18 April 2026 | |
| Matchday 5 | 5 June 2026 | |
| Matchday 6 | 9 June 2026 | |
| Play-offs | Round 1 & Round 2 draw | 24 June 2026 |
| Round 1 (two legs) | 7–13 October 2026 | |
| Round 2 (two legs) | 26 November – 5 December 2026 |
Teams
Fifty-three nations were eligible to submit entries to compete in qualification.
Gibraltar and Liechtenstein will enter World Cup qualifying for the first time, having participated in their first official competitive international tournament in the preceding Women's Nations League.
San Marino does not field a senior women's national team,[4] and Russia were suspended indefinitely in February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due to their country's invasion of Ukraine[5] and were excluded by UEFA from the list of participants.[6]
Teams were split into leagues based on the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League overall phase rankings.[1][2]
Teams will be divided into four pots of four teams in Leagues A and B, and three pots of six teams and one pot of three teams in League C. The seedings, pots, and draw procedure were confirmed by UEFA on 30 October 2025.[3]
| Promoted after 2025 Women's Nations League | |
| Relegated after 2025 Women's Nations League | |
| * | Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs |
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland participated in the League A vs League B promotion/relegation matches in October 2025 to determine each team's league allocation.
- ^ a b c d Albania, Cyprus, Kosovo, and Turkey participated in the League B vs League C promotion/relegation matches in October 2025 to determine each team's league allocation.
Draw
The league phase draw for 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA) took place on 4 November 2025 at 13:00 CET.[3]
The following draw conditions were announced:[2][3]
- For political reasons, matches between the pairs of Armenia–Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina–Kosovo were prohibited. No other political prohibitions were required due to the involved teams being in different leagues.
- Teams that played in three-team groups in the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League C — Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Lithuania, and North Macedonia — were drawn into four-team groups.
- Due to winter venue restrictions, a maximum of two of Iceland (Pot A3), Norway (Pot A2), and Sweden (Pot A1) could be drawn into the same group.
The draw proceeded as follows:[3]
- League C: Teams from Pot 1 were drawn into Groups C1 through C6, in order. The same procedure occurred with Pots 2 and 3, unless a draw condition required placement in a different group. Pot 4 teams were then drawn to Groups C1 through C3.
- League B: Teams from Pots 1 through 4 were drawn into Groups B1 through B4, in order. There were no identified draw conditions for League B.
- League A: Teams from Pots 1 through 4 were drawn into Groups A1 through A4, in order, unless the winter venue restriction required Iceland to be placed in a different group.
League phase
Teams will play home-and-away matches against each other team in their group.
League A
Group winners will qualify for the final tournament in Brazil. All other teams will advance to the play-off phase. All fourth-place teams will be relegated to 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League B.
Group A1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup | — | 9 Jun | 14 Apr | 18 Apr | |
| 2 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 3 Mar | — | 7 Mar | 5 Jun | |
| 3 | Denmark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 Jun | 18 Apr | — | 3 Mar | ||
| 4 | Serbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and relegation to League B | 7 Mar | 14 Apr | 9 Jun | — |
Group A2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup | — | 18 Apr | 7 Mar | 9 Jun | |
| 2 | Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 14 Apr | — | 9 Jun | 7 Mar | |
| 3 | Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 Jun | 3 Mar | — | 14 Apr | ||
| 4 | Republic of Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and relegation to League B | 3 Mar | 5 Jun | 18 Apr | — |
Group A3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup | — | 5 Jun | 3 Mar | 18 Apr | |
| 2 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 14 Apr | — | 7 Mar | 9 Jun | |
| 3 | Iceland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 Jun | 18 Apr | — | 14 Apr | ||
| 4 | Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and relegation to League B | 7 Mar | 3 Mar | 5 Jun | — |
Group A4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup | — | 5 Jun | 14 Apr | 3 Mar | |
| 2 | Norway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 7 Mar | — | 9 Jun | 14 Apr | |
| 3 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 Apr | 3 Mar | — | 5 Jun | ||
| 4 | Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and relegation to League B | 9 Jun | 18 Apr | 7 Mar | — |
League B
Group winners, runners-up, and third-place teams will advance to the play-off phase. All group winners will be promoted to 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League A, and all fourth-place teams and the two lowest-ranked third-place teams will be relegated to 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League C.
Group B1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League A | — | 9 Jun | 14 Apr | 7 Mar | |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 3 Mar | — | 5 Jun | 14 Apr | |
| 3 | Albania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and possible relegation to League C | 18 Apr | 7 Mar | — | 9 Jun | |
| 4 | Montenegro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League C | 5 Jun | 18 Apr | 3 Mar | — |
Group B2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League A | — | 3 Mar | 14 Apr | 5 Jun | |
| 2 | Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 9 Jun | — | 7 Mar | 14 Apr | |
| 3 | Turkey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and possible relegation to League C | 18 Apr | 5 Jun | — | 3 Mar | |
| 4 | Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League C | 7 Mar | 18 Apr | 9 Jun | — |
Group B3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League A | — | 3 Mar | 7 Mar | 5 Jun | |
| 2 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 9 Jun | — | 14 Apr | 7 Mar | |
| 3 | Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and possible relegation to League C | 18 Apr | 5 Jun | — | 3 Mar | |
| 4 | Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League C | 14 Apr | 18 Apr | 9 Jun | — |
Group B4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League A | — | 18 Apr | 7 Mar | 5 Jun | |
| 2 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs | 14 Apr | — | 5 Jun | 7 Mar | |
| 3 | Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and possible relegation to League C | 3 Mar | 9 Jun | — | 14 Apr | |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League C | 9 Jun | 3 Mar | 18 Apr | — |
Ranking of third-place teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B1 | Albania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | B2 | Turkey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | B3 | Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League C |
| 4 | B4 | Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
League C
Group winners and the two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the play-off phase. All group winners will also be promoted to 2027 UEFA Women's Nations League B.
Group C1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 3 Mar | 5 Jun | 7 Mar | |
| 2 | Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 9 Jun | — | 18 Apr | 14 Apr | |
| 3 | Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 Apr | 7 Mar | — | 9 Jun | ||
| 4 | Liechtenstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 Apr | 5 Jun | 3 Mar | — |
Group C2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 7 Mar | 9 Jun | 18 Apr | |
| 2 | Kosovo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 5 Jun | — | 18 Apr | 3 Mar | |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 Mar | 14 Apr | — | 5 Jun | ||
| 4 | Gibraltar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 Apr | 9 Jun | 7 Mar | — |
Group C3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 7 Mar | 18 Apr | 9 Jun | |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 5 Jun | — | 3 Mar | 18 Apr | |
| 3 | North Macedonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 Apr | 9 Jun | — | 7 Mar | ||
| 4 | Andorra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 Mar | 14 Apr | 5 Jun | — |
Group C4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 7 Mar | 3 Mar | |
| 2 | Faroe Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 14 Apr | — | 18 Apr | |
| 3 | Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 Jun | 5 Jun | — |
Group C5
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 18 Apr | 3 Mar | |
| 2 | Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 7 Mar | — | 9 Jun | |
| 3 | Moldova | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 Jun | 14 Apr | — |
Group C6
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belarus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs and promotion to League B | — | 18 Apr | 9 Jun | |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibly advance to play-offs | 7 Mar | — | 3 Mar | |
| 3 | Armenia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 Apr | 5 Jun | — |
Ranking of runners-up
| Pos | Grp | Team[a] | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C1 | Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to play-offs |
| 2 | C2 | Kosovo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | C3 | Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | C4 | Faroe Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | C5 | Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | C6 | Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ^ Due to differing group sizes, results against fourth-place teams are not considered when ranking runners-up.
Overall league rankings
At the conclusion of the league phase, teams will be ranked according to the following criteria (Regulations Article 24.01):[2]
- group position (i.e. all group winners will be ranked above all group runners-up in the same league, etc.);
- higher number of points;
- greater goal difference in all league matches;
- greater number of goals scored in all league matches;
- greater number of away goals scored in all league matches;
- greater number of wins in all league matches;
- greater number of away wins in all league matches;
- lower total of disciplinary points obtained by players and team officials in all league phase matches:
- Yellow card: 1 point;
- Second yellow card/indirect red card: 3 points;
- Direct red card: 3 points;
- higher position in the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League overall phase rankings
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026.
Source: UEFA |
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026.
Source: UEFA |
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026.
Source: UEFA |
- ^ Due to differing group sizes in League C, results against fourth-place teams are not considered when ranking group winners, runners-up, and third-place teams.
Play-off phase
Draws
The draws for both play-off rounds are scheduled to take place on 24 June 2026, with draw procedures still to be announced.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Women's European Qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup: How it works, who is in what league?". UEFA.com. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Regulations of the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League and 2026 Women's European Qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup". UEFA. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Women's European Qualifiers for 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup: League stage draw". UEFA.com. 30 October 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- ^ "National teams | San Marino | National associations". UEFA. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
- ^ "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "2025 UEFA Women's Nations League and 2026 Women's European Qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup" (ZIP). UEFA Circular Letter. No. 53/2024. UEFA. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.