News Focus
- England will face Greece in the first round of the European playoffs for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil
- Scotland must defeat Czechia and will likely need to beat Sweden to secure qualification
- Wales draw Albania while Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland also learn their playoff opponents
- First round matches take place between 7 and 13 October, with the second round scheduled for 26 November to 5 December
- Tottenham Hotspur are close to signing Norway goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen from SK Brann
England’s women’s team have discovered their opponents for the World Cup qualifying playoffs. The Lionesses will play Greece in the first round. If they win, they will face either Ukraine or Slovakia for a place at the 2027 finals in Brazil.
The draw took place on Thursday and gave England a kind route. They avoided stronger teams like Belgium, Switzerland and their neighbours Scotland. Sarina Wiegman’s side will play the second leg of both rounds at home if they progress.
England reached the final of the last World Cup in 2023 but have never won the trophy. They finished second in their qualifying group behind Spain. The defending world champions took top spot because they had a better head-to-head record against England.
Scotland face a much harder task. They were not seeded for the draw. First, they must beat Czechia. After that, they will probably need to defeat Sweden, who start against Lithuania. Sweden have reached the semi-finals in three of the last four World Cups.
The Scottish team has only played at one World Cup before. That was in 2019. They will need to produce one of their best-ever results to get past Sweden.
Wales have never qualified for a World Cup. They will play Albania in the first round. If they win, they could face Norway. This would be a special match because Norway’s manager is Gemma Grainger, who used to coach Wales.
Northern Ireland will play Portugal first. If they win, they might face Iceland. The Republic of Ireland, who beat the Netherlands during qualifying, will meet Kazakhstan first. A win there could set up a match against Belgium or Poland.
Europe will only send four teams automatically to the 2027 tournament. The last World Cup had nine automatic spots. The format has changed, making the playoffs larger and more difficult.
In club news, Tottenham Hotspur are in advanced talks to sign Norway goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen. The 23-year-old currently plays for SK Brann. She has won two caps for her country. The deal could be completed soon. Panengstuen would work again with Martin Ho. He coached her briefly at Brann before he became a coach at Tottenham last summer.