Home Nations Begin Women's World Cup Play-off Push — SkimNews
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- England open their Women's World Cup 2027 play-off campaign against Greece, with the first leg in Crete on Friday 9 October (17:30 BST) and the second leg at King Power Stadium in Leicester on 13 October (19:30 BST).
- Sarina Wiegman left out Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly from her initial squad, telling BBC Radio 5 Live they "have not been playing to their full potential" in recent weeks, though she added she still believes in them.
- England missed the automatic spot despite winning five of six group matches, finishing behind world champions Spain who topped the group.
- Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland all play round-one ties on Friday — against the Czech Republic, Albania, Portugal, and Kazakhstan respectively.
- If England advance past Greece, they face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine in round two (away first) between 26 November and 5 December 2026; England already beat Ukraine 9-1 on aggregate in the group stage.
- Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and may need to break that drought to reach Brazil, though they thrashed Albania 4-0 in qualifying.
Why it matters: Five home nations have a genuine path to the 2027 Women's World Cup but the margins are unforgiving: England face a full two-round play-off despite winning five of six qualifiers, Wales must break a winless streak against top-20 nations, and the Republic of Ireland must first survive a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan before potentially facing Belgium in round two.
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