How can home nations reach Women's World Cup?

The 10th Fifa Women's World Cup will take place in Brazil between 24 June and 25 July 2027 [Getty Images] England must get through two rounds of home and away ties to qualify for the Women's World Cup in Brazil. Sarina Wiegman's European champions will play Greece in Crete in round one of the play-offs, with the first leg on Friday, 9 October at 17:30 BST. The second leg will be played at home, at King Power Stadium in Leicester, on Tuesday, 13 October at 19:30 BST. Commentary for both England matches will be on BBC Radio 5 Live. Should England beat Greece over two games, they will face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine, with the away fixture played first. The exact dates of the potential second-leg fixtures are to be confirmed, although they will take place between 26 November and 5 December 2026. England head coach Wiegman named her initial squad last month, with Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly notable absentees. When asked why they were left out, Wiegman said: "They have not been playing to their full potential. "Of course, I still believe in these players. They are really good and have shown so much for us." Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live: "That is also why I didn't pick them this time, because they have not played to their potential in my opinion in the last couple of weeks. "I had those conversations with them and that was very hard to take. They took it well and, of course, they want to work on that." All you need to know about 2027 Women's World Cup Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland are also involved in the play-offs as they chase World Cup places. As with England, they are in action on Friday. In round one, Wales face Albania at 17:00 BST - with coverage on BBC Two Wales from 16:45 BST. Scotland play the Czech Republic at 18:00 BST, available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC Alba. Northern Ireland take on Portugal at 19:00 BST, available on BBC iPlayer. The Republic of Ireland will play Kazakhstan at 12:00 BST. Despite England securing five wins from their six qualifying matches, world champions Spain finished top of the Lionesses' group and secured the one automatic spot. Wiegman said: "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. "We want to dominate games and have a lot of the ball and that's something we will prepare for carefully." Analysis: What are the home nations' chances? 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. However, Wiegman's side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances against Greece, who sit 55 places beneath them in the Fifa world rankings. England also beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, with an aggregate 9-1 score. Northern Ireland face a tricky tie against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying. Their task gets even harder if they make it through to round two, with potential opponents Iceland proving to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year. Scotland are hoping to reach just their second Women's World Cup finals, after a 2019 appearance. They failed to qualify in 2023 but have performed well this year, including drawing with Belgium, showing that they can compete with Europe's strongest teams. They would need to produce their best in round two if they meet big-hitters Sweden, who have been semi-finalists in the past two Women's World Cups. Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify. There is optimism, though, as Rhian Wilkinson's side thrashed play-off opponents Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group. Elsewhere, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tough play-off route with Belgium potentially waiting in round two. First, Carla Ward's side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, to tackle relatively unknown opposition. [BBC] Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women's Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women's Super League and beyond on the Women's Football Weekly feed 'Nothing can take my attention' - Republic of Ireland boss Ward on World Cup 'Bring the magic' - Scotland's Ross eyes World Cup dream Family, football and Dalglish - what drives NI boss McArdle? Davies' 'extra motivation' after Euros heartbreak Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page