Who could the home nations face in 2027 World Cup qualifying?

In Tuesday’s draw, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland will find out who they will face in the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying draw.

The tournament’s qualification process, which will take place in Brazil, follows the same structure as the Nations League and is broken into three levels.

Only the top four League A winners will automatically advance to the finals, and the remaining eight teams will have to compete in the play-offs.

Italy, Norway, Italy, and the Netherlands are in the second pot.

Denmark, Austria, Iceland, and Poland are the pot three.

Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the Republic of Ireland are the top four countries in the pot.

A team from each of the seeded pots will make up the four groups qualifying for World Cup.

England and Ireland will qualify for World Cup qualifying with League A, knowing that they have a play-off guarantee already.

The Lionesses are currently in the second tier, which could signal the start of a new phase of their rivalry with Spain despite winning the Euros.

No matter who they are drawn against from pot one, Sarina Wiegman’s team will back themselves to win automatic qualification in the event that they defeat France and Sweden in the final match.

For Euro 2025 qualifying, England and the Republic of Ireland could compete against one another.

The Irish were relegated from League A after being eliminated from a group that included heavyweights France and Sweden. However, with a stunning promotion win over Belgium, they were able to reclaim the title.

The Republic of Ireland qualified for the 2023 World Cup under the leadership of Katie McCabe but lost to Wales in the Euros.

A play-off for the World Cup is at the very least guaranteed, which is the biggest benefit of being in League A.

The top-tier group’s four respective winners will be automatically able to advance to the Brazilian finals.

The Lionesses will be looking for that despite being in pot two.

In the decisive play-off, England or the Republic of Ireland would face a League C side in their first-round play-off, followed by a League B team or a team that placed fourth overall.

The bottom four teams in League A will be relegated for the next Nations League, but they will still face a team from League B that placed second or third in the first round play-off.

Scotland, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Northern Ireland are all included in Pot Two.

Turkey, Slovakia, Israel, and Albania are Pot Three.

Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Latvia, and Pot Four.

A team from each of the seeded pots will make up League B’s four groups, just like in the top tier.

In order to qualify, Wales has a 50% chance of facing either Scotland or Northern Ireland.

World Cup qualifying will mark a new era for Wales, who won their first major tournament at Euro 2025. Jess Fishlock retired after that time.

Wales have now lost nine of their last eleven games and dropped from League A despite making an historic Euros appearance.

In fact, Wales last won the Euro play-off game against the Republic of Ireland in December.

Scotland’s final major tournament was Scotland’s last, and it almost seems unfair for a team that has a lot of top players like Caroline Weir and Erin Cuthbert.

In the first round of the four matches, Scotland and Belgium met twice in the autumn of 2023, and Wales also met in a friendly draw in February that year.

Northern Ireland has qualified for significant tournaments and has participated in League B every time.

Iceland comfortably won their promotion play-off with a score of 5-0 in two legs despite Tanya Oxtoby’s side finishing second in their Nations League group.

Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland must avoid finishing in the bottom of their respective groups if they want to advance to the play-offs.

They would not only lose out on a play-off, but they would also be relegated to League C, which would shock any of the three.

On the other hand, if they were to advance to League A and advance to League B, they would also be able to advance to League A in the first-round play-off.

Similar to this scenario, Scotland, Wales, or NI would face a team that finished in fourth place in League A or a Group B champion if they placed second or third in their group.

Seeded opponents are expected to face League A opponents in the second round of the play-offs.

The six World Cup qualifying matches will take place in March, April, and June of next year.

The two-legged play-off’s first round is set for October 2026, with the start of December and the end of November.