Lionesses vs Spain AGAIN! England handed nightmare draw in 2027 Women's World Cup qualifying

Despite being European champions, England were always likely to be dealt a tricky draw on Tuesday as they were only seeded in pot 2, because of that second-placed finish in the Nations League. It meant they would be pooled with either Spain, Sweden, France or Germany, though the eventual outcome was certainly the worst of the four, given La Roja's status as world champions, one they attained by beating the Lionesses in the World Cup final back in 2023.

The draw was kinder to England after that, adding Iceland and Ukraine to Group A2 as they avoided slightly trickier potential opponents, such as Denmark. However, only finishing top of the group will secure automatic qualification to the 2027 Women's World Cup, making it a brutal draw for both the Lionesses and Spain.

Qualifying for the Women's World Cup in Europe is now done in a format similar to the Women's Nations League and it determines the composition of the next edition of the latter competition as well, which will also be played in 2027. Rankings from the Nations League decided seedings for World Cup qualifying, placing nations in League A, B or C.

There will be either 11 or 12 European representatives at the 2027 Women's World Cup. The winners of the four groups in League A will qualify automatically for the 2027 Women's World Cup. Teams that finish second, third and fourth in those groups will progress to the play-offs. In League B, placing first, second or third in the group secures a spot in the play-offs, while the six group winners and two best runners-up in the groups in League C will also make it to the play-off stage.

That process will pave the way for seven more nations to qualify for the World Cup and confirm the identity of the European representative in the intercontinental play-offs, scheduled for February 2027.

Qualifying begins in the New Year, with the first women's international break of 2026 to commence on February 23. Teams will play their first two matches between February 26 and March 7, with matchdays three and four to take place between April 9-18 and the final two games of the group stage of qualifying scheduled for June 3-9.

The draw for the play-offs will then be held on June 24, with the two-legged first round taking place in October 2026 and the winners of those ties to play round two across the end of November and the beginning of December. 

The four nations that qualify automatically for the World Cup by finishing top of the four groups in League A will be free to schedule friendlies in the final two international breaks of 2026 instead, cherry-picking opponents in order to best prepare themselves for the tournament in Brazil.

Having failed to qualify for the Nations League finals, which have taken centre stage in the final two international breaks of 2025, the Lionesses have already started preparing for the 2027 Women's World Cup and the different challenges teams at the tournament can present, scheduling in four friendlies against non-European opponents to close out their year. England faced hosts Brazil last month and were dealt a disappointing 2-1 loss, but bounced back a few days later when they beat a star-studded Australia side 3-0.

Wiegman's team will continue to test themselves against more unfamiliar opposition later this month, when they welcome China, the Asian champions, to Wembley on November. The Lionesses then close out a memorable 2025 in Southampton on December 1, with a first-ever meeting with Ghana, before turning their attention to World Cup qualifying and, the difficult task of toppling Spain, in the new year.