England's women's soccer team must navigate two rounds of home and away ties to qualify for the Women's World Cup in Brazil. The first leg against Greece is on October 9th in Crete at 17:30 BST, followed by a second leg at King Power Stadium in Leicester on October 13th at 19:30 BST. Head coach Sarina Wiegman has left out players like Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly due to recent underperformance but remains optimistic about their potential recovery. England will face either Slovakia or Ukraine if they advance past Greece, with the second-leg fixtures scheduled between November 26th and December 5th, though exact dates are yet to be confirmed.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
England, current European champions and world cup runners-up, must win two rounds of home-and-away ties to qualify for the 2026 Women's World Cup in Brazil. The first round sees England facing Greece in a play-off series, beginning with the away match against Greece on Friday, 9 October at 17:30 BST in Crete, followed by the return leg at King Power Stadium in Leicester on Tuesday, 13 October at 19:30 BST. If successful, England will face the winner of Slovakia versus Ukraine, with dates for those fixtures yet to be confirmed between 26 November and 5 December 2026. Head coach Sarina Wiegman recently named an initial squad but notably left out players like Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly, citing a lack of recent form from these key players despite her belief in their long-term potential.
Written for “Women's World Cup Qualifiers” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
England must get through two rounds of home and away ties to qualify for the Women's World Cup in Brazil.
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England → publish → 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.
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champions → play → BST
The second leg will be played at home, at King Power Stadium in Leicester, on Tuesday, 13 October at 19:30 BST.
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leg → play → BST
Should England beat Greece over two games, they will face the winners of Slovakia v Ukraine, with the away fixture played first.
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fixture → beat → Ukraine
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.
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they → confirm → November
England head coach Wiegman named her initial squad last month, with Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly notable absentees.
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Toone → name → squad
When asked why they were left out, Wiegman said: "They have not been playing to their full potential.
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They → ask → potential
"Of course, I still believe in these players.
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I → believe → players
They are really good and have shown so much for us."
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They → show → 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.
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they → tell → weeks
"I had those conversations with them and that was very hard to take.
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that → have → them
They took it well and, of course, they want to work on that."
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.
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Wales → take → BST
Scotland play the Czech Republic at 18:00 BST, available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC Alba.
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Scotland → play → iPlayer
Northern Ireland take on Portugal at 19:00 BST, available on BBC iPlayer.
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Ireland → take → iPlayer
The Republic of Ireland will play Kazakhstan at 12:00 BST.
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Republic → play → 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.
"
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're → secure → Greece
We want to dominate games and have a lot of the ball and that's something we will prepare for carefully."
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we → want → ball
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.
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who → want → rankings
England also beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, with an aggregate 9-1 score.
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England → beat → score
Northern Ireland face a tricky tie against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one.
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Ireland → face → round
Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying.
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Portugal → beat → 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.
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Iceland → get → England
Scotland are hoping to reach just their second Women's World Cup finals, after a 2019 appearance.
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Scotland → hop → 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.
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they → fail → 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.
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who → need → Cups
Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify.
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Wales → beat → fixture
There is optimism, though, as Rhian Wilkinson's side thrashed play-off opponents Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group.
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side → be → group
Elsewhere, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tough play-off route with Belgium potentially waiting in round two.
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Belgium → perform → round
First, Carla Ward's side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, to tackle relatively unknown opposition.
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side → have → opposition
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
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episodes → drop → feed
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