Spain and England renew women’s soccer rivalry in 2027 World Cup qualifying group

NYON, Switzerland (AP) – Spain and England will renew their great rivalry in women’s soccer in a qualifying group for the 2027 World Cup.

Defending world champion Spain and European champion England were joined by Iceland and Ukraine when UEFA made the qualifying groups draw on Tuesday.

Spain beat England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, and England beat Spain in the Euro 2025 final to retain its title in July.

They also met twice in the first half of this year, trading home wins in a UEFA Nations League group that Spain topped.

Only the group winner next June will advance direct to the 32-team Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Four automatic places are on offer to the winners of four groups in top-tier League A. Seven more qualifiers will advance through playoffs next year, and one more European team will have a chance in intercontinental playoffs scheduled in February 2027.

In other top-tier groups, top-seeded France will play Netherlands, Poland and Ireland.

Sweden and Italy – who both wasted late leads against England in Euro 2025 knockout games – landed in a group with Denmark and Serbia.

Germany, which lost a Euro 2025 semifinal to Spain, will play Norway, Austria and Slovenia.

The round-robin group stage games in all three league tiers will be played in March, April and June.

Group standings will decide which 32 teams move on to the first of two rounds of European playoffs starting in October.

The second round of playoffs is completed in December and will send seven more teams to Brazil. An eighth playoff winner will go to intercontinental playoffs.

The draw on Tuesday involved 53 of UEFA’s 55 member federations. Russia is suspended from international competitions because of its war on Ukraine while San Marino does not enter women’s national team events.