Are European Play-offs Effective for the 2027 Women’s World Cup?

A major factor behind Tuesday evening’s results was that only the group winners in the league phase qualified automatically.

The Netherlands, crowned European champions in 2017, placed second behind France, who are sixth in the world rankings. The Dutch then defeated Hungary 11-0 across two legs.

Norway, the 1995 world champions and six-time European finalists, finished behind Germany in their group before securing an 8-0 aggregate victory over Romania.

Fellow League A teams Sweden and the Republic of Ireland also dominated their opponents, winning 15-0 and 12-0 on aggregate respectively.

It was therefore unsurprising that England, winners of the past two European Championships, recorded another convincing play-off victory after sharing a group with world champions Spain and then facing much weaker League C opposition.

England manager Wiegman acknowledged that her team had hoped to secure direct qualification but said that opportunity had passed.

She explained that England’s attention was now firmly on the play-offs. Having overcome Greece, the team would concentrate on its upcoming tie against Ukraine.

Wiegman added that Uefa would assess the competition format and decide whether it was effective or required changes, but she did not believe it was her responsibility to judge the system at that stage.

The Lionesses must still contest a two-leg play-off against Ukraine, beginning with an away match on 1 December before the return game at Wembley Stadium on 5 December.

England already defeated Ukraine twice during the league phase, recording a combined score of 9-1.

Requiring England to overcome the same opponent on at least three occasions during one qualification campaign appears difficult to justify.

England have claimed seven victories in their past eight qualifiers, scoring 21 goals and allowing only six. Their sole loss came away to world champions Spain.

They finished second in League A3 only because of their head-to-head record against the world’s leading side, despite earning a 1-0 victory over Spain at Wembley.

Only Germany, Switzerland and Hungary collected more than England’s 15 points during the league phase.

However, Switzerland and Hungary competed in League B and League C groups that contained no opponents ranked among the world’s top 45 teams.

England faced a far more demanding route in League A, with 13th-ranked Iceland and world number one Spain included in their four-team group.