CYMRU’S hopes of reaching the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup remain alive after Rhian Wilkinson’s side secured their place in this autumn’s play-offs.
The national side finished top of League B Group B1 in the UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers, collecting 14 points from six matches and ending three points clear of Czechia.
Cymru won four games and drew two, scoring 17 goals and conceding five, before sealing first place with a 3-1 victory over Czechia in Cardiff.
Play-off draw
The play-off draw will take place on Thursday, June 18, with 32 nations still in contention for Europe’s remaining places at the tournament in Brazil.
The play-offs will be played over two rounds of home-and-away ties.
As one of the four League B group winners, Cymru will enter Path 2 alongside the four nations who finished bottom of their League A groups.
Those eight seeded teams will be drawn against nations who finished second or third in the League B groups, with the seeded sides hosting the second leg.
Cymru’s possible first-round opponents are Czechia, Türkiye, Finland, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Israel and Albania.
Familiar opponents
A tie against Czechia would bring another meeting between two sides who have already faced each other twice in qualifying.
Cymru drew 2-2 away before beating Czechia 3-1 in Cardiff to secure top spot.
Albania are also among the possible opponents, having been in Cymru’s qualifying group. Wilkinson’s side beat them 1-0 away and 4-0 at home.
The first round of play-off ties will be played between October 7 and October 13.
What Cymru need
To qualify for the World Cup, Cymru must win both their first-round and second-round play-off ties.
The eight Path 2 winners will advance to Round 2, where they will face the winners from Path 1, which includes teams from Leagues A and C.
Those ties will be played between November 26 and December 5.
Eight teams will win through from Round 2, but only seven will qualify automatically for the World Cup. The seven highest-ranked winners, based on the overall UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers rankings, will go directly to Brazil.
The remaining Round 2 winner will enter the FIFA Women’s World Cup Inter-Confederation Play-Offs in February 2027 for one final chance to qualify.
Brazil will host the FIFA Women’s World Cup from June 24 to July 25, 2027.
