Cymru will take the first steps towards qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup next month with head coach Rhian Wilkinson planning a second major tournament appearance for her side at the finals that will take place in Brazil.
Wilkinson’s side were drawn into Group B1 for the first stage of the qualifying campaign and will take on Czechia, Montenegro and Albania between March and June. Providing Cymru do not finish bottom of the group, they will progress into the next stage of the qualifying campaign, the play-offs, scheduled for October, November and December.
The opening match against Czechia takes place at the City Stadium in Uherské Hradište on Tuesday, 3 March (KO 5:30pm GMT). Cymru then return to Parc-y-Scarlets, Llanelli to take on Montenegro on Saturday, 7 March (KO 4:30pm GMT) and tickets are now on sale.
Czechia and Cymru are currently 31st and 32nd in the FIFA World Rankings respectively and the opening match is expected to be the toughest of the group for Wilkinson and her side. Former Czechia international Jitka Klimková is the current head coach, who took charge of New Zealand at the 2023 FIFA World Cup, and will be hoping to lead her side to a first major tournament.
Meanwhile, Montenegro are the lowest seeds in the group and sit 84th in the rankings. Armisa Kuč is the all-time record appearance holder and goalscorer for the side. The 33-year-old who plays her club football in Türkiye has 41 goals from 92 games for her country. Cymru did the double over Montenegro in qualifying for the 2015 FIFA World Cup.
Montenegro will open their campaign against Albania, who are now 71st in the rankings. The side were only formed in 2011 and are also still waiting for their major tournament debut. Albania only retained their place in League B by defeating Cyprus 5-3 on aggregate in the last UEFA Nations League play-offs.
For Cymru to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, they will need to do so via the play-offs. In addition, promotion and relegation will also be at stake ahead of the next UEFA Women’s Nations League, beginning the 2027–29 competition cycle, which will then lead into UEFA Women’s EURO 2029.
Cymru enjoyed play-off success to write history and make their major tournament debut when they qualified for EURO 2025 with victory over the Republic of Ireland. It was a defining moment for a generation of players who had come so close but fallen just short in previous campaigns.
A total of 53 UEFA nations will enter this new qualifying campaign spread across League A, League B and League C. Following the completion of the initial group stage, 32 teams will enter the play-offs and move one step closer to qualifying for the finals that will take place in Brazil in the summer of 2027.
The first round of the play-offs are split into two paths. In Path 1, the teams finishing second and third in League A will play the six group winners and two best-ranked runners-up in League C. The teams from League A will be seeded and play the second legs at home.
In Path 2, the four fourth-placed League A teams and four League B group winners will be drawn into eight ties against the teams finishing second and third in the League B groups. The teams from League A and the League B group winners will be seeded and play the second legs at home.
The 16 winning teams will progress to Round 2. In this second stage of qualifying, the teams from both paths come together and will be drawn into eight ties, with the winners of Path 1 seeded and so will be at home in the second leg.
The seven best-ranked play-off winners in Round 2, according to the 2026 Women’s European Qualifiers overall league rankings, will qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
The lowest-ranked Round 2 play-off winner will then take part in the World Cup inter-confederation play-offs. The UEFA entrants directly enter these play-offs at Phase 2 in February 2027.
