Women’s Euros 2025 qualifiers: Fixtures, groups and results
The Women’s Euro 2025 qualification period to determine the 15 teams who will join hosts Switzerland at next year’s tournament is almost upon us.
England have been drawn in the toughest qualifying group, but the defending champions will still be expected to progress.
They began their bid against Sweden on Friday (April 5) and were held to a 1-1 draw at Wembley.
England’s Euro 2025 qualifying fixtures
England will face France, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, home and away, across three international windows over the next four-and-a-half months.
The sides who finish outside the top two, and therefore do not qualify automatically, will contest play-offs over two rounds of two-legged ties across two windows in the autumn of 2024.
Friday, April 5
England 1 Sweden 1, Wembley
Tuesday, April 9
Republic of Ireland vs England, Aviva Stadium 7.30pm
Friday, May 31
England vs France, St James’ Park, 8pm
Tuesday, June 4
France vs England, Stade Geoffrey-Guichard, TBC
Friday, 12 July
England vs Republic of Ireland, Carrow Road, 8pm
Tuesday, 16 July
Sweden vs England, TBC
How to watch
All England matches will be televised by ITV Sport.
Other key dates
Oct 21-29
Either Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs (if needed) or friendlies
Nov 25-Dec 3
Either Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs final round (if needed) or friendlies
Dec 16
Draw for Euro 2025
Who are England’s group opponents
France
Frequently tipped for greatness but so far proving to be perennial underachievers at major tournaments.
Managed by Hervé Renard, who famously oversaw Saudi Arabia’s shock victory against Argentina at the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they reached the quarter-finals at the Women’s World Cup last year but lost on penalties to co-hosts Australia. France were also the runners-up in the inaugural Women’s Nations League last month.
They have a team littered with stars from Paris St-Germain and the record eight-times Women’s Champions League winners Lyon, and have a strong head-to-head record against England historically.
Key player: Kadidiatou Diani (forward, Lyon)
Sweden
Regulars in the latter stages of major women’s tournaments and silver medallists at the past two Olympic Games, Sweden are a giant presence in global women’s football and finished third at 2023’s World Cup.
They were comprehensively undone by England at Bramall Lane in the Euros semi-finals in 2022 but remain a formidable team.
The Swedes, surprisingly, only finished third in their Nations League group last autumn, largely because of a costly away defeat against Switzerland – and that is why they found themselves in Pot Three for the draw.
Key player: Stina Blackstenius (striker, Arsenal)
Republic of Ireland
The Irish are entering a new era under head coach Eileen Gleeson. She has replaced Vera Pauw, whose four-year reign ended after last summer’s World Cup when the Republic of Ireland went out in the group stages.
In her six Nations League matches in charge, Gleeson oversaw an impressive six wins from six in League B to earn promotion to League A for this latest cycle. That saw them beat Albania, Hungary and Northern Ireland twice each. However, they will go into this League A campaign as major underdogs against three of the world’s top five-ranked sides.
Key player: Katie McCabe (left-back/winger, Arsenal)
How does qualifying work?
Three of the world’s top-five ranked sides are in Group A3 – France (third), England (fourth) and Sweden (fifth), along with the Republic of Ireland (24th) – but only the top two sides will be guaranteed automatic qualification for next summer’s tournament in Switzerland.
England’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2025 – and defending the title – remain relatively strong overall, however, because the new format means the third- and fourth-placed teams in their group will take part in play-offs as a back-up route to the finals.
The qualification process has been merged with the Women’s Nations League, which began in 2023. England are in League A and therefore were guaranteed to face strong sides in qualifying, while teams in Leagues B and C cannot qualify for the Euros automatically and can only hope for play-off spots at best.
Latest England news
Lucy Bronze says England had set a standard since winning Euro 2022 and they “know how to win” as they embark on their qualifying campaign for Women’s Euro 2025.
“We want to qualify [first of all] for the Euros, that’s the goal for this campaign, but the long goal would obviously be to win the tournament,” Bronze said at St George’s Park. “That would be a special part of history to be a team that could potentially go back-to-back at a tournament.
“It’s difficult [to defend a title] in any tournament, whether it’s the WSL, the Champions League, but it would be a next-level achievement to do that in an international stage.”
Of the team that won the Euros last time around, striker Ellen White and midfielder Jill Scott have both retired, seeing younger talents such as Lauren James emerge to take centre stage, but Bronze added: “We’ve probably got a little bit more experience than the Euros [in 2022], which is a crazy thing to say, that we’ve got more experience now than we did previously. We know how to win.
“All the players coming through are competitive. They play at a high level, they play in really good games week-in, week-out.
“We also have a standard now at England, that we get to finals, we want to win trophies, and all the players who come through feel that and then they raise their game to that. So it’s really exciting but there’s still a long way to go until that actual Euros comes around and we’ve got 12 more months to keep improving and keep developing as individuals and as a team.”
Full qualifying draw
League A
Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Finland
Group A3: France, England, Sweden, Republic of Ireland
League B
Group B1: Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan
Group B2: Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Israel
Group B3: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Malta
League C
Group C1: Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus, Georgia
Group C2: Slovenia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Moldova
Group C3: Greece, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands
Group C4: Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Armenia
Group C5: Albania, Estonia, Luxembourg
When are the 2025 Euros taking place?
The 16-team tournament will run from July 2-27, 2025.
Where is the 2025 tournament being hosted?
Switzerland are the host country after beating off competition from Poland, France and jointly Denmark/Finland/Norway/Sweden.
Who are the defending champions?
England are the defending champions after lifting the trophy on home soil in 2022.
