Big scorelines, one-sided games - are Women's World Cup play-offs working?
Summary
England easily won against Greece in the first round of the Women's World Cup qualifying play-offs with a total score of 8-1. Many strong European teams faced much weaker opponents in the play-offs, leading to very one-sided games and raising questions about the qualification format.Key Facts
- England won 8-1 on aggregate against Greece in the first round of the qualifying play-offs.
- Greece is ranked 55 places below England in the world rankings.
- Other top European teams like the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the Republic of Ireland also won by large margins against lower-ranked teams.
- Only the winner of each league group qualified automatically; the rest had to go through the play-offs.
- England must now play Ukraine in another two-leg play-off to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
- England already beat Ukraine twice during the league phase with a total score of 9-1.
- UEFA plans to review the qualifying system to see if it should be changed.
- England had a strong qualifying record but still faces multiple matches against weaker teams due to the current system.
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