Women's World Cup Qualifying Play-offs Questioned Amidst Lopsided Results
Heavy defeats in the European play-offs highlight potential inefficiencies in the current qualification system.
The structure of the European qualification play-offs for the Women's World Cup has come under scrutiny following a series of large-margin victories. In the recent round of play-offs, several strong European teams secured commanding aggregate wins against less experienced opponents, raising questions about the effectiveness and fairness of the current system.
The Netherlands, 2017 European champions, defeated Hungary 11-0 on aggregate. Similarly, Norway, a former World Cup winner, achieved an 8-0 aggregate victory over Romania. Sweden and the Republic of Ireland also recorded substantial wins, 15-0 and 12-0 respectively. England, the reigning European champions, continued this trend with a significant win against Greece in their first-round play-off.
England manager Sarina Wiegman acknowledged the qualification process, stating her focus is on the upcoming matches against Ukraine, whom England had already beaten twice in the league phase with an aggregate score of 9-1. "Uefa will review how things are set up and see whether they think it works or it should be better, or different," Wiegman commented, indicating that such reviews are part of the process.
This situation arises despite improvements in the overall level of competition in European women's football. England's own journey in qualifying for the 2023 World Cup saw them narrowly avoid automatic qualification despite accumulating 15 points in their group, a tally surpassed by only three other teams. Their group included world champions Spain and Iceland, ranked 13th. England's only defeat was away to Spain, and they even secured a 1-0 victory against Spain at Wembley.
In contrast, teams in League B and League C, such as Switzerland and Hungary, were in qualifying groups that did not feature any nations within the world's top 45. This disparity in group strength has led to uneven play-off matchups.
Past tournaments have seen large scorelines in qualification, such as England's 20-0 and 10-0 wins against Latvia in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup. However, the finals themselves have showcased increasing competitiveness, with England facing close matches against debutants Haiti and Colombia in the 2023 tournament. England's inability to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games after finishing second in their Nations League group to the Netherlands further illustrates the heightened competition.
While top teams like Germany, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, and the USA are engaging in competitive friendly matches, many European nations involved in the play-offs are facing significantly weaker opposition. FIFA has announced an expansion of the Women's World Cup to 48 teams in 2031, but the current qualification pathway in Europe appears to be a direct result of a system that may not be optimizing competitive balance.
England is scheduled to play Ukraine in a two-legged tie, with the first leg on December 1 and the return fixture on December 5 at Wembley Stadium. The outcome of these play-offs will determine final qualification for the tournament.