If England can come through that tie, as would be expected, then either Slovakia or Ukraine will await them in the second round, with the winner of that tie to then progress to the World Cup in Brazil.
Ukraine were in the same group as the Lionesses in the first stage of this World Cup qualifying campaign, with Wiegman’s side winning both games very comfortably. The first match, played in Turkey amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, finished 6-1 to the reigning European championswith the second, played just last week, was a 3-0 victory for England.
Ukraine would be favoured to win their first round tie with Slovakia, too, as they are ranked 20 places higher and just competed in League A in the qualifying phase, whereas Slovakia were in League B. Grouped with Portugal, Finland and Latvia, Slovakia finished third and will be relegated to League C after winning only two of their six games, both against bottom side Latvia.
This second round tie, between the winners of England vs Greece and Ukraine vs Slovakia, will also be played across two legs in the final international break of 2026, which begins in November.
