UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs
The play-offs of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying competition will determine the final seven participants of the Women's Euro 2025 final tournament, who will join the eight directly qualified teams and hosts Switzerland.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 25 October 2024 – 3 December 2024 |
| Teams | 28 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Goals scored | 0 |
| Attendance | 0 |
Format
editThe play-offs determine the final seven teams that qualify for the final tournament and are played over two rounds.[2][3]
In the first round, the eight teams finishing third and fourth in League A were seeded, and drawn into ties against the five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up in League C. The eight winners progress to the second round.
In addition the group winners, runners-up and third-placed teams in League B (except Switzerland) will participate in the first round (i.e. the 12 best-ranked League B teams). The six higher-ranked of those teams were seeded and drawn into ties against the six lower-ranked teams. The six winners progress to the next round.[3][4]
Switzerland, who competed in League B, are guaranteed a spot in the final tournament as hosts, and therefore will not participate in the play-offs. Since they finished in the top three places in their group, the best-ranked fourth-placed team (i.e. the team ranked 13th in League B) also qualified for the first round.[4]
In the second round, the teams from both paths came together and were drawn into seven ties. The team pairings from the first round ties involving the seven highest-ranked teams, according to the 2024–25 European Qualifiers overall ranking, were seeded in the second round draw[note 1] and drawn against the seven remaining pairings from the first round.[2]
The seven winners of these ties will progress to the final tournament in Switzerland.
Both rounds of the play-offs are played over two legs, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. The team that scores more goals on aggregate is the winner. If the aggregate score is level, extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.[2]
Draw
editThe play-off draw for both rounds took place on 19 July 2024 at 13:00 CEST in Nyon, Switzerland.[5]
For the first round draw, the League A teams were seeded and drawn into eight ties against the League C teams to form Path 1, and the six best-ranked League B teams were seeded and drawn against the six lower-ranked League B teams to form Path 2.[2][3][5]
For the second round draw, teams from both paths came together. The draw took place before the winners of the first round were known, and the first round pairings involving the seven highest-ranked teams, according to the 2024–25 European Qualifiers overall ranking, were seeded[note 1] and drawn against the seven remaining pairings from the first round.[2][5]
For all three draws, a team from the unseeded pot was drawn first, and placed into the home position in the first tie, followed by a team drawn from the seeded pot placed into the away position, with the process then repeating until each pot was empty. This ensured that all seeded teams will play their second leg ties at home.[5]
Belarus and Ukraine could not be drawn together, due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the second round draw procedure was adjusted as required to ensure this prohibited clash could not occur.[5]
Seeding
editThe following teams qualified for the first round of the play-offs, and were seeded as shown.[5]
Round 1: Path 1
| Seeded | Unseeded | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Rnk | Team | Rnk |
 Sweden |
9 |  Slovenia |
33 |
 Norway |
10 |  Romania |
34 |
 Austria |
11 |  Belarus |
35 |
 Belgium |
12 |  Greece |
36 |
 Finland |
13 |  Albania |
37 |
 Czech Republic |
14 |  Luxembourg |
38 |
 Republic of Ireland |
15 |  Montenegro |
39 |
 Poland |
16 |  Georgia |
40 |
Round 1: Path 2
| Seeded | Unseeded | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Rnk | Team | Rnk |
 Portugal |
17 |  Turkey |
24 |
 Scotland |
18 |  Croatia |
25 |
 Wales |
20 |  Hungary |
26 |
 Serbia |
21 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
27 |
 Ukraine |
22 |  Slovakia |
28 |
 Northern Ireland |
23 |  Azerbaijan |
29 |
Round 2
The ties for the second round were drawn before the winners of round 1 were known, and were seeded as follows.[5]
| Seeded | Unseeded |
|---|---|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Sweden |
Winner of path 1 tie involving Poland
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Norway |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Portugal
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Austria |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Scotland
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Belgium |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Wales
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Finland |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Serbia
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Czech Republic |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Ukraine
|
| Winner of path 1 tie involving Republic of Ireland |
Winner of path 2 tie involving Northern Ireland
|
Summary
editFirst round
editThe first round matches will take place on 25 and 29 October 2024. Each tie will be played over two legs, with the seeded teams playing the second leg at home.[6]
Round 1: Path 1
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania
|
1 | Poland
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Greece
|
2 | Belgium
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Montenegro
|
3 | Finland
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Georgia
|
4 | Republic of Ireland
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Slovenia
|
5 | Austria
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Luxembourg
|
6 | Sweden
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Belarus
|
7 | Czech Republic
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Albania
|
8 | Norway
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
Round 1: Path 2
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey
|
9 | Ukraine
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Croatia
|
10 | Northern Ireland
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
11 | Serbia
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Azerbaijan
|
12 | Portugal
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Hungary
|
13 | Scotland
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Slovakia
|
14 | Wales
|
25 Oct | 29 Oct |
Second round
editThe second round matches will take place from 22 November to 3 December 2024. Each tie will be played over two legs, with the seeded teams playing the second leg at home.[6]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan or Portugal
|
15 | Belarus or Czech Republic
|
TBD | TBD |
| Hungary or Scotland
|
16 | Montenegro or Finland
|
TBD | TBD |
| Turkey or Ukraine
|
17 | Greece or Belgium
|
TBD | TBD |
| Slovakia or Wales
|
18 | Georgia or Republic of Ireland
|
TBD | TBD |
| Romania or Poland
|
19 | Slovenia or Austria
|
TBD | TBD |
| Croatia or Northern Ireland
|
20 | Albania or Norway
|
TBD | TBD |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia
|
21 | Luxembourg or Sweden
|
TBD | TBD |
Matches
editTimes are CEST/CET,[note 2] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
First round: Path 1
edit| Belarus | v | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
First round: Path 2
editSecond round
edit| Azerbaijan or Portugal | v | Belarus or Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Belarus or Czech Republic | v | Azerbaijan or Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary or Scotland | v | Montenegro or Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Montenegro or Finland | v | Hungary or Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Slovakia or Wales | v | Georgia or Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia or Republic of Ireland | v | Slovakia or Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia or Northern Ireland | v | Albania or Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Albania or Norway | v | Croatia or Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia | v | Luxembourg or Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg or Sweden | v | Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia |
|---|---|---|
Notes
edit- ^ a b The seven highest-ranked teams in the playoffs were all by definition from League A. If one of those teams lost to a League C team in the first round, that League C team would be seeded in the second round, as the winner of the first round tie involving one of the top seven teams. (Regulations Article 27.05b)[2]
- ^ CEST (UTC+2) for the first leg matches of the first round, CET (UTC+1) for all matches thereafter.
- ^ a b Due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus are required to play their home matches at neutral venues, and behind closed doors, until further notice.[7]
- ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[8]
References
edit- ^ "New women's national team competition system". UEFA. 3 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Regulations of the UEFA European Women's Championship including UEFA Nations League and European Qualifiers". UEFA. 7 February 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "Women's European Qualifiers for Euro 2025: Who is in what league?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Association.
- ^ a b "Women's European Qualifiers league stage draw". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g UEFA.com (17 July 2024). "Women's European Qualifiers play-off draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ a b UEFA.com (19 July 2024). "Women's European Qualifiers play-off ties". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.