The Lionesses travelled to face Greece for the first leg of their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, making this the first time each team have faced each-other. The two-legged tie kicked off in Heraklion, Crete on Friday. 

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses secured a 3-1 victory in the first leg, with clinical goals from Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo. Both Liverpool Captain, Grace Fisk and North Carolina Courage’s Erica Meg Parkinson came on to make their debuts, inching closer to their dreams of World Cup football. However, Captain Kallisti Brouksair capitalised on a defensive error and pulled one back for Greece late on. The hosts played tactically and prevented England from finding pockets of space early on: the Lionesses had to adapt and fight for the win.

Scotland look to feature in the FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer - but the route to Brazil will be one full of challenge and require belief and their best performances yet.

Scotland’s men’s team saw their first World Cup since 1998 over this past summer, while the women’s team competed in their first and only Women’s World Cup two tournaments ago in 2019. That campaign ended in the group stages with a draw to Argentina, followed by them failing to qualify for the 2023 tournament - but with an impressive roster of acclaimed players and success in their European qualifiers thus far, the team seem likely contenders for making it to Brazil next summer. If they see out Czechia, Scotland will face the winner of Lithuania vs Sweden, they still have a long road yet to see the World Cup stage.

Wales travel to Albania on Friday the 9th of October (17:00 BST kickoff) for their play-off semi-final first leg, with the return fixture taking place in Llanelli on Tuesday the 13th of October (19:15 BST kickoff).

The winners will face either Norway or Romania in the play-off final in December.