Women’s European Qualifiers league stage draw to be held on Tuesday

National Team UEFA Women
by Antoine Busuttil

Malta will know its opponents in the League B of the Women’s European Qualifiers on Tuesday as the league stage draw will be held in Nyon. The groups that will ultimately decide places at UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 in Switzerland as well as the play-off berths will be determined.

In the league stage, which runs from April to July, teams are split into three leagues based on their UEFA Women’s Nations League rankings:

  • The 16 teams ranked 1st to 16th enter League A.
  • The 16 teams ranked 17th to 32nd enter League B.
  • The 19 teams ranked 33rd to 51st enter League C.

Across the three leagues, teams will be split into 13 groups:

  • League A, containing four groups of four teams.
  • League B, containing four groups of four teams.
  • League C, containing four groups of four teams, and one group of three teams.

After securing promotion from League C to League B, Malta will be in the League B draw along with the teams relegated from League A (Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland and Wales), the losers of the League A/B play-offs (Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia, Hungary, Serbia), the winners of the League B/C play-offs (Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia, Hungary, Serbia) and the other teams which won promotion along with Malta (Azerbaijan, Israel, Kosovo and Türkiye).

League A

League A group winners: France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain
League A runners-up: Austria, Denmark, England, Italy
League A third place (won play-off): Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Promoted from League B (group winners): Czechia, Finland, Poland, Republic of Ireland

League B

Relegated from League A (fourth place): Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland, Wales
League B runners-up (lost play-off): Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia, Hungary, Serbia
League B third place (won play-off): Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Ukraine
Promoted from League C (group winners): Azerbaijan, Israel, Kosovo, Malta, Türkiye

League C

Relegated from League B (fourth place and fourth-best third-placed): Albania, Belarus, Greece, Romania, Slovenia (Fourth-best third-placed team)
League C runners-up: Bulgaria (Lost play-off), Estonia, Latvia (Lost play-off), Lithuania, Montenegro (Lost play-off)
League C third and fourth place: Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia

League phase

In qualifying, as per the league stage of the Nations League, teams compete in groups of four or three teams (League C) and over six matchdays between April and July, with each team playing one home match and one away match against all the other teams in their group.

For qualifying itself, the top two teams in each League A group will gain places in the July 2025 finals alongside hosts Switzerland (who will compete in League B although their automatic qualification is assured). The remaining seven spots will be decided by two rounds of play-offs in October and November/December.

Play-offs

The first round of the play-offs is split into two paths. In one path, the teams finishing third and fourth in League A will play the five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up in League C. The eight winners progress to the second round.

In the other first round path, the four group winners and two best-ranked runners-up in League B will be drawn into six ties against the remaining two runners-up and four third-placed teams in League B. The six winners progress to the second round.

In the second round, the teams from both paths come together and will be drawn into seven ties, with seeding for the seven highest-ranked teams based on the European Qualifiers overall league rankings. The seven winners progress to the final tournament.

The play-off paths will be adjusted as necessary to take into account the performance of Women’s EURO hosts Switzerland, who will compete in League B but are guaranteed a slot in the final tournament.

Promotion and relegation

Promotion and relegation will also be at stake ahead of the next UEFA Women’s Nations League, beginning the 2025–27 competition cycle:

• The winners, runners-up and third-placed teams of League A stay in League A;

• The runners-up and three best-ranked third-placed teams in League B stay in League B;

• The runners-up, third-placed and fourth-placed teams in League C stay in League C;

• The winners of Leagues B and C will be promoted to the next league;

• All fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B, as well as the lowest-ranked third-placed team of League B, will be relegated to the next league.

Women’s EURO 2025 calendar

Qualifying draw: 5 March 2024
Qualifying matchdays 1 & 2: 3–9 April 2024
Qualifying matchdays 3 & 4: 29 May–4 June 2024
Qualifying matchdays 5 & 6: 10–16 July 2024
Play-off draw: 19 July 2024
Play-off round 1 (2 legs): 23–29 October 2024
Play-off round 2 (2 legs): 27 November–3 December 2024
Finals draw: 16 December 2024
Finals: 2–27 July 2025 (Switzerland)