England kicked off the second matchday of the European qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™ with a convincing victory over Iceland to secure their second consecutive triumph. Elsewhere, there were victories for France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, while Serbia and Sweden played to a goalless draw and Italy and Denmark could not be separated in a 1-1 tie.
Only the group winners in League A will qualify for the global finals in this first phase of qualifying. Between October and December 2026, 32 teams will compete in the play-offs for seven more direct World Cup tickets, with another team hoping to qualify in the FIFA play-off tournament.
UEFA Qualifiers, Matchday 2
Group A1
Serbia 0-0 Sweden
Sweden, who had started their campaign with a victory against Italy, got off to a better start against Serbia, who had lost to Denmark on the opening matchday, and dictated the play in the first half. Gradually, though, the Serbs found their footing and created chances, such as when Allegra Poljak squandered a good opportunity.
At the other end, Serbia’s goalkeeper Milica Kostic made a brilliant save, but shortly afterwards had to thank the woodwork for keeping the score at goalless at half-time. The second half was somewhat less spectacular, with both teams largely cancelling each other out, neither able to find a winning goal, and consequently, the match ended in a draw.
Italy 1-1 Denmark
Italy goal: Piemonte (19)
Denmark goal: Holdt (63)
Italy were eager to bounce back from their opening defeat against Sweden and got off to a better start against Denmark. Martina Piemonte put her team ahead in the 19th minute, and the Italians held onto their narrow lead until half-time.
Shortly after the restart, Pernille Harder missed a golden opportunity to equalize for Denmark when her penalty kick hit both posts but failed to cross the line. The equalizer finally came in the 63rd minute when substitute Olivia Holdt scored to put her country back at the top of the group.
Group A2
Netherlands 2-1 Republic of Ireland
Netherlands goals: Beerensteyn (20, 82)
Republic of Ireland goal: McCabe (50)
The first two good chances fell to the Republic of Ireland, who were looking to bounce back from their opening defeat against France. However, Caitlin Hayes failed to put her team ahead on either occasion. Lineth Beerensteyn fared better at the other end, scoring in the 20th minute to give the Netherlands the lead after initially being denied by Irish goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. The Dutch were now gaining momentum, and shortly before half-time, Brosnan had to make another excellent save to deny Beerensteyn and preserve the 1-0 deficit for Ireland at the break.
At the start of the second half, a period of sustained pressure from the Irish paid off when captain Katie McCabe converted a penalty to level the score at 1-1. However, the stronger Oranje Leeuwinnen had the last word when, in the 82nd minute, Beerensteyn headed home from a corner to secure the Netherlands’ first victory in this qualifying campaign.
France 4-1 Poland
France goals: Katoto (20, 40), Karchaoui (59), Diani (71)
Poland goal: Pajor (29)
France dominated Poland, delivering a far more convincing performance than in their hard-fought opening victory against the Republic of Ireland. After an early chance for Melvine Malard, Les Bleues took the lead in the 20th minute through Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who perfectly headed home a cross from Sandy Baltimore.
Poland responded in the 29th minute through Ewa Pajor, who scored her 70th goal for the national team. Before the break, Katoto restored France’s lead with a toe-poke after a shot from Sakina Karchaoui. The evening then took a turn for the worse for Poland when Nadia Krezyman received a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time.
With a numerical advantage, France extended their lead in the 59th minute thanks to a penalty converted by captain Karchaoui, before Kadidiatou Diani capped off Laurent Bonadei’s attacking performance with another goal.
Group A3
England 2-0 Iceland
England goals: Bronze (22), Stanway (78)
The Lionesses continued the momentum from their 6-1 opening victory against Ukraine with a comfortable victory over Iceland. After Lauren Hemp hit the post early on, Lucy Bronze headed home a cross from the left by Lauren James in the 22nd minute to give England the lead.
Sarina Wiegman’s team maintained the pressure and created several dangerous chances to extend their lead before half-time. The Iceland goalpost rattled again, this time denying Bronze a second goal.
After the break, England continued to dominate, creating further opportunities, and were finally rewarded in the 78th minute when Georgia Stanway volleyed home a Bronze cross to effectively seal the victory and cap off a perfect double-header for her team.
Ukraine 1-3 Spain
Ukraine goal: Ovdiychuk (76)
Spain goals: Imade (44), Corrales (45+3), Lopez (55)
Defending champions Spain made it two wins from two as they set up a blockbuster qualifying clash with England on 14 April. After Viktoriya Hiryn had the first chance of the game in Aksu, Turkey, for Ukraine, Edna Imade and Lucia Corrales put Spain firmly on the path to victory with goals just before half-time.
The second half also belonged to the Iberians, who extended their lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute with a penalty converted by Vicky Lopez. Ukraine refused to give up and pulled one back in the 76th minute with a header from Olha Ovdiychuk. However, the plucky Ukrainians couldn’t find an equalizer, and the victorious Spaniards even hit the woodwork shortly before the final whistle.
Group A4
Norway 0-4 Germany
Germany goals: Senss (18), Wamser (45+1), Endemann (45+3), Brand (57)
Germany picked up where they left off after their 5-0 victory over Slovenia on the first matchday with an equally convincing triumph over Norway. From the outset, coach Christian Weck’s team took control and took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute through Elisa Senss. This seemed to jolt Norway into action, and they began to create chances of their own. In the 34th minute, Ann-Katrin Berger in the German goal had to make two saves in quick succession against Signe Gaupset and Ada Hegerberg.
However, the celebrations in first-half stoppage time were once again at the other end – and this time twice over. First, Carlotta Wamser scored after a pass from Vivien Endemann, before Endemann herself made it 3-0 shortly afterward. Caroline Graham Hansen had the first big chance after the restart, but Berger once again nipped the Scandinavians’ hopes in the bud with a brilliant save. Instead, Jule Brand scored almost immediately to seal a 4-0 victory for Germany.
Slovenia 1-0 Austria
Slovenia goal: Kramzar (21)
Due to adverse weather conditions, the kick-off between these two teams, both of whom had lost their opening qualifying games, was brought forward by two hours. In the dense Slovenian fog, the hosts initially found their footing better in the first half and took the lead in the 21st minute through Zara Kramzar after an Austrian turnover. The visitors struggled to find their rhythm and went into the break trailing.
With unchanged visibility after the restart, Austria became increasingly active, but apart from a shot that hit the crossbar shortly before the final whistle, they were unable to seriously threaten the Slovenian goal. In the end, the Slovenians celebrated their first three points in the qualifying campaign.
What they said…
“An important win. I think we played well. Overall, we showed some good football. Of course, we want to score more goals but it starts with winning the game, and we created so many chances. If we’re so dominant, we’d like to score more goals.”
Sarina Wiegman, England coach
“We are just happy with the win. We knew it was going to be a tough game and more challenging than it was on Tuesday. Iceland are super aggressive and super disciplined, so it was just about us moving the ball and creating as many chances as possible. At some point it is going to go in the back of the net. We are always trying to learn, adapt and get better.”
Georgia Stanway, England midfielder
“It’s frustrating not to get the ball in today. We fought and gave it our all, and we really tried to push and create chances. But the ball didn’t bounce our way today.”
Kosovare Asllani, Sweden midfielder
“We didn’t get into the game from the start and made a lot of mistakes. As a result, we didn’t deserve to win today. We played too timidly and unfortunately didn’t show our qualities. After the break, we were more dominant, but we still couldn’t find a way through. We have to acknowledge Slovenia’s performance today. It’s a development in which we’ve suffered a setback today.”
Alexander Schriebl, Austria coach
“There is satisfaction and pride in seeing the girls give their all against a high-level opponent. It was a balanced match, and I am happy for the performance and the spirit that was shown. There are many positive aspects, and it is obvious that in a group with so few matches, every game is crucial. I saw the desire to prove what we want to be. Italy wants to go to the World Cup, the spirit is right, the team is alive and is living this dream.”
Andrea Soncin, Italy coach
“We gave it our all right from the start, also in the tackles. We scored the goals at the right moments. We didn’t need too many chances today and we were very effective.”
Carlotta Wamser, Germany defender
“We can play really good football even against bigger teams, we just have to show that consistently over 90 minutes. A lot of new players came on and we still played well. That’s important because there are not just 11 players, but 23. We have good depth, so when players are out, good players come on. That’s important regarding the World Cup.”
Ann-Katrin Berger, Germany goalkeeper
“I’m very happy about the goal, I hope to keep scoring and I’m also happy to be able to help the team. Now we’re thinking about the next match. We know that it’s a very strong opponent coming up next with England, who for me are one of the best teams in the world. We know they’re going to make things very difficult for us. We have to go there and get the three points, and I’m sure we’ll achieve that.”
Edna Imade, Spain forward
“Relief? Yes, but above all, we’re just really happy with the three points. Ireland is just a very stubborn team, and you have to fight. And I think we perhaps went along with their game a little too much at times. But at times, it was also much better than last Tuesday.”
Dominique Janssen, Netherlands defender
