England take on Greece in the first leg of their qualifying play-off for the 2027 Women’s World Cup this evening.
The Lionesses won five of their six qualifying matches in the group stage but lost out on an automatic spot at the tournament due to Spain finishing top of Group C with a superior goal difference.
Sarina Wiegman’s side must now battle through two qualifying play-offs to secure their place at next year’s tournament with the first tie beginning tonight against Greece.
Greece finished top of Group L with four wins from four against Georgia and the Faroe Islands and are prepared for their first competitive meeting with England’s Lionesses. Being ranked 59th in the world, 55 places lower than England makes them heavy underdogs but they will be hoping home advantage helps to secure a positive outcome this evening.
The return leg will be played on Tuesday 13 October at the King Power Stadium in Leicester and should the Lionesses prove victorious from these two ties they will face either Slovakia or Ukraine in their second knockout clash.
Greece vs England live
- Lionesses take on Greece in World Cup play-off | Kick off at 5.30pm, live on ITV1
- England finished second in Group C behind Spain on goal difference
- Greece are ranked 59th in the World, 55 places lower than England
- England XI: Hampton; Le Tissier, Williamson, Morgan, Greenwood; Walsh, Stanway, Blindkilde Brown; James, Russo, Hemp.
Wiegman says squad have had ‘a little chat’ about Man City verdict
17:06 , Will Castle
England’s play-off tie of course takes place against the backdrop of intense attention on Manchester City’s guilty verdict over Premier League financial breaches.
City are currently top of the WSL and while any sporting sanction will not impact the women’s side, the shockwaves of the verdict are sure to be felt throughout the entire club
“When the players come in, of course you know they can’t just park things, so we have a little chat,” said Sarina Wiegman.
“They want to be here. They’re professionals and they really want to perform, so their focus now is really on England.”
Teenager denies sending racist message to Lionesses star Jess Carter during Euro 2025
16:54 , Will Castle
A teenager has pleaded not guilty to targeting England footballer with a message containing a racial slur during last year’s Women’s European Championship in Switzerland.
Aaryan Aggarwal, 19, stood before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with over a public network that was offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing.
Prosecutor Grace Court told the hearing that Carter received the communication on 17 July last year, when England defeated Sweden in their quarter-final match.
London City Lionesses have disrupted women’s football – but one question remains
16:42 , Will Castle
With the likes of two-time Alexis Putellas, former Lionesses number one Mary Earps and four-time Champions League winner Mapi Leon now in their ranks, London City Lionesses have made a splash going into what is just their second ever WSL season. They sit third in the league, behind only serial winners Chelsea and reigning champions Manchester City/
Jamie Braidwood looks at how the club has disrupted the hierarchy in the English game, with it all part of owner Michele Kang’s long-term play.
What Wiegman said
16:30 , Will Castle
Sarina Wiegman spoke to the media yesterday ahead of tonight’s clash in Crete.
Asked on qualification, she said: “Of course that’s the main goal and then we bring it back to what do we have to do tomorrow.
“We’re fully focused on how do we want to play, what do we expect from Greece – we’ve never played them before, they’ve done well in their campaign, too. We absolutely want to dominate that game tomorrow, and win it of course.”
She also explained her decision to call-up Ella Toone, a midfielder, for injured defender Lucy Bronze.
Wiegman added: “I think we have enough defenders for how we want to play tomorrow, we have enough options in the position where Lucy would play. If we look at the balance of the team, then this was the best decision.”
Grace Clinton called up to England squad
16:27 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Some more news from England camp head of kick off: Grace Clinton has been called up to replace the injured Lucia Kendall. A shame for Kendall, the Aston Villa midfielder.
Greece team news
16:25 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Greece XI: Petaloti; Giannaka, Gkouni, Markou, paterna; Drakogiannaki, Brame, Moraitou; Sarri, Papatheodorou, Brouksair.
England team news
16:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
As anticipated, Maya Le Tissier deputises for the absent Lucy Bronze at right-back for Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses.
England XI: Hampton; Le Tissier, Williamson, Morgan, Greenwood; Walsh, Stanway, Blindkilde Brown; James, Russo, Hemp.
Team news coming up
16:10 , Will Castle
Just a few minutes until team news drops… stay tuned!
Toone time?
16:00 , Will Castle
Two household names of this Lionesses era, Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly were nowhere to be seen in Sarina Wiegman’s squad announcement last week. The England manager omitting both for the crucial play-off, stating she “expected more” from the pair.
Toone has only completed 90 minutes for Manchester United once this campaign under new boss Eva Olid, while Kelly – famed for her big moments for the Lionesses, most recently at Euro 2025 – is out of favour at struggling Arsenal and hasn’t started a match this season.
Kelly is still watching on from the sofa tonight but Toone has been offered a shot at redemption. She was given a last call-up yesterday following injury to Lucy Bronze.
Wiegman praised Toone for her reaction, telling a press conference: “When I gave her the call, of course that was a hard call, but she took that straight away.
“Of course (she was) very disappointed but the first thing she did was, ‘OK I’m going to get back, how am I going to do that?’
“That answer in the game, also the way she spoke about it, I thought that was really good. And then getting everything ready to go to Spain but go for training there, that really impressed me.
“She was in Spain and she was training really hard, and of course enjoying herself a bit too. But she has had a lot of load under her belt this week so she’s in a good place.”
It’s unlikely she’ll be starting tonight, but can Toone make an impression off the bench and regain her status as an England regular?
Who will the winner face in the play-off final?
15:45 , Will Castle
Greece are only the first hurdle England have to clear in their bid to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
If they win their two across the next two matches, they will face either Slovakia or Ukraine in the second round.
England faced Ukraine twice in their qualifying group, beating them by an aggregate score of 9-1 across two matches. They have never faced Slovakia at senior level.
The tale of qualifying
15:30 , Will Castle
The Lionesses won five of their six qualifying matches in the group stage but lost out on an automatic spot at the tournament due to Spain finishing top of Group C with a superior goal difference.
The decisive result came in Mallorca, with defending world champions Spain exacting a semblance of revenge for Euro 2025 on the fifth matchday when they thrashed England 4-0 in Mallorca, with new London City Lionesses superstar Alexis Putellas’ double inspiring victory.
Greece, meanwhile, finished top of Group L with four wins from four against Georgia and the Faroe Islands and are prepared for their first competitive meeting with England’s Lionesses.
Being ranked 59th in the world, 55 places lower than England makes them heavy underdogs but they will be hoping home advantage helps to secure a positive outcome this evening.
England team news
15:15 , Will Castle
Sarina Wiegman has called up midfielder Lexi Potter for the first time at senior level and the Chelsea star could make her debut in Greece.
But in a surprise move, Wiegman initially left out big name players Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly saying that although she “believes in them” she “knows they can bring more” than what they have shown at the start of this domestic season. That was until Lucy Bronze picked up an injury and returned to Chelsea, with Toone being called up late to replace her.
Captain Leah Williamson is also back in the squad having missed June’s camp through injury and should start for the Lionesses.
Predicted England XI: Hampton; Charles, Williamson, Greenwood, Carter; Walsh, Park, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp.
Is Greece vs England on TV?
15:10 , Will Castle
The World Cup qualifying play-off first leg is due to kick off at 5.30pm BST this evening at Pankritio Stadium in Crete, Greece.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live for free on ITV1, with coverage from 7pm BST. A live stream will be available via ITVX.
Greece vs England LIVE!
15:05 , Will Castle
Sarina Wiegman will be hoping her side can swiftly take control of the tie following a near-perfect qualifying campaign. The Lionesses finished second in Group C but were level on points with eventual winners Spain who topped the group due to a superior goal difference.
As a result, England were sent into the perilous play-off rounds and face a Greece side that finished top of Group L with four wins from four against Georgia and the Faroe Islands. Tonight’s match will be the first-ever senior meeting between the nations in women’s competition.
The Lionesses, ranked fourth in the world compared to Greece in 59th, are strong favourites to progress to the finals and will seek to gain a firm grip on the tie ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg at the King Power Stadium.
Good afternoon!
14:59 , Will Castle
Hello there and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of England’s crucial Women’s World Cup play-off first leg against Greece!
We’ll bring you all the build-up, team news and match action from Crete, right here.