Playoff Euro 2025: when the next qualifying matches for the European championships are played. Dates, draws and how they work.
Qualification for the European Women’s Football Championship is not over. Nine are the teams qualified so far 28 teams have to participate in the Euro 2025 play-offs that will be played from October to December.
Playoff Euro 2025 draw
Here are the upcoming matches, with the first team playing away in the initial leg and hosting the decisive return leg. The second round will follow this arrangement among the winning teams, grouped into four clusters:
Azerbaijan vs. Portugal
Belarus vs. Czech Republic
Hungary vs. Scotland
Montenegro vs. Finland
Turkey vs. Ukraine
Greece vs. Belgium
Slovakia vs. Wales
Georgia vs. Ireland
Romania vs. Poland
Slovenia vs. Austria
Croatia vs. Northern Ireland
Albania vs. Norway
Luxembourg vs. Sweden
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Serbia
Euro 2025 playoff second stage
UEFA opted for an open yet partially guided draw, based on the initial rankings. The 28 teams were divided into four merit-based pots, ranging from the highest-ranked teams yet to be qualified to the lowest. This arrangement disregarded the results of the just-concluded group stage.
Eight teams from League A automatically qualified, joined by 12 from League B (excluding Switzerland, already qualified as hosts), and another eight teams from League C. Considering the 51 countries registered for this competition—Russia being excluded due to the conflict in Ukraine whilst Belarus regularly participating—very few teams have been definitively excluded from competing for a place in the European Championship.
The teams already eliminated are Malta, Israel, Kosovo, Lithuania, Cyprus, Latvia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Andorra, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Estonia. The first three were ousted from League B, while the others finished at the bottom of their respective League C groups and cannot be reselected.
The draw held in Nyon on July 19 provided several intriguing matchups, with some potentially balanced and competitive encounters. The pairings are pre-determined, setting the schedule through to the decisive third round.
How do the Euro 2025 qualifiers works?
This innovative qualification path is the first of its kind for the Women’s European Championship. Unlike previous tournaments, the final stage qualification involves a complex series of matches, built up together with the new UEFA Women’s Nations whose first edition has been played last year.-
Despite some concerns about the complicated process, the tournament’s group stage concluded as expected, promoting all the favored teams, those ranked highest at the start.
The second and third qualification phases will feature direct knockout rounds, reducing the 28 current participants to just seven teams who will earn their place in the final stage in Switzerland.
These final rounds will take place on October 23 and 29, November 27 and December 3, with the higher-ranked teams playing the return leg at home. Matches could be decided by extra time and penalties if needed, following the classic elimination format.
The Final Draw after playoff Euro 2025
At the end of this decisive qualification phase, the complete set of 16 finalists for Euro 2025 will be determined. These teams will be drawn into four groups of four teams each on December 16. The Women’s European Championship will start on July 2, 2025, in eight stadiums across the country , culminating on July 27 with the final hosted inside the wonderful St. Jakob Park in Basel.
