Women's European Qualifiers play-off round 1: Deciding ties set after second-leg drama

The round 2 ties of the Women's European Qualifiers play-offs were set on Tuesday after 14 teams progressed from the opening stage in the race for the last seven finals slots at UEFA Women's EURO 2025 in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July next year.

Northern Ireland, who got a last-gasp first-leg equaliser in Croatia, won the return 1-0 with a 114th-minute Lauren Wade goal. They are now rematched with 2022 finals opponents Norway, for who Frida Maanum scored four as they eased past Albania.

Two teams required extra time. Wales, who lost their opening leg 2-1 in Croatia and only pulled one back late on, forced the additional half-hour in Cardiff tonight before Ceri Holland proved the 112th-minute hero for a crowd of over 10,000 in Cardiff. Wales now take on another side aiming for a EURO debut, the Republic of Ireland, who won both legs against Georgia.

Ceri Holland got the Wales winnerGetty Images

Two penalties on her 150th cap by Sarah Puntigam helped Austria beat Slovenia 2-1 on the night and 5-1 overall. Poland will face Austria after Ewa Pajor scored twice in the 4-1 victory against Romania to add to her 89th-minute penalty winner in the comeback away-leg triumph which had taken her to 60 international goals. Poland attracted their record crowd of 8,449 in Gdansk.

Belgium were held 0-0 in Friday's first leg in Greece but won the return 5-0 and now take on Ukraine, who themselves drew in Türkiye before winning 2-0 at home. Sweden, victorious against Luxembourg, now play Serbia, who having equalised late in Bosnia and Herzegovina to draw 2-2, won the home return 4-1.

Ema Aleksić and double goalscorer Nina Matejić celebrate Serbia's victory against Bosnia and HerzegovinaGetty Images

Finland only led 1-0 from their away leg in Montenegro but won 5-0 tonight and now face Scotland, who followed a 1-0 away victory in Hungary with a 4-0 home triumph. Czechia drew 0-0 at home to Belarus but led 8-1 from the first leg and face Portugal, who eliminated Azerbaijan.

Round 2, for which the draw is already made, will be played between 27 November and 3 December, with the dates confirmed once the ties are set. The seven round 2 winners will join hosts Switzerland and direct qualifiers Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain in the 16 December finals draw in Lausanne.

Round 1 results

Second legs: Tuesday 29 October

Czechia 0-0 Belarus (agg: 8-1)
Ukraine 2-0 Türkiye (agg: 3-1)
Finland 5-0 Montenegro (agg: 6-0)
Poland 4-1 Romania (agg: 6-2)
Austria 2-1 Slovenia (agg: 5-1)
Sweden 8-0 Luxembourg (agg: 12-0)
Norway 9-0 Albania (agg: 14-0)
Serbia 4-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina (agg: 6-3)
Northern Ireland 1-0 Croatia (aet, agg: 2-1)
Belgium 5-0 Greece (agg: 5-0)
Wales 2-0 Slovakia (aet, agg: 3-2)
Republic of Ireland 3-0 Georgia (agg: 9-0)
Scotland 4-0 Hungary (agg: 5-0)
Portugal 4-0 Azerbaijan (agg: 8-1)

Sarah Puntigam scored two penalties on her 150th cap to help Austria throughGetty Images

First legs: Friday 25 October

Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-2 Serbia 
Azerbaijan 1-4 Portugal
Albania 0-5 Norway
Montenegro 0-1 Finland 
Türkiye 1-1 Ukraine
Slovakia 2-1 Wales
Romania 1-2 Poland
Greece 0-0 Belgium 
Georgia 0-6 Republic of Ireland
Slovenia 0-3 Austria
Hungary 0-1 Scotland
Croatia 1-1 Northern Ireland
Luxembourg 0-4 Sweden 
Belarus 1-8 Czechia

Team guide: Round 2

• Norway (1987 & 1993) and Sweden (1984) are former winners. Neither team have failed to qualify since the introduction of the group stage in 1997.
• In 2022, Sweden were semi-finalists and both Austria and Belgium made the last eight. Finland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Portugal also played in England. Norway beat Northern Ireland in the 2022 group stage as well as twice in qualifying.
• Scotland (2017) and Ukraine (2009) are also past qualifiers.
• The Republic of Ireland went to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup but have never qualified for Women's EURO, losing in the 2009 play-offs (meaning Wales or Ireland will definitely make their debut in Switzerland).
• Czechia and Ukraine both missed out in the 2022 play-offs.

Which first-round tie was in which path?

The first round of the play-offs was split into two paths.

Path 1

In Path 1, the teams finishing third and fourth in League A played the five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up in League C.

This path provided the seven seeds for the round 2 draw, namely the ties involving the seven highest-ranked teams based on the European Qualifiers overall league rankings.

Romania vs Poland
Greece vs Belgium
Montenegro vs Finland
Georgia vs Republic of Ireland
Slovenia vs Austria
Luxembourg vs Sweden
Belarus vs Czechia
Albania vs Norway

Path 2

Path 2 involved the top three teams from each of the League B groups. As Switzerland finished as a League B winner, the best-ranked fourth-placed team of League B (Azerbaijan) completed the round 1 path 2 play-off line-up, and the draw seeding for the six ties was adjusted accordingly.

The three group winners (other than Switzerland) and three best-ranked runners-up in League B were drawn into six ties against the remaining play-off contenders from League B.

Türkiye vs Ukraine
Croatia vs Northern Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Serbia
Azerbaijan vs Portugal
Hungary vs Scotland
Slovakia vs Wales