The Swiss women's national team will face Northern Ireland, Turkey and Malta in League B of the qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. This was the result of the draw on Tuesday in Nyon.
04.11.2025, 13:55
04.11.2025, 14:35
SDA
The Swiss women, who were seeded in Pot 1, can be satisfied with their draw. In pot 2, they were drawn against Northern Ireland, the weakest possible opponent according to the FIFA world rankings. They also avoided Slovakia in pot 3.
Switzerland have a positive record against all of their group opponents, with an unblemished record against Northern Ireland and Turkey in five and four meetings respectively. Only against Malta have the Swiss had to share the points twice in four encounters. The last time they drew 0-0 on the Mediterranean island was in February 2007. However, only the matches against Turkey two years ago, which Switzerland played at home as part of their irrelevant European Championship qualifying campaign, were really meaningful due to the proximity in time.
Even if the opponents are not big names, the path to the finals will be difficult after relegation from the Nations League to League B in the spring. This is because only the four group winners of League A qualify directly.
The other eleven direct European starting places are awarded via play-offs, which take place in two rounds with first and second legs. Switzerland will reach these if they do not finish their group of four in League B in last place. If they win their group, they will at least avoid a team from League A in the first play-off round.
It has been clear since Monday that Switzerland will complete the qualifiers with a new face on the touchline. The association announced the immediate departure of national coach Pia Sundhage. The contract with the Swede, who led the Swiss national team to the European Championship quarter-finals, would have expired at the end of the year.
The qualifying phase begins in March 2026 and ends with the play-offs, which will be held from October to December. The final round with 32 teams will take place in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, 2027. This would be Switzerland's fourth major event in a row.
