Qualifying for the 2025 European Championship will see England going up against France, Sweden, and the Republic of Ireland.

England will face a challenging task in their Euro 2025 qualifying group as they aim to defend their crown in Switzerland. The reigning European Champions have been drawn in League A3 alongside France, Sweden, and Republic of Ireland.

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses famously lifted the trophy with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Germany at Wembley in 2022 and will be considered one of the favorites to repeat that success. However, they will need to finish in the top two positions in their qualifying group to secure their spot in the tournament. Failure to do so would mean having to navigate the playoffs for a chance to advance.

England will face tough competition from France, who reached the semi-finals in the previous edition held in England and recently lost in the final of the Nations League to world champions Spain. Sweden, who have achieved back-to-back World Cup bronze medals and were Olympic runners-up, will also provide a stern test. Republic of Ireland, who made their first-ever major tournament appearance at last year’s World Cup, complete the group.

In other groups, Spain will face Denmark, Belgium, and Czechia in League A, while Scotland has been drawn against Serbia, Slovakia, and Israel. Northern Ireland will have to contend with Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Malta in League B.

Qualification for the final tournament in Switzerland will involve a total of 51 teams. Based on their positions in the 2023-24 UEFA Nations League, teams are divided into three leagues: A, B, and C. Leagues A and B consist of 16 teams each, divided into four groups of four, while League C features 19 teams divided into four groups of four and one group of three.

During the qualifying stage, each team will play every team in their group twice over six matchdays. The top two teams in each League A group will advance to the final tournament.

The playoffs will consist of two paths. The first path will involve the eight teams who finish third and fourth in League A, along with the five group winners from League C and the three best runners-up. The winners of these matchups will advance to the next round.

The second path will feature the 12 teams who finish in the top three of each League B group. They will face off, with the six winning teams progressing to the final tournament. It is worth noting that tournament hosts Switzerland, who are competing in League B, will qualify automatically if they finish in the top three of their group. In that case, the playoff spot will go to the best fourth-place team from League B.

In the end, a total of 14 winners from both paths will play in a second round of playoffs, with the seven victors securing their place in the final tournament.

The full draw for the qualifying groups is as follows:

League A:
Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Finland
Group A2: Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic
Group A3: France, England, Sweden, Republic of Ireland
Group A4: Germany, Austria, Iceland, Poland

League B:
Group B1: Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan
Group B2: Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Israel
Group B3: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Malta
Group B4: Wales, Croatia, Ukraine, Kosovo

League C:
Group C1: Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus, Georgia
Group C2: Slovenia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Moldova
Group C3: Greece, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands
Group C4: Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Armenia
Group C5: Albania, Estonia, Luxembourg

It promises to be an exciting and challenging journey for England as they aim to secure their place in the Euro 2025 tournament and defend their title.