Who needs what in World Cup qualifying?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England lost to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, but beat them on penalties to win Euro 2025ByKeifer MacDonaldBBC Sport journalistPublished30 minutes agoEngland will seal a place at next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil if they avoid defeat against Spain on Friday (20:00 – all times BST).The Lionesses are in Mallorca to face the world champions in their penultimate qualifying fixture.After defeating Iceland and Spain in April to make it four wins from as many qualifying matches, Sarina Wiegman’s side are three points clear at the top of Group A3.Win or draw on Friday and the European champions would become the first home nation to qualify for the World Cup, with Spain forced to go through the play-offs.Next summer’s tournament in Brazil will feature 32 teams and run from 24 June to 25 July.In total, eight different stadiums will host matches, all of which were used when Brazil hosted the men’s finals in 2014.England and Republic of Ireland hope to seal finals placeEngland and the Republic of Ireland enter these fixtures with a chance of securing direct qualification for the World Cup.The 53 European teams hoping to earn a spot at next summer’s finals were split into three leagues at the start of qualifying.Both League A and League B are made up of 16 nations across four groups. The remaining 21 nations compete in League C in groups of three and four.The four group winners in League A – where England and the Republic of Ireland are placed – can qualify directly for the finals.Should England lose in Spain on Friday, then it gets complicated.If defeat is by a bigger margin than the 1-0 win they earned in the reverse fixture at Wembley, the only way they can finish top is to better Spain’s result in their final group games on Tuesday (20:00), against Ukraine and in Iceland respectively.
If England lose by a single goal against Spain and they finish on the same points, tie-breakers such as goal difference, number of away goals and even disciplinary records could decide the group.
