EURO 2025 draw in Nyon produces nightmare group for the Girls in Green

Swiss international Gaëlle Thalmann draws out the card of France during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Qualifying Round Draw at UEFA HQ in Nyon.

Swiss international Gaëlle Thalmann draws out the card of France during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Qualifying Round Draw at UEFA HQ in Nyon. Credit: Photo by Kristian Skeie/UEFA/Getty Images

There are nightmare groups and then some and that is what the Girls in Green got in their 2025 UEFA Women's European Championship qualifier draw on Tuesday coming out against the world’s number three, number four and number five ranked teams.

At UEFA HQ in Nyon, the Republic of Ireland learned they will face France, England and Sweden as they look to qualify for back to back major tournaments.

If they are to make the European Championships for the first time, Ireland (ranked 24 in the world) will have to do it the hard way.

Ireland boss Eileen Gleeson speaking to RTÉ admited that: "There is no escaping it, it is the toughest group we could possibly have got. Did we want to be in it? Maybe not. But we are here now."

Only the top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the championship in Switzerland next year. The third and fourth-placed teams will enter into a Play-Off series to be played in October and November / December.

Eileen Gleeson's squad will start their qualifying campaign in April before competing in further qualifiers in May / June and July. The full fixture list for the qualifiers is due to be released by UEFA on Wednesday.

Ireland will face an English women’s side for the first time since 1987 and it is a return to place who they met in the qualifiers for the last World Cup – Ireland’s 1-1 draw in Gothenburg was crucial for the Girls in Green’s entry to the play-offs.

In the eve of flying out to the World Cup, they played a French side who last week finished runners up in the UEFA Nations League – losing in the final to World Champions Spain 2-0.

It is expected that they will look to play at least one qualifier in Lansdowne Road. The Girls in Green played against Northern Ireland in the Aviva last year.

EURO 2025 play-off path



Should Ireland not finish in the top two, there is still a route to the finals through a complicated play-off route.

The first round of the play-offs is split into two paths. In one path, the teams finishing third and fourth in League A will play the five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up in League C. The eight winners progress to the second round.

In the other first round path, the four group winners and two best-ranked runners-up in League B will be drawn into six ties against the remaining two runners-up and four third-placed teams in League B. The six winners progress to the second round.

In the second round, the teams from both paths come together and will be drawn into seven ties, with seeding for the seven highest-ranked teams based on the European Qualifiers overall league rankings. The seven winners progress to the final tournament.

Nations League A status under pressure

These qualifiers affect league positions for the next UEFA Nations League. Having clinched promotion from League B in the UEFA Nations League last year with Eileen Gleeson managing the team to six wins out of six, Ireland might be making a quick return to that level.



The bottom side in each group of League A is automatically relegated to League B.

Key dates

April 3–9 | Match Days 1 & 2

May 29-June 4 | Match Days 3 & 4

July 10-16 | Match Days 5 & 6

July 19 | Play-Off Draw

October 23-29 | Play-Off Round 1 (2 legs)

November 27-December 3 | Play-Off Round 2 (2 legs)

December 16 | Finals Draw

July 2-27, 2025 | EURO 2025 Tournament

About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile