Big scorelines, one-sided games - are Women's World Cup play-offs working?
Retold by Oddsrama · 14 October 2026
England's demolition of Greece in the Women's World Cup qualifying play-offs laid bare a structural problem in how Europe's football federation is running this competition. The Lionesses cruised to an 8-1 aggregate victory against opposition ranked 55 places below them globally, and it wasn't even close. Sarina Wiegman's side showed total dominance, but therein lies the issue: this wasn't a one-off mismatch. Across European qualifying, the elite nations that dropped into the play-offs faced lesser teams and won by ridiculous scorelines, making the tournament look lopsided rather than competitive.
The real culprit is the tournament structure itself. Only one team from each group advances automatically, which forced powerhouses like the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden into play-offs against far weaker opposition. The Netherlands—2017 European champions—hammered Hungary 11-0 aggregate. Norway thrashed Romania 8-0. Sweden and Ireland posted 15-0 and 12-0 victories respectively. It's meant to add drama, but instead it's created a mismatch lottery. Worse still, England now faces Ukraine for the third time this cycle—they've already beaten them 9-1 on aggregate in the league phase—making the whole ordeal feel repetitive rather than compelling.
England's journey highlights the unfairness. They finished second in a brutal League A group containing world champions Spain, accumulating 15 points that would've won most other groups outright. Yet they're forced through playoffs while weaker nations from softer groups advance more easily. England's form remains sharp—seven wins in their last eight qualifiers, 21 goals scored—so backing them to progress shouldn't be a concern. But from a betting perspective, the blowout margins in these play-offs make finding value tricky when the matchups are so one-sided. UEFA needs to rethink this format before the competition becomes predictable theatre rather than genuine qualification.
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