Estonia to face Luxembourg and Albania in Euro 2025 qualifiers

On Tuesday, the draw took place for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifiers. Estonia will face Albania and Luxembourg as they attempt to reach next summer's finals in Switzerland.
The Estonian women's national team have faced Luxembourg twice before in international matches. In 2013, they drew 1-1 away from home, with Katrin Loo netting for Estonia.
During their next encounter in 2018, Estonia stormed to 4-0 victory thanks to two more goals from Loo and one each for Vlada Kubassova and Maarja Saulep.
Estonia will play Albania in a women's international for the first time during the qualifying campaign. Albania are currently 73rd in the FIFA World Rankings, while are Estonia 98th and Luxembourg are 118th.
With host nation Switzerland qualifying automatically, 51 teams are competing for the remaining 15 places at Euro 2025. Switzerland will also play in the qualifiers, though would not participate in the play-offs if they finish in a play-off spot.
For the qualifiers, the sides have been split into three separate divisions (Leagues A, B and C) according to their rankings after the 2023/24 UEFA Women's Nations League campaign.
Leagues A and B contain four sub-groups of four teams, while in League C, which contains Estonia, there are four groups of four and one group of three.
Having been drawn in the group of three, Estonia will play four qualifying matches, facing both opponents home and away.
The top two teams in each League A sub-group progress automatically to the finals. The sides finishing third and fourth in their League A sub-groups will enter into two-legged play-offs, with two further places at Euro 2025 up for grabs for the winners.
For Estonia to stand a chance of reaching the finals, they will either have to top their League C sub-group or finish as one of the best three runners-up. Doing so will earn them a place in the play-offs, where they would face one of the teams that finished in either third or fourth in a League A sub-group. Victory there would lead to another play-off round with a spot at the finals the ultimate reward.
Euro 2025 qualifying matches will be played in early April, late May, early June and July this year. UEFA are set to publish the precise schedule in the coming days.
The play-offs are scheduled for the end of October, end of November and beginning of December, with the finals themselves due to take place in Switzerland in July 2025.
Holders England have been drawn in a tricky League A group with France, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. Meanwhile, reigning world champions Spain will face Denmark, Belgium and Czechia.
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Editor: Anders Nõmm, Michael Cole