Spain Qualify for UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO 2027 With 2-1 Win Over Italy
Spain are going back to the big stage. The holders beat Italy 2-1 on Thursday night in Laško, Slovenia, to become the first team to book their spot at UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO 2027 — and they did it with a game to spare.
It was the kind of win that told you everything about this Spanish side. A day after sweeping aside France 5-2, they locked down top spot in elite-round Group 3 with a mature, disciplined performance against a strong Italian team. Spain have now won all three previous editions of the tournament — in 2019, 2022 and 2023 — and they remain the benchmark everyone else is chasing.
Milestones for Samper and Córdoba
The night came with personal landmarks too. Irene Samper, who has been part of all three of Spain’s past EURO triumphs, earned her 100th cap in the win over Italy — a remarkable mark of longevity at the very top of the game. A day earlier, 23-year-old Irene Córdoba scored her 50th Spain goal in the 5-2 win over France.
Spain’s dominance isn’t just about individual talent. It’s about a system — quick passing, a suffocating press and clinical finishing — that makes them arguably the most complete side in the women’s game. Under the official futsal rules and regulations, their high-tempo style is as effective as it is entertaining, and any team that wants the trophy in Croatia will need something special to stop them.
What comes next: the road to Osijek
The 2027 edition will be historic. For the first time, the finals will feature eight teams instead of four, running from 14 to 21 March 2027 at Arena Gradski Vrt in Osijek, Croatia. Hosts Croatia qualify automatically, and Spain join them as the first qualifier from the elite round.
The group winners and the two best runners-up from the elite round go straight through, while the other two runners-up face a November home-and-away play-off for the final spot. Hungary and Poland both head into Saturday’s final games three points clear in Groups 2 and 4, while Group 1 wraps up on Sunday with Portugal and Finland locked on six points each — a genuine winner-takes-all decider.
For Italy, the race isn’t over — their runners-up hopes stay alive through the second-placed team rankings. And for everyone else, the message from Laško is clear: Spain are the team to beat, and they’ve been the team to beat for years. If the FIFA futsal rankings tell one story, this qualification campaign tells the same one — the road to the trophy runs through Spain.
