England secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Ukraine in their Women's World Cup qualifier, but the win was not enough to top the group. Goals from Jess Carter, Georgia Stanway, and Beth Mead ensured the Lionesses finished second behind Spain, meaning they must now navigate the playoffs to reach the World Cup.
Despite dominating possession and creating numerous chances, England were unable to add to their tally in the second half. Stanway admitted to mixed feelings after the match: “We are disappointed with the way the game went, but it is rare you get 15 points and don’t get out of the group. We needed a reaction today and I think we got that. Three-nil was not enough; we need to be more ruthless.”
The victory was set up by a strong first-half performance, with Carter opening the scoring before Stanway and Mead added further goals. The Lionesses will be seeded for the play-off draw on 18 June, with the matches beginning in October. Ukraine, despite the defeat, received applause from their fans for a respectable second-half display.
Attendance was announced as 26,065, with over 4,000 no-shows from the 30,000 tickets issued. England head coach Sarina Wiegman will be looking for more clinical finishing in the upcoming play-off fixtures.
