England Women cruised to a 6-1 victory over Ukraine on Merseyside, but the result proved insignificant as Spain's 6-1 win in Iceland forced the Lionesses to finish second in their World Cup qualifying group. Sarina Wiegman's side finish with 15 points from a possible 18 but miss out on an automatic spot in Brazil due to an inferior head-to-head record against Spain, following Friday's 4-0 loss in Mallorca.
It is the first time England have failed to top their World Cup qualifying group for nearly 25 years, since missing out on the 2003 World Cup when the tournament included only 16 nations. However, the playoff format has changed; only four European sides qualify automatically, down from nine four years ago. The Lionesses will be seeded for the playoff draw on 18 June and face one of eight League C sides – Lithuania, Kosovo, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Belarus, Croatia or Kazakhstan – over two legs in October.
Wiegman remained confident, saying: 'We have a team that is very good, and we know what we have to do, so I'm very positive that we're going to qualify anyway.' Realistically, England knew they were destined for the playoffs before kick-off, as Spain needed only a victory against Iceland, ranked 17th in the world, to top the group. Spain took an early lead through Vicky López, and by half-time were 3-0 up, effectively ending any hopes of an upset.
Despite the playoff scenario, England enjoyed themselves against Ukraine. Lauren James tormented the visitors' defence, and the midfield trio of Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh and Laura Blindkilde Brown took control. James hit the woodwork before delivering a cross for Jess Carter to open the scoring. Stanway doubled the lead, sliding in at the far post from Alessia Russo's cross. Beth Mead added a third with a direct free-kick, her first goal for club or country since returning from injury.
England's dominance continued, with Ukraine rarely threatening. Wiegman made just four changes from the side that lost in Mallorca, missing a chance for experimentation. There was no place for in-form winger Freya Godfrey. The Lionesses will now await the playoff draw, knowing they face a straightforward path to the World Cup if they overcome their League C opponents.
