England cruised to a 3-0 victory over Ukraine in their Euro 2025 qualifier, but the result proved irrelevant as Spain's 6-1 win over Iceland meant the Lionesses finished second in their group and must now navigate the playoffs to qualify for next summer's World Cup in Brazil.
Sarina Wiegman's side ended the group stage with 15 points from a possible 18, but missed out on an automatic qualifying spot due to an inferior head-to-head record against Spain, following a 4-0 defeat in Mallorca on Friday. It is the first time England have failed to top their World Cup qualifying group in nearly 25 years.
Despite the setback, Wiegman expressed confidence in her team's ability to qualify through the playoffs. '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,' she said. The Lionesses will be seeded for the playoff draw on 18 June and will face one of eight League C sides over two legs in October.
On the pitch, England dominated from the start. Jess Carter opened the scoring with a header from Lauren James's cross, before Georgia Stanway doubled the lead by sliding in at the far post to convert Alessia Russo's square ball. Beth Mead sealed the win with a direct free-kick in the second half, her first goal for club or country this season.
Wiegman made only four changes from the side that lost heavily in Spain, missing a chance for experimentation. In-form winger Freya Godfrey was not included in the matchday squad, despite impressing for London City Lionesses this season.
