In a shocking turn of events, England have missed out on automatic qualification for the World Cup and will now take the longer play-off route to Brazil next year.
Despite earning 15 points, losing only one, and securing a comfortable win against Ukraine, it was not enough; only the top team in the qualifying group secured an automatic place, and England fell short against Spain purely on goal difference, which separated the two sides.
On the final match day, England needed Spain to lose or draw away at Iceland, but the world champions dominated, winning 6-1 to book their place in the competition. They will now have to navigate two rounds of play-offs later this year. This is a significant blow and shows how damaging their 4-0 loss in Mallorca was and how decisive this result was.
It is also the first time England have failed to top their World Cup qualifying group in nearly 25 years, having last missed out on automatic qualification for the 2003 tournament. This is likely because UEFA has placed both the European champions and the World Cup champions in the same qualification group with only one qualification spot.
After the disaster, the away-from-home qualification was no longer in their hands and seemed unlikely to happen. Any lingering hope was whipped away within five minutes of kick-off as Vicky Lopez scored. Further goals from Edna Imade and Salma Paralluelo before half-time confirmed England’s fate before their own match situation could have any real impact.
While they did respond at Hill Dickinson Stadium, it was not enough after a poor defence against Spain, which directly led to the Spanish goals. Sarina Wiegman made four changes to the starting XI, including dropping Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze. This altered backline paid immediate dividends, and England imposed itself, pinning back Ukraine. Jess Carter, one of the defenders brought into the side, opened the scoring by heading in from close range after being picked out by a cross from Lauren James.
Georgia Stanway doubled the lead when she slid in at the far post to convert from an inviting square ball, capping a first half in which England were dominant but wasteful. They missed several clear chances, including an opportunity for Maya Le Tissier, while James struck the post with a curling effort.
Beth Mead came on and drilled in a direct free-kick into the bottom corner to make it 3-0, scoring her first goal for club or country since March and her first for England since November.
The unchanged front line proved its worth in this fixture, unlike against Spain, with Lauren James and Lauren Hemp running Ukraine's defence into the ground. Laura Blindkilde Brown was allowed to start and impress in the number 10 role. However, the biggest criticism remained England’s lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, as the match could have been effectively finished by half-time.
Despite the victory, frustration remained clear after full-time. Wiegman admitted she was pleased with the performance but unhappy with the circumstances, saying: “I’m happy with the performance but not that we have to go into the play-offs, but that’s the way it is, and we are going to be ready for it.”
She also reflected on the difficulty of the group, adding: “We win five games, we have 15 points, and we are in a group with the European Champions, in the group with the World Champions, and then you can’t qualify.”
Alessia Russo echoed those sentiments, saying, “We’ve won five out of six games and still haven't gone through. It’s difficult, but it’s football. We move, and we go into the play-offs, and we’ll do everything we can to qualify.”
Georgia Stanway questioned how such a points tally could still fall short, stating: “It’s very rare that you get 15 points and still not make it out of the group.”
Beth Mead added, “It’s frustrating. There aren’t many teams that aren’t qualifying on 15 points, so it’s the nature of the competition at the moment.”
England finished League A3 as runners-up and will be seeded for the play-off draw, which takes place on Thursday, 18 June. As a League A runner-up, England will face a League C group winner over two legs in October, with a second two-legged round scheduled for late November or early December if they progress.
Attention now turns firmly to the autumn, when England must prove why they remain one of the favourites to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, despite the setback of missing out on an automatic place.
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