England beat Ukraine but Lionesses miss out on automatic World Cup qualification | OneFootball

Lauren Hemp, Laura Blindkilde Brown and Alex Greenwood helped England to a 3-0 win over Ukraine in 2027 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday evening.

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But Spain’s victory over Iceland meant the Lionesses narrowly missed out on reaching the major tournament automatically with them now entering the play-off round to secure passage to the competition.

Sarina Wiegman’s side were aiming to better the reigning world champions’ result on the night and leapfrog them to first place in Group A3 – and with it – a place at the 2027 World Cup.

Jess Carter gave England a strong start at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium when she met Lauren James’ cross to head home from close range.

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City’s Hemp then forced a fantastic save from Kateryna Boklach moments later with the winger’s fizzing effort from the edge of the area denied before Georgia Stanway doubled the lead.

Greenwood was then introduced at half-time as the Lionesses continued to ask questions of the Ukraine defence following the interval.

And their advantage was extended thanks to a venomous free-kick from Beth Mead who helped seal the success.

But Spain’s win over Iceland on the night means England will now become one of 32 teams vying for a place in the 2027 World Cup during the play-offs which will be contested in October.