Ukraine vs England live: Lionesses game goes ahead amid safety concerns as World Cup qualifying campaign begins | OneFootball

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Sarina Wiegman eyes more success with England

England kick off their qualification campaign for the 2027 Women’s World Cup tonight as they take on Ukraine in Antalya.

The Lionesses are in “close contact” with the UK government over the fixture, which is being played in Turkey due to the war in Ukraine but has raised safety concerns due to the proximity of the fresh conflict in the Middle East.

On the pitch, England are returning to competitive action off the back of making history in 2025, with Sarina Wiegman guiding the nation to a second consecutive European Championship in Switzerland last summer.

Wiegman’s side will now be dreaming of glory on the global stage, hoping to avenge the heartache they suffered in the 2023 final as they lost out on the World Cup crown to Spain in Sydney.

The defending champions join England in their qualifying group, setting up a rematch at Wembley on 14 April, with Iceland also in Group 3. But can the Lionesses avoid an early slip-up against Ukraine on neutral soil.

Lionesses in ‘close contact’ with government over squad safety ahead of World Cup qualifier

England boss Sarina Wiegman has revealed they remain in constant dialogue with the UK Government over the safety of the squad in Turkey.

The Lionesses are in Antalya to face Ukraine in an away World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and are playing at a neutral venue due to the ongoing war in the country of the designated home team.

However, safety concerns have been raised in Turkey due to the close proximity to the conflict in the Middle East between Israel, Iran and United States, which has escalated in recent days.

Mike Jones3 March 2026 16:09

Stanway on leaving Bayern Munich

Georgia Stanway will be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the current season and revealed that she hopes to leave with ‘good memories’.

The midfielder explained: “It was really difficult, I’ve absolutely loved my time at Bayern.

“Honestly, it's been probably one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. From the moment I got there, it felt like home. It was a really difficult decision to tell them that I wasn’t going to be re-signing and that’s because I still love it there.

“I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that I want to always have good memories at Bayern – I never want to get to the point where I’m not enjoying something or I’m a little bit over it.

“I want to continue to fulfil the rest of this season – we’re in a really good place in the league, in the Champions League as well – and I want to try and make as many memories as possible.”

England's task is to qualify 'as soon as possible'

Georgia Stanway was high expectations of her England teammates and wants the Lionesses to qualify for the World Cup ‘as soon as possible’.

“Our main task is to qualify as fast as possible, as soon as possible,” Stanway said.

“We also understand the process that is behind it and we understand what it takes to get to a Euros or get to a World Cup.

“We know that it’s super difficult and we’ve always said that we need focus on ourselves; we need to take each game as it comes; we need to make sure that we’re adapting, evolving and changing our game.

“We know that oppositions are getting better and better, and we need to make sure our environment is as competitive as possible.

“Sarina’s challenging us, pushing us and making sure that we can be adaptable and make changes in moments and try and play the game that we want to play.”

(The FA via Getty Images)

Mike Jones3 March 2026 15:42

Georgia Stanway on playing in Turkey

England midfielder Georgia Stanway took the press conference alongside Sarina Wiegman and was also asked for her thoughts on playing in Turkey.

She revealed: “I think we are in a fortunate position. I think sometimes we do take things for granted but it’s times like this that really make you realise the bigger picture.

“Like Sarina said, football is our common goal and we know that everybody’s stepping on that pitch on Tuesday, everybody’s stepping over that white line and nothing else matters apart from the game and that’s the beauty of football is the fact that it brings us together – that deep connection, that deep love for the game and the solidarity.”

Wiegman on facing Ukraine

The Lionesses boss added: “They [Ukraine] changed their coach in January, so that will probably give some more challenges but they’re a direct team.

“They have some pace and some players up front that can make a difference – especially from the wings, they can be very dangerous. We want to have the ball a lot and we really want to challenge them.

“We’ll probably force them back a bit and need to be aware of their counter-attacks. That’s mainly what we expect.

“We really want to be tight on the ball and challenge them a lot, give them a lot of question marks how to defend us.”