Lionesses left facing Greece in playoff battle for 2027 World Cup after heavy defeat to Spain

The Lionesses find themselves contesting their spot in the 2027 World Cup via play-offs, after a disappointing result against the World Champions took automatic qualification out of their hands. Despite bouncing back against Ukraine with a 3-0 victory, their fate was down to the result of Spain’s fixture, who resoundingly beat Iceland 6-1 to put an end to the Lionesses’ hopes of securing a ticket to the World Cup.

A completely dominant performance from Spain handed the Lionesses their worst result under Sarina Wiegman

To kick off the international break, the Lionesses headed to Mallorca to take on Spain on the 5^th June. Having beat them 1-0 at Wembley in the reverse fixture, all England had to do was avoid defeat to secure top spot in their group. However, England immediately looked off the pace as Spain dominated possession and looked to get themselves ahead. Barcelona midfielder Patri Guijaro opened the scoring in the 19^th minute, profiting from a quick counter-attack as her strike from just outside the 18-yard box was helped into the bottom corner of the goal by a deflection. England struggled to recover and were punished again not long before the break as some slick combination play saw Mariona Caldentey play Alexia Putellas through on goal, whose strike found the back of the net despite Hannah Hampton getting a hand to it. Spain didn’t let up after the break, as Putellas found the net again — her initial effort was cleared off the line by Lucy Bronze but the England defence were not alert to the rebound, which she tucked away for her second of the night. Substitute Claudia Pina got in on the action too, rounding off the night with Spain’s fourth after some fancy footwork saw her strike hit the bottom corner, putting Spain 4-0 up and the result beyond doubt. A completely dominant performance from Spain handed the Lionesses their worst result under Sarina Wiegman, and their heaviest defeat in 17 years, putting Spain in pole position to automatically qualify for the World Cup.

The Lionesses then had the chance to bounce back against Ukraine at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but finishing first in their group looked to be a tall ask. England started a lot brighter than they had against Spain as they dominated possession and created chances, with Lauren James hitting the crossbar 12 minutes in. Just two minutes later, England found the opener, as a well worked short corner saw James’ pinpoint cross find the head of Jess Carter, who glanced the ball across the keeper for the first of the night. The Lionesses kept the pressure on, and added to their tally with Georgia Stanway sliding in to tap home Alessia Russo’s ball across goal in the 37^th minute. Half time subs saw veterans Alex Greenwood and Beth Mead replace Esme Morgan and Lauren James, with the latter making her mark on the match, as she dispatched a stunning free kick past the Ukrainian ‘keeper in the 67^th minute, to see off a composed victory for the Lionesses.

England will have to contest their spot in the World Cup with two rounds of play-off fixtures

Despite winning 5 out of 6 qualifying games, the Lionesses were beat to the top spot of their group by Spain, who’s goal difference bettered England’s 18 to 8. This means they will have to contest their spot in the World Cup with two rounds of play-off fixtures. It has since been confirmed that England will face Greece in their first round of play-offs, which will be a two-legged fixture played between the 7^th and 13^th October. Should they then progress, they will face either Slovakia or Ukraine in another double-header between 26th November and 5th December to secure their ticket to Brazil.