Why England missed out on automatic World Cup spot
England beat Ukraine 3-0 on Tuesday night but it did not matter what they did as automatic qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup was out of their hands.
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Notable Quotes
"The competition in Europe is really high."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
"I'm happy with the performance tonight - but not the result of us having to go into the play-offs."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
"I want to pick the best players that I think can compete at the highest level."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
"I'm happy how we showed up, how we played the game against a very defensive Ukraine."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
"It's frustrating. You know, there aren't many teams that aren't qualifying on 15 points."
— Beth Mead , Athlete
"M..."
— Georgia Stanway , Athlete
"What I'm a bit disappointed about is that 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 that you then can't qualify."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
"I think obviously we all know that we didn't play well enough against Spain."
— Alessia Russo , Athlete
"Spain are an incredible side. When you look at our fixtures, it shows the two top teams were playing in a group together."
— Niamh Charles , Athlete
"It's very rare that you get 15 points and still not make it out of the group."
— Georgia Stanway , Athlete
"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."
— Sarina Wiegman , Athlete
Key People
Alessia Russo is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for the England women's national team.
Beth Mead is an English professional footballer who plays for the England women's national team.
Edna Imade is a Spanish footballer who scored the second goal for Spain in their match against Iceland.
Ella Toone is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the England women's national team.
Georgia Stanway is an English midfielder for the national football team.
Hannah Hampton is a goalkeeper for the England women's national football team.
Jess Carter is an English footballer known for her defensive skills on the England women's national football team.
Keira Walsh is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for the England women's national football team.
Laura Blindkilde Brown is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for the England women's national football team.
Lauren James is a forward for the England women's national football team.
Niamh Charles is a professional footballer who plays for the England women's national football team.
Salma Paralluelo is a Spanish footballer who scored the third goal for Spain in their match against Iceland.
Sarina Wiegman is the head coach of the England women's national football team.
Vicky López is a Spanish footballer who scored the opening goal for Spain in their match against Iceland.
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All Coverage
England beat Ukraine 3-0 on Tuesday night but it did not matter what they did as automatic qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup was out of their hands.
Despite a 3-0 win over Ukraine, England's automatic qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup was thwarted by Spain's superior goal difference, leaving the Lionesses to enter the play-offs.
England's 3-0 victory over Ukraine was overshadowed by their earlier 4-0 loss to Spain, which cost them automatic qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup, leading to frustration among the team and coach Sarina Wiegman.
England secured a 3-0 win against Ukraine, but Spain's dominant performance against Iceland meant England finished second in their qualifying group, necessitating a play-off to secure a spot in the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Despite a comfortable 3-0 victory over Ukraine, England's earlier 4-0 defeat to Spain meant they finished second in their qualifying group, requiring them to go through the play-offs to reach the 2027 Women's World Cup.
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