England were comfortable winners against Ukraine but missed out on automatic qualification for the Women's World Cup so must now take the longer route to Brazil 2027.

Sarina Wiegman's side needed group leaders Spain to lose or draw in Iceland, but the world champions raced to a 6-1 victory to book their finals place.

Only the top team in the qualifying group secured an automatic spot, meaning England will have to navigate two rounds of play-offs later this year.

It is a blow for England, who won five of their six group matches but suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat in Majorca on Friday which proved to be their downfall.

They responded with a much better performance at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool as Wiegman made four changes to the starting XI and switched up the backline.

One of the defenders to come in, Jess Carter, opened the scoring when she headed in from close range, before Georgia Stanway poked home England's second.

It should have been a more flattering scoreline by half-time as England missed several big chances, including one for Maya le Tissier, while Lauren James curled an excellent effort against the post.

The Lionesses did eventually extend their lead when substitute Beth Mead drilled the ball into the bottom corner from a free-kick.

England finish League A3 as runners-up, below Spain because of their inferior head-to-head record, and will find out their play-off opposition on Thursday, 18 June.

After such a disappointing display in Spain, it was important the Lionesses not only returned to winning ways but showed why that was a blip in an otherwise solid qualifying campaign.

They did that in Liverpool as Wiegman's side imposed their superiority immediately and had Ukraine on the back foot for the entire game.

The biggest criticism is that England were wasteful with their chances and should have put the game comfortably to bed by half-time, though Ukraine still offered no threat.

England's talented frontline – unchanged from Friday – proved far more effective as James and Lauren Hemp ran Ukraine's defence ragged and could have scored a handful themselves.

In-form Manchester City midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown was given a chance to impress in the number 10 position and did well, while Carter had a solid game at centre-back.

That will have filled the squad with confidence after Wiegman admitted Friday's defeat "felt like a hit on the chin", and they had come to terms with the fact qualification was out of their hands.

But in truth, the result here had little impact, with Spain getting their noses in front against Iceland within five minutes and controlling the situation with ease.

It became like a training match for England towards the end as Wiegman made further changes – substitute Mead showing her enduring quality with a fine free-kick to make it 3-0.

Attention will immediately turn to the play-offs in the autumn and then England must prove why they remain one of the favourites for next year's World Cup in Brazil.

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