England had to settle for a place in the World Cup playoffs despite cruising to a 3-0 victory against Ukraine, as Spain’s 6-1 win in Iceland forced England to finish in second spot.

It is the first time that England have failed to top their World Cup qualifying group for nearly 25 years, since missing out on a place at the 2003 World Cup, back when the major tournament finals only included 16 nations overall. Being involved in the playoff this time around is not as concerning as it might initially sound – a revamp of the format has meant that only four European sides will qualify automatically, down from nine automatic qualifiers four years ago.

The Lionesses, who were handed as tough a draw as you could imagine, being pitted in the same group as Spain to deliver a repeat of the last World Cup final and 2025 European Championship final, will be seeded for 18 June’s playoff draw and know that will face a low-ranking side from League C over two legs in the playoff first round in October. They finish this group with 15 points from a possible 18 but miss out on a precious automatic spot in Brazil because of their inferior head-to-head record against Spain, after Friday’s humbling 4-0 loss in Mallorca.

Realistically, England knew they were destined for the playoffs before kick-off, given that all the world champions Spain needed to do to top the group was to secure a victory away against an Iceland side ranked 17th in the world, who – despite making good strides in recent years – were never likely to deny a side in as rich a vein of form as Spain displayed on Friday in their 4-0 dismantling of England.

Even the most optimistic of Lionesses fans’ hopes were dampened inside five minutes, as Spain took an early lead through Vicky López. When the striker Edna Imade put Spain 2-0 up after 37 minutes, at a point in that match were Iceland had seen only 15% of the possession, any chances of an upset looked faint. When Salma Paralluelo put Spain 3-0 up before half-time, England knew they were playoffs bound.

That was certainly not stopping Sarina Wiegman’s players enjoying themselves on the pitch against Ukraine, though, as Lauren James toyed with the visitors’ defenders and England’s midfield three of Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh and the lively Laura Blindkilde Brown took complete control of the game. James struck the woodwork with a dipping effort from an angle, before moments later delivering a lethal cross to the back post which picked out Jess Carter, who angled her header back across goal to open the scoring.

Purposeful with her runs into the box, Stanway doubled the lead as she slid in at the far post to convert from Alessia Russo’s good square ball, after a good link-up between Russo and Walsh, whose through ball picked out Russo, who had earlier gone close with a snap shot from inside the area that she scooped just over the bar. The Arsenal striker, who scored twice in March’s reverse fixture to help England to a 6-1 victory in neutral territory in Turkey, was proving very difficult for the Ukraine centre-backs to mark, and she dragged them from left to right.

The European champions were playing with a freedom that was enjoyable to watch and there was a stylish flow to their passing, as they moved the ball into forward areas quickly and created space for the midfielders to attack, but in truth the situation was flattering, against a Ukraine side operating on just a minuscule portion of the budget that England can enjoy at their base at St George’s Park. Bottom of this qualifying group without any points, they will be relegated down to the second tier for the next Nations League cycle, which begins in 2027.

It was therefore slightly surprising that Wiegman made just four changes to her starting team from that which lost so heavily in Mallorca, perhaps missing a rare chance for some experimentation, and there was not even a place in the matchday 23 for the in-form winger Freya Godfrey, who has impressed for her club London City Lionesses this season.

Wiegman introduced Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood at half-time and the hosts’ dominance of the ball continued, with Ukraine scarcely able to progress into England’s defensive third, and the Lionesses’ back four found themselves increasingly deeper into Ukraine’s half. Jess Park and Chloe Kelly were also brought on with 25 minutes to go and, from the next attack, England went 3-0 up thanks to a direct free-kick which Mead bent into the far corner, around a fairly nonexistent wall. It was Mead’s first goal for club or country since March and her first strike for the Lionesses since November.