England finished the group stage with 15 points from six games, winning five and losing just one – that to the reigning world champions, Spain, who also racked up 15 points. However, a superior head-to-head for La Roja, after a 4-0 thumping of the Lionesses on Friday, compared to a 1-0 defeat at Wembley in April, allowed Sonia Bermudez’s side to punch their ticket to Brazil at this stage, rather than Wiegman’s.
England had a slim chance of pipping Spain to top spot in the final round of games on Tuesday, but a favour from Iceland was always a long shot and the world champions never let them come near to it, winning 6-1 in Reykjavik to render the Lionesses’ 3-0 win over Ukraine somewhat meaningless, at least in the pursuit of automatic qualification.
Germany were the only team to pick up more than 15 points in the qualifying groups in League A, with fellow automatic qualifiers France and Denmark securing their spots with 13 and 14, respectively. It was no wonder it felt harsh to those representing England, with UEFA’s balance of having four automatic qualification places and seven to be earned through the play-offs under the microscope in the aftermath.
“It is frustrating. There are not many teams not qualifying on 15 points,” Beth Mead told ITV, a thought echoed by Georgia Stanway. Still, neither dwelled on the fact too much, as Mead labelled it “the nature of the competition” while Stanway believed the points tally showed England’s “level” and “consistency”. Wiegman, meanwhile, was asked if she believed this scenario was a reason for UEFA to look at changing the qualifying format.
“There’s something to have a look at, at least,” she replied, but only after praising the growth in competition within Europe since the introduction of the Nations League, which decided the seedings for these qualifiers and placed England in a group with Spain. “There’s a lot of competition and that’s a good thing.”
That combination of frustration but acceptance is healthy, with there no point in the Lionesses dwelling on what has happened in the past. The focus now has to be on what is next, what they can control, and that is the Women’s World Cup qualifying play-offs. Next week, England will find out their opponents for the first of those two two-legged ties, with Wiegman expressing great confidence in her team’s ability to navigate this new path.
What, though, can the Lionesses take from this ultimately disappointing international break, as attention turns towards those play-offs? GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from England’s June games…