Sarina Wiegman calmly asserted that she was confident England will still qualify for next summer\u2019s World Cup, despite having to settle for a place in the playoffs as Spain\u2019s 6-1 win in Iceland forced England to finish in second spot.<\/p>\n
England cruised to victory over Ukraine on Merseyside but the result proved insignificant with Spain getting the result they needed. The Lionesses 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\u2019s humbling 4-0 loss<\/a> in Mallorca.<\/p>\n 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. Being involved in the playoff this time around is not as concerning as it might initially sound \u2013 a revamp of the format has meant that only four European sides will qualify automatically, down from nine automatic qualifiers four years ago.<\/p>\n 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 the playoff draw on 18 June. England will face one of the following sides from League C \u2013 Lithuania, Kosovo, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Belarus, Croatia or Kazakhstan \u2013 over two legs in the playoff first round in October.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a team that is very good, and we know what we have to do, so I\u2019m very positive that we\u2019re going to qualify anyway,\u201d Wiegman said, when asked how much jeopardy the playoffs will bring.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 despite making good strides in recent years \u2013 were never likely to deny a side in as rich a vein of form as Spain displayed on Friday.<\/p>\n Even the most optimistic of Lionesses fans\u2019 hopes were dampened inside five minutes, as Spain took an early lead through Vicky L\u00f3pez. When the striker Edna Imade put Spain 2-0 up after 37 minutes, at a point in that match where 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 playoff-bound.<\/p>\n Georgia Stanway scores the Lionesses\u2019 second goal of the night. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n That was certainly not stopping Wiegman\u2019s players enjoying themselves against Ukraine, though, as Lauren James toyed with the visitors\u2019 defenders and England\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n