very little to be learned<\/a> from a game against a team so far below England\u2019s level. Any slip-up would only ever have been of England\u2019s own making, as the poor defending for Greece\u2019s goal in Crete\u00a0demonstrated. However, perhaps that sluggishness could be \u00adattributed to a rustiness after a four-month break from international\u00a0football.<\/p>\nUkraine are up next, the homeless team preparing to face the European champions after a 4-1 aggregate defeat of Slovakia.<\/p>\n
England met Ukraine in their World Cup qualifying group earlier in the year and secured a 9-1 margin across the two matches, so it would take the most almighty of collapses for the Lionesses to fail to book their place in Brazil now.<\/p>\n
Quick GuideRoundup: Scotland and Wales advance to playoff finalsShow<\/p>\n
Melissa Andreatta claims her Scotland side \u201cstuck to our principles\u201d in the 3-2 win over Czechia which booked a place in round two of the Women\u2019s World Cup play-off against Sweden.<\/p>\n
Leading 2-0 from the first leg of the round one play-off but losing Caroline Weir to an injury in the warm-up at St Mirren\u2019s Marbill Coaches Stadium, Scotland found themselves a goal down in the third minute when the Czechis full-back Denisa Vesela sent a shot from 30 yards soaring over a helpless Sandy MacIver.\u00a0That lead lasted only two minutes before Lauren Davidson clipped in an equaliser from 12 yards but the visitors steeled themselves again and in the 32nd minute Klara Cahynova headed in a corner from Michaela Khyrova.<\/p>\n
However, Kathleen McGovern levelled early in the second half following a botched clearance by the Czechia defender Lucie Bendova and in the 72nd minute, when Barbora Votikova, the visiting goalkeeper, spilled a cross from the substitute Erin Cuthbert, Christy Grimshaw was on hand to lift the ball over the line and the home side ran out deserved winners.<\/p>\n
The Scots will take on Sweden, who beat Lithuania 10-0 on the night and 15-0 on aggregate, in a two-legged tie with the matches taking place between 26 November and 5 December, with Scotland at home first.<\/p>\n
Andreatta told BBC Scotland: \u201cWhat it showed is what Scotland\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stuck to our principles, ground out a result and that puts us in a good place for what\u2019s ahead. I think these two games being so tough and testing us in all different ways, gives us the confidence to go again against Sweden.”<\/p>\n
Wales took a step towards qualifying for the Women\u2019s World Cup for the first time after a 3-0 win over Albania at Parc y Scarlets.\u00a0Rhian Wilkinson\u2019s side, who won the reverse fixture 1-0 in Shkoder last week following Ezmiralda Franja\u2019s own goal, also set a new national record after extending their unbeaten run to 10 matches.<\/p>\n
Any nerves on the night were eased when Mayzee Davies headed home in the 34th minute, while Elise Hughes and Hannah Cain struck after half-time to seal a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate triumph. Wales will next take on Norway in their playoff final in December for the right to head to Brazil next year. Norway sit 13th in the world rankings, 18 spots higher than Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kess Elmore marked her first Northern Ireland start with a goal but could not prevent them from falling to a 3-1 loss to Portugal, completing a 7-1 aggregate defeat in their playoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Republic of Ireland put Kazakhstan to the sword again, claiming a 12-0 aggregate win to move closer to qualifying.\u00a0An 8-0 victory in last week\u2019s first leg in Astana meant the Republic were all but home and hosed.<\/p>\n
Jessie Stapleton bagged the Republic\u2019s final goal in the Kazakh capital and the Leicester defender opened the scoring just before half-time, while Katie McCabe struck just after the interval.\u00a0The substitute Lucy Quinn and Denise O\u2019Sullivan were also on target as the Republic cruised into the play-off final, where they will take on Poland across two legs in December.\u00a0\u00a0Press Association<\/p>\n
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