Sarina Wiegman wanted a “clear victory” from her England team against Ukraine – and that’s what the Lionesses achieved.
Knowing that only one team in their group automatically qualifies for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, England had to assert their superiority.
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World champions Spain await them in April, and many expect the two teams to battle it out for first place in their qualifying groups.
So when England went into half-time on Tuesday 0-0 against a Ukrainian team 30 places below them in the Fifa rankings, fans’ anxiety could be forgiven.
But the two-time European champions returned to their ruthless streak in the second half, scoring six goals to win 6-1getting their campaign off to a perfect start.
“They didn’t understand in the first half”
It was an England makeover as Wiegman managed the return of several key players from injury, while rewarding those who were fit.
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Manchester City’s Laura Blindkilde Brown was given a rare start, while London City Lionesses defender Poppy Pattinson made her second-half debut.
All four defenders in the starting XI had fewer than 100 caps in total – with captain Leah Williamson taking 65 – as Maya Le Tissier was at right back ahead of Lucy Bronze, while Taylor Hinds started her third game in four matches at left back.
In-form Jess Park played wide, as she has done so impressively for Manchester United this season, rather than in midfield where Wiegman has often used her.
It was unusually experimental on Wiegman’s part given it was their first competitive match since Euro 2025 and took time to take shape.
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England had 40 touches in the opponent’s box and 85% possession in the first half, but failed to score from their 15 shots on goal.
The pace had slowed, Ukraine were defending well and England’s hopes of breaking out of the block had not materialized.
“They didn’t really get it in the first half. They were a bit stunned as to what to do,” former England midfielder Fran Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live Extra.
“Ukraine defended very well. They were very tight between the lines and made it very difficult for England.
“They needed to have a little more composure in the box instead of crossing it for the sake of crossing it.
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“The second half showed they learned from the first half about what went wrong.”
With a team full of quality, the double European champions responded in the second half.
Arsenal striker Alessia Russo scored twice in four minutes to put England in control, before a brace from Georgia Stanway put them beyond Ukraine’s reach.
Wiegman’s “clear victory” was confirmed when Park also scored twice later.
“I think it took us the whole first half to break them down. We were still very good in the first half. They were solid defensively,” Russo said afterward.
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“When the spaces opened up we took our chances. I wouldn’t say it was a relief (when we scored). We knew we had the quality in us and it was just about executing it.
“It was about finding the last moment, the last pass and the last shot. You saw that in the second half.”
How does victory prepare England?
Georgia Stanway (right) has 51 goals for England in 88 appearances (Getty Images)
Tuesday’s match was played in Türkiye, with Ukraine unable to host the match due to the ongoing war with Russia.
The Ukrainian players had to take a 15-hour bus trip to Mardan Stadium for the match.
The Lionesses, consecutive European champions, had recognized superstars in their team and presented themselves as big favorites.
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This was a game they simply had to win.
Rival Spain did its part with a 3-0 victory against Iceland and they will be expected to get maximum points against weaker opposition in their upcoming matches.
If the Lionesses hope to keep pace with the reigning world champions and give themselves a chance of automatic qualification, they must beat Ukraine and Iceland, and do so convincingly.
It could come down to goal difference to separate England and Spain, although there is still plenty of football to be played between now and then.
It was a message Wiegman had subtly conveyed before the match: England must be ruthless.
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“It’s very important, of course we know the group. For our part we want to have a very good match and we want to get a clear victory which gives us a good starting position for the next match against Iceland,” she said before kick-off.
April’s opening clash against Spain at Wembley is likely to be hugely important. It will be a repeat of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final – where Spain beat England – and the Euro 2025 final, where the Lionesses got their revenge.
And it is clearly on the players’ minds that England midfielder Georgia Stanway is “very disappointed” to have conceded against Ukraine, impacting the goal difference.
“We’ll look back and see what the mistake was,” she said. “Potentially it was me. I needed to follow her, but I need to watch her. Overall, it was a good start.”
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England top the table with a two-goal advantage over Spain ahead of Saturday’s match against Iceland at the City Ground in Nottingham (12:30 GMT) and will hope to take a big step forward when they face their rivals in April.
