The Lionesses have been put in a farcical position ...Middle East

England Women 3-0 Ukraine (Carter 14’, Stanway 37’, Mead 67’)

HILL DICKINSON STADIUM – The headlines should not look so damning when they only tell half the story.

Even with a cruise-control victory over Ukraine, England failed to qualify automatically for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. They have been consigned to the play-offs, left to rue that crushing 4-0 defeat in Spain last week.

The Lionesses will not want to make any excuses. That devastatingly sub-par performance in Mallorca, the like of which had never been seen under Sarina Wiegman, is the reason they will have to play four more matches if they are to make it to next summer’s fiesta in Brazil.

There is nevertheless an element of farce in all this. Only one team could qualify automatically from a group containing Spain, the world champions, and England, the back-to-back European champions. The new format, where second and third in the League A groups reach the play-offs as seeded teams and the fourth team as unseeded, has also denied Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway an automatic spot.

There was a perfectly good argument for tearing up the old system. It was so lopsided that England found themselves making it to the 2023 World Cup by playing 10 games, scoring 80 times and conceding none. That had to change but qualifying has simply gone too far the other way.

England Women’s potential play-off opponents

England will have to play two, two-legged ties to qualify. They will be seeded for the second round because they finished second in Group A3. Here’s who they could be drawn against on 18 June.

Round One: Hungary, Belarus, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Kazakhstan

Round Two: Belgium, Portugal, Finland, Scotland, Switzerland, Poland, Wales, Czechia, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, Northern Ireland, Israel, Albania

In the men’s game, there are similar plans to shake up the qualifying process now that more teams than ever (48) are going to the World Cup, which begins on Thursday. It should certainly not be too easy for the major nations.

Yet there are lessons to learn. The Lionesses are not the only victims of this bizarre format. The teams it is supposed to help by giving them a greater chance – Hungary, Kosovo, Romania – are now set to be pitted against a European giant in the draw later this month.

The chances of a major shock are almost nil. Teams from League A like England will play two separate rounds, each tie over two legs. The prospect of them missing out altogether is very slim.

Wiegman ‘very positive’ England will qualify

So all that has really been achieved is the game has become more convoluted, the schedule extended and the workload on players greater.

“What I’m a bit disappointed about is we win five games, we have 15 points, we are the European champions in a group with the world champions and that means you then can’t qualify,” Wiegman said afterwards.

“This night was a good night but I’m not really happy, I’m happy with the performance but not with the result that we have to go in to the play-offs. But that’s just the way it is.” Asked if qualifying needed to change, she added it was “something for Uefa to have a look at”.

Even here on Merseyside, there was too much jeopardy and none all at once. With England needing an unlikely favour from Iceland, in Reykjavik 2,600 miles away Spain were dishing out a 6-1 demolition. Iceland came third, having lost twice to England – and still ultimately, the Lionesses gain nothing by finishing second ahead of them, as they will both now be seeded.

England did their job, picking apart Ukraine on Tuesday night with Jess Carter’s delicate header from Lauren James’ cross and through an in-sliding Georgia Stanway tapping in from two yards after Alessia Russo’s artful run. Beth Mead lashed in the third from a free-kick.

The midfield was more compact with Laura Blindkilde Brown over Ella Toone. Maya Le Tissier at right-back over Lucy Bronze was another nod to the future. Other than that, Wiegman largely remained loyal to her stalwarts, despite questions over whether that policy is turning England a little stale.

Either way, they now have to navigate the play-offs, in a system that serves no one.

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