In a disappointing defeat against their fierce rivals, Spain, England now finds itself in a precarious position, facing challenges in securing automatic qualification for next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The Lionesses could have topped their group had they managed to avoid a loss in Majorca, following their impressive 1-0 victory over the reigning world champions at Wembley back in April.
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However, Spain triumphed convincingly, winning 4-0 and drawing level on points with England at the top of Group A. They now lead based on a superior head-to-head record against the European champions.
If Spain secures a victory against Iceland on Tuesday, they will earn their spot at the World Cup, irrespective of the outcome of England’s match against Ukraine, which will occur at the same time (20:00 BST).
Nonetheless, England’s defeat to Spain does not mark the end of their World Cup aspirations.
Should England finish as the runners-up in their qualifying group, they will advance to the European play-offs, which consist of two rounds of home-and-away matches.
As a League A runner-up, England would be seeded in the first round and could face either a Group C winner or one of the two top-ranked Group C runners-up, such as Hungary or Romania. England would play the second leg at home.
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However, winning that play-off would be insufficient to guarantee a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
England would also need to succeed in a second two-leg play-off round, where the victorious teams would secure their spots in the finals taking place in Brazil.
The draws for both rounds of the play-offs are set for June 18, 2026, with matches scheduled for October and in late November and early December of that year.
What happened in the penultimate fixture round?
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are all in League B and can only qualify for the World Cup through the European play-offs.
Scotland leads Group B4 with 11 points, tied with Belgium but holding a four-goal advantage in goal difference.
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Scotland’s final match is against Israel on Tuesday, a team they defeated 6-0. They must equal Belgium’s result against Luxembourg to secure the group win without losing their goal difference edge.
A favorable outcome for Scotland would ensure seeding for the play-offs, potentially setting up a game against England.
If they finish as runners-up, Scotland will face a seeded team from League A or League B in the play-offs.
In Group B2, Northern Ireland can no longer catch Turkey for second place following a loss of 2-1 in Istanbul on Friday, leaving them in third place.
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As a third-placed team in League B, they will not be seeded and will compete against a seeded opponent from League A or B.
Wales stands second in Group B1, trailing Czech Republic after a draw of 1-1 with Montenegro on Friday. They must defeat the Czechs in their final match to secure first place and a favorable seeding for the play-off draw.
Failing to win would result in Wales finishing second and facing a seeded team from League A or B in the play-offs.
Lastly, the Republic of Ireland took a significant step toward automatic qualification by defeating the Netherlands 3-2 to move into second place in Group A2.
A win against current group leaders France on Tuesday would secure the top position and a ticket to Brazil.