England kick-started their 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign in perfect style with an emphatic 6-1 win against Ukraine in Turkey.
The Lionesses had been left frustrated by a resilient defensive performance from Ukraine in the first half but came out with fresh impetus after the restart, scoring six goals to cruise to victory in their first competitive game since winning the Euros in July 2025.
Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway and Jess Park all netted doubles at the Mardan Antalyaspor, the neutral location chosen to host Ukraine’s designated home game due to the ongoing war with Russia.
Russo’s two goals in just four minutes provided a comfortable and deserved lead but Yana Kalinina’s effort with Ukraine’s first attack of the game hinted at a shift in momentum in the fixture.
However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished when Lauren Hemp was brought down in the area just after the hour mark.
England celebrate after beating Ukraine 6-1
Stanway stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick and would then double her tally for the evening moments later with a thumping effort into the top left corner.
A tap-in and well-taken curling shot from Park capped off an impressive start for the Lionesses in Group A3 ahead of their meeting with Iceland in their next fixture on March 7 at the City Ground in Nottingham.
Stanway: We found our quality
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Sarina Wiegman and Georgia Stanway give their views after England hit six in the second half against Ukraine in their opening World Cup qualifier.
England midfielder Georgia Stanway speaking to ITV:
“We needed a little bit more quality from the first half in the final third, and we got that in the second half.
“Every single point is so important in this qualifying stage. And yeah, we’re happy to get the job done.
“Now you can see the girls working extra hard, and that will continue to go throughout the rest of the campaign, after the final whistle.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman to Sky Sports:
“We put a lot of effort in, we just wanted to score more goals.
“We needed to change our crosses a bit, so we swapped the wingers from one side to the other.
“Every moment we lost the ball we were so on it and that shows the mentality. We kept doing things together and creating chances.”
