Winners & losers after Lionesses fail to seal World Cup spot

England June W+L gfx 16:9

It's always hard for representatives of a team that did not succeed to make a point about issues with a qualifying format, but few could begrudge the frustration evident among the England squad on Tuesday after the Lionesses fell short of the one automatic qualification spot available to them for the 2027 Women's World Cup.

England finished the group stage with 15 points from six games, winning five and losing just one - that to the reigning world champions, Spain, who also racked up 15 points. However, a superior head-to-head for La Roja, after a 4-0 thumping of the Lionesses on Friday, compared to a 1-0 defeat at Wembley in April, allowed Sonia Bermudez's side to punch their ticket to Brazil at this stage, rather than Wiegman's.

England had a slim chance of pipping Spain to top spot in the final round of games on Tuesday, but a favour from Iceland was always a long shot and the world champions never let them come near to it, winning 6-1 in Reykjavik to render the Lionesses' 3-0 win over Ukraine somewhat meaningless, at least in the pursuit of automatic qualification.

Germany were the only team to pick up more than 15 points in the qualifying groups in League A, with fellow automatic qualifiers France and Denmark securing their spots with 13 and 14, respectively. It was no wonder it felt harsh to those representing England, with UEFA's balance of having four automatic qualification places and seven to be earned through the play-offs under the microscope in the aftermath.

"It is frustrating. There are not many teams not qualifying on 15 points," Beth Mead told ITV, a thought echoed by Georgia Stanway. Still, neither dwelled on the fact too much, as Mead labelled it "the nature of the competition" while Stanway believed the points tally showed England's "level" and "consistency". Wiegman, meanwhile, was asked if she believed this scenario was a reason for UEFA to look at changing the qualifying format.

"There's something to have a look at, at least," she replied, but only after praising the growth in competition within Europe since the introduction of the Nations League, which decided the seedings for these qualifiers and placed England in a group with Spain. "There's a lot of competition and that's a good thing."

That combination of frustration but acceptance is healthy, with there no point in the Lionesses dwelling on what has happened in the past. The focus now has to be on what is next, what they can control, and that is the Women's World Cup qualifying play-offs. Next week, England will find out their opponents for the first of those two two-legged ties, with Wiegman expressing great confidence in her team's ability to navigate this new path.

What, though, can the Lionesses take from this ultimately disappointing international break, as attention turns towards those play-offs? GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from England's June games...

Alexia Putellas Spain Women 2026

WINNER: Spain

Friday’s 4-0 win over England was massive for Spain in many ways. For starters, it was a dominant and emphatic performance, and result, which sent a statement. After being beaten by the Lionesses on penalties in the European Championship final last summer, La Roja reminded everyone why they are the world champions, overwhelming England to deal them their heaviest defeat in 17 years.

Secondly, it was a win that saw Spain regain pole position in the race for the one automatic qualification spot for the World Cup in this group. Four days later, La Roja completed the job by thrashing Iceland to book their place in Brazil.

That outcome also meant a place in the play-offs for England, leaving one of Spain’s biggest rivals for that World Cup title next year facing less than ideal preparation for the tournament. The Lionesses will still be heavily favoured to get to Brazil, with them to be seeded in the play-offs and one of the best teams involved. But while the reigning world champions are cherry-picking friendlies that best prepare them for the World Cup, one of their biggest threats will still be dealing with qualification.

This camp was, therefore, a win all round for Bermudez and her players.

Sarina Wiegman 2026

LOSER: Sarina Wiegman

England were hoping to enjoy all the fruits of automatic qualification that Spain will now get - and they were in pole position to, as well. The Lionesses went to Mallorca last week knowing they just needed to avoid defeat to book their place in Brazil, but the manner in which they collapsed once Patri Guijarro broke the deadlock was stunning, to fall to a truly unprecedented defeat in this remarkable era under Wiegman.

Now, the England boss is not only left to assess and analyse just what went wrong, and how to fix the issues that occurred, but she will not be able to organise the friendlies she would have liked this autumn either.

Instead of games against top nations from across the world to best prepare for the World Cup, the Lionesses will first have to navigate four play-off matches against lower ranked European nations if they are to book their place in Brazil.

With the Nations League to return in the New Year, the window for friendlies will be a narrow one immediately before the World Cup. More competitive action does await, firstly against teams that England will be expected to dominate and beat, meaning this team will have to wait longer for the right games to address the issues that arose against Spain last week.

Freya Godfrey England training 2026

LOSER: Freya Godfrey

After England’s hopes of winning the group went up in smoke in Mallorca, Wiegman said in her pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s game with Ukraine that there would be changes, as the Lionesses prepared to take on an opponent they battered 6-1 in March. It was an opportunity to give opportunities to less experienced players and maybe even a debut or two.

Freya Godfrey, named Player of the Year for London City Lionesses after helping the newly-promoted side finished sixth in the Women’s Super League, was one who some onlookers expected to get onto the pitch for the first time in an England shirt. The 21-year-old has been a regular in the Lionesses squad throughout the 2025-26 season and presents an exciting option for the future of this team.

For her to be left out of the matchday squad entirely on Tuesday, then, was a surprise, and something of a disappointment. Wiegman stuck with the same front three that started against Spain - Lauren James, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo - and instead found space on her bench for three centre-backs.

"It's always hard to have conversations with players who you actually want in your squad, but you can only pick 23," Wiegman said afterwards, asked about Godfrey's absence. "I gave her clarity on why I made the decision and that's the way it is right now."

With competitive action to continue, when the young winger might find the right environment for that first cap is unclear, with the game against Ukraine feeling like a wasted opportunity.

Laura Blindkilde Brown England Women 2026

WINNER: Laura Blindkilde Brown

Though experimentation was limited in this camp, Wiegman did hand Laura Blindkilde Brown a start in the game against Ukraine, and the 22-year-old responded with her best performance yet in an England shirt, while winning just her seventh cap.

The midfielder enjoyed a wonderful season at Manchester City, after breaking into the newly-crowned WSL champions' starting line-up, but it has not always translated into opportunities with the Lionesses. That has started to change a little bit in the last few months, culminating in a great performance on Tuesday.

"I thought she had a very good performance tonight," Wiegman told reporters afterwards, with her going one further in her post-match chat with ITV, in which she described Blindkilde Brown as "one of the best players on the pitch" in the 3-0 win.

"We played today against a low block and she played in the middle of the pitch, which is hard, because you have to be really tight, you have to pick up positions, you also have to read the game really well and be ahead of things. That's what she showed today. That's a very good example from a player who is just breaking into the squad and earning minutes."

With the No.10 spot feeling up for grabs in this team, Blindkilde Brown did her chances of getting further opportunities in the role as the year progresses no harm whatsoever.

Alex Greenwood England Women 2026

LOSER: Alex Greenwood

England’s left-back headache, a problem in this team for years now, has been temporarily resolved in 2026. Alex Greenwood, a left-back when she first emerged who has since shown herself to be a world-class centre-back, has been used on the left by Man City on a more regular basis in the last few months, giving Wiegman the luxury of an in-form, established England international to pick for the role when Lionesses camps roll around.

Admittedly, it has not all been smooth sailing for Greenwood in that position at club level, but she has been more than solid enough and able to translate that into international games, papering over the cracks that England have at left-back.

In Mallorca on Friday, though, the issues re-emerged. Greenwood had a rough day out in the 4-0 drubbing against Spain, reopening the conversation around the dearth of options Wiegman has in this position.

City are in the market for a left-back this summer due to Leila Ouahabi’s departure on a free and the preference for playing Greenwood in her best position. Niamh Charles is being heavily linked with a move to the new WSL champions, something which would certainly be welcomed by Wiegman given it would likely result in another left-back option playing regularly in the role.

If Charles can play well and emerge as a steady option, it’d be fantastic for England. Because while Greenwood is adaptable, she is at her best when playing as a centre-back.

Aggie Beever-Jones England Women 2026

LOSER: Aggie Beever-Jones

Another player some may have expected to get a run out during this camp, and at least in the Ukraine game, was Aggie Beever-Jones. England's reliance on Russo in the No.9 is understandable, given how good the Arsenal striker is, but there has been little in the way of impact from the bench in that position since Michelle Agyemang suffered an ACL injury back in October.

It felt concerning for Beever-Jones' standing in the team that she was not even in the matchday squad against Spain, with Wiegman instead tweaking her team midway through that game to put Hemp into the centre-forward role, with Russo in the No.10.

Four days later, Beever-Jones was back involved, but only as an unused substitute despite the kinder fixture against Ukraine, as Wiegman stuck with the same forward line from the start before introducing the familiar faces of Mead and Chloe Kelly from the bench.

Asked on Tuesday if there was a temptation to experiment more, or maybe look at some players she wants to know more about, rather than the established names, Wiegman replied: "Sometimes it's time to experience, sometimes it's time to just show up and put the best in. All the players are competing for this position. Today, you saw five subs. Also, we already made changes before the game and that's what we stuck with."

For Beever-Jones not to feature in any of those changes marks a disappointing end to a frustrating campaign for the forward. The 22-year-old played just 17 minutes in this stage of World Cup qualifying, amid a season at Chelsea that was plagued by small injuries. She'll hope for better fortunes in 2026-27.