Preview: England Women vs Ukraine Women - prediction, team news, lineups

England Women will conclude the first phase of 2027 Women's World Cup qualifying when they welcome Ukraine Women to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday.

The Lionesses head into matchday six in second spot in Group A3, while Ukraine are languishing at the bottom of the standings.

Match preview

The nature of the European section qualifying means that only one team from each group in League A can secure automatic qualification, while those that miss out on top spot will enter a playoff phase for the right to play in next year's tournament in Brazil.

Unfortunately for England, they are highly likely to be one of the teams in the playoffs after their realistic hopes of automatic qualification disappeared with a demoralising 4-0 victory to world champions Spain in Mallorca.

England knew they needed a point to secure qualification after beating Spain at Wembley in April, but they ultimately fell way below their best as Patri Guijarro and Alexia Putellas grabbed a goal apiece in a one-sided first half.

Spain's dominance continued in the second period, with Putellas netting her second before Claudia Pina came off the bench to add a fourth to Spain's tally and condemn England to their first competitive defeat since losing 2-1 in the opening game of last summer's European Championships.

As a result of their heaviest loss in 17 years, England dropped to second on head-to-head record, knowing they can only secure automatic qualification if they beat Ukraine and Spain drop points against Iceland, or they draw, and La Roja suffer a surprise defeat.

Sarina Wiegman will recognise the strong possibility of a Spain win, but she will still want to see a strong performance from her side as they go in search of an 11th consecutive home victory.

England made light work of the reverse meeting with Ukraine in Turkey, where Alessia Russo and Jess Park netted braces in a resounding 6-1 victory.

Ukraine, meanwhile, will definitely need to go through the playoff process if they are to qualify for their first Women's World Cup.

That is because they are sitting rock bottom of Group A3 after suffering five consecutive defeats, conceding 16 times and mustering just two goals.

They did at least keep the damage down in Friday's narrow 1-0 loss to Iceland, although the result represented a third straight outing without troubling the scorers.

While they are still guaranteed a playoff spot, Ukraine's poor results have resulted in their relegation from League A, meaning they will start the next edition of the Nations League in League B.

Ukraine know they are in for another tough outing before they leave the top tier, given the fact they have lost each of their previous three games against England and are sitting 32 places below their opponents in the FIFA World Rankings.

England Women World Cup qualifying form:

W W W W L

England Women form (all internationals):

W W W W W L

Ukraine Women World Cup qualifying form:

L L L L L

Ukraine Women form (all internationals):

W L L L L L

Team News

England have been unable to call upon Leah Williamson, Taylor Hinds, Ellie Roebuck and Khiara Keating during the current international window due to injury.

Manchester City midfielder Laura Blindkilde is an option to start if Wiegman opts to freshen up the engine room for Tuesday's contest, with Ella Toone likely to drop to the bench after making her first international appearance of an injury-hit 2026.

Russo will continue to lead the attack, with the Arsenal striker looking to add to her 30-goal international tally.

As for Ukraine, Daria Keliushyk is expected to retain her place in goal in what is expected to be a busy night for the 22-year-old shot-stopper.

Iya Andrushchak could keep faith with a back four of Marina Shayniuk, Lesia Olkhova, Lyubov Shmatko and Anna Petryk.

Viktoriia Radionova and Viktoriia Holovach are pushing for starting spots after coming off the bench to play over half an hour against Iceland on Friday.

England Women possible starting lineup:

Hampton; Bronze, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Greenwood; Blindkilde, Walsh, Stanway; Hemp, James, Russo

Spain Women possible starting lineup:

Kelyushyk; Shayniuk, Olkhova, Shmatko, Petryk; Kunina, Zaborovets, Molodiuk; Radionova, Holovach, Boychuk

We say: England Women 5-0 Ukraine Women

England may still be reeling from Friday's disappointing trip to Mallorca, but they proved in March's reverse fixture that they are a class or two above Ukraine, and we think they will ease to another comfortable victory on Tuesday, even if it is likely to be in vain in regard to automatic qualification.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.