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

England Women will kick off their qualification bid for the 2027 Women’s World Cup with a clash against Ukraine Women on Tuesday.

Ukraine are the designated home team for the contest, although the game will take place in Antalya, Turkey, due to the war in their home country.

Match preview

England enjoyed a triumphant 2025, beating Spain on penalties in last year’s European Championship final to retain the trophy they won in 2022.

The Lionesses rounded off with four home friendlies as part of a 'homecoming series' to celebrate their success in Switzerland last summer.

Sarina Wiegman's side started the run of friendlies with a 2-1 defeat against Brazil, before they claimed three consecutive victories over Australia, China and Ghana without conceding. 

England are now focusing on the road to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, a journey they hope will lead to lifting the trophy for the first time after finishing runners-up to Spain in 2023.

They will face the reigning world champions in their qualifying group, along with Ukraine and Iceland, knowing they are guaranteed at least a playoff spot, with the format designed to be as competitive as possible.

League A consists of the top 16 teams from the 2025 Nations League, with the winner of each of the four groups securing automatic qualification for next year's tournament. 

England will be heavy favourites to start their bid for top spot with a win in their first clash against Ukraine since they recorded a 2-1 victory in a World Cup qualifier in June 2014. 

© Imago / IMAGO / Visionhaus

Ukraine are competing in League A after securing promotion from Group B4 in the 2025 Nations League.

Volodymyr Pyatenko's side secured top spot due to their favourable head-to-head record over the Czech Republic after both nations finished with 13 points from six matches.

After completing their Nations League campaign last June, Ukraine spent the remainder of 2025 competing in international friendlies, beginning with a heavy 4-0 defeat to Poland.

They went on to beat Slovakia 2-1, draw back-to-back games against Romania and Scotland, before wrapping up the calendar year with a 3-2 victory against Austria.

Ukraine are now focusing their efforts on their bid to qualify for their first World Cup and their first major tournament since they featured at Euro 2009 in Finland.

With England and Spain in their group, Ukraine know that automatic qualification is an unrealistic goal, but they will still be desperate to give a strong account of themselves against some of the world's best players.

The fear of relegation will also be a motivating factor, knowing that the bottom-placed side after six games will be demoted to League B. 

England Women form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Experienced goalkeeper Kateryna Samson is expected to get the nod over Nantes shot-stopper Kateryna Boklach, with the 37-year-old likely to have her work cut out against England's attacking talent. 

Meanwhile, England captain Leah Williamson has been included in the squad for the first time since the Euro 2025 final after spending signicant time on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood and Lauren James have also returned to the squad, while Poppy Pattinson has earned her first senior call-up.

England are unable to call upon Manchester United star Ella Toone, who is currently sidelined with a hip problem. 

Ukraine Women possible starting lineup:

Samson; Korsun, Kotik, Shainyuk, Shmatko; Kozlova, Kalinina, Petryk, Semkiv, Ovdiychuk; Kravchuk

England Women possible starting lineup:

Hampton; Bronze, Le Tissier, Greenwood, Hinds; Walsh, Stanway; James, Park, Hemp; Russo

We say: Ukraine Women 0-4 England Women

There is a significant quality difference between the two squads, with England sitting 30 places above Ukraine in the FIFA World Rankings.

As a result, we think it will be a question of the margin of victory for England rather than whether they can pick up the three points in Turkey.