Ukraine v England
FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 Qualifier
Tuesday 3 March 2026
Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkiye

Sarina Wiegman and Georgia Stanway addressed the media on Monday morning ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup Qualifier against Ukraine.

Here is what they had to say.

Wiegman on playing in Türkiye:

Of course, we think about that because is really sad. We do have great facilities here. The climate is really good, so we can prepare really well but the reason we’re here is not nice because you want Ukraine to be able to play in their home country, so that makes it all really sad. Also, they had to travel a lot themselves to get here. The things they have in front of them in their country is just really horrible. We just hope that this game unites a bit and of course, it’s competitive but also, it’s an opportunity for Ukraine to show themselves to the world in another way where hopefully football unites and brings some joy.

On safety concerns:

We did have reassurances. We’re in close contact with our government but also with the people here that are responsible. Our security team is really in contact with them and we’re fine here but they keep an eye on it and are in contact with them all the time, with the responsible authorities here too.

On the fitness of the squad:

The players are good. Everyone’s available. This is what you want to know. Everyone will be on the pitch which is good and is nice to have. We have a squad of 25 and for tomorrow is 23 and that’s a very good thing to have, to be able to train with everyone on the pitch.

On what she’s expecting from Ukraine:

They changed their coach in January, so that will probably give some more challenges but they’re a direct team. They have some pace and some players up front that can make a difference – especially from the wings, they can be very dangerous. We want to have the ball a lot and we really want to challenge them. We’ll probably force them back a bit and need to be aware of their counter-attacks. That’s mainly what we expect tomorrow. We really want to be tight on the ball and challenge them a lot, give them a lot of question marks how to defend us.

On Missy Bo Kearns’ pregnancy announcement:

I’m happy for her. It’s great news. We said she’s not available for this camp, so now that’s clear. I think she’s doing well. I hope all things go well. It’s another amazing period for her coming up.

Sarina Wiegman and Georgia Stanway join us live from Türkiye ahead of our @FIFAWWC qualifier against Ukraine 🎥 https://t.co/b8YD4bW8jp

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) March 2, 2026

Stanway on playing in Türkiye:

I think we are in a fortunate position. I think sometimes we do take things for granted but it’s times like this that really make you realise the bigger picture. Like Sarina said, football is our common goal and we know that everybody’s stepping on that pitch on Tuesday, everybody’s stepping over that white line and nothing else matters apart from the game and that’s the beauty of football is the fact that it brings us together – that deep connection, that deep love for the game and the solidarity.

On beginning the World Cup qualification process:

Our main task is to qualify as fast as possible, as soon as possible. We also understand the process that is behind it and we understand what it takes to get to a EUROs or get to a World Cup. We know that it’s super difficult and we’ve always said that we need focus on ourselves; we need to take each game as it comes; we need to make sure that we’re adapting, evolving and changing our game. We know that oppositions are getting better and better, and we need to make sure our environment is as competitive as possible. Sarina’s challenging us, pushing us and making sure that we can be adaptable and make changes in moments and try and play the game that we want to play.

On leaving Bayern Munich:

It was really difficult. I’ve absolutely loved my time at Bayern. Honestly, it's been probably one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. From the moment I got there, it felt like home. It was a really difficult decision to tell them that I wasn’t going to be re-signing and that’s because I still love it there. I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that I want to always have good memories at Bayern – I never want to get to the point where I’m not enjoying something or I’m a little bit over it. I want to continue to fulfil the rest of this season – we’re in a really good place in the league, in the Champions League as well – and I want to try and make as many memories as possible.

Ukraine in profile

 

Nickname: Zhinky
Coach: Iya Andrushchak
Captain: Daryna Apanashchenko
Last encounter: Ukraine 1-2 England, 19 June 2014

 

Match Stats and Facts

● England have won all four of their previous meetings with Ukraine in all competitions, with this their first since a 2-1 away win in June 2014 in qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

● Ukraine have won just one of their last six FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying matches against nations ranked in the current top five of the FIFA rankings (L2 vs England, L2 vs Spain, L1 vs Sweden), beating Sweden 1-0 in June 2018 before ultimately failing to progress out of their qualification group for the 2019 tournament.

● England will play in Türkiye for the third time, previously facing Türkiye in two FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in November 2009 and October 2013, winning 3-0 in Izmir and 4-0 in Adana on those respective trips.

● Since missing out on the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup by losing both legs of their play-off final against France, England are unbeaten in each of their last 46 qualifying matches for the tournament (W42 D4), scoring 225 goals and conceding just eight times.

● Ukraine have never qualified to the main tournament from any of their seven FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaigns, though they have always finished in the top three positions of their group. They last reached the playoffs in 2015 qualification, when they finished as group runners-up to England.

● In their first FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign under manager Sarina Wiegman, England won all ten of their games by an aggregate score of 80-0, winning four of those 10-0 and one of them 20-0 vs Latvia, the biggest win in their history.

● England have won each of their last three matches, last winning four in a row in February 2024, and last doing so without conceding in July 2022. The Lionesses are unbeaten in their opening match of a calendar year in the last five years (W3 D2), drawing 1-1 away to Portugal in 2025.

● England manager Sarina Wiegman is unbeaten in her last 20 matches when facing a nation for the first time (W16 D4), since a 2-0 loss against the USA as Netherlands manager in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final.

● England have won all 15 of the matches Lauren Hemp has scored in across all competitions, the best 100 per cent-win rate in games netted in of any player in the Lionesses’ history – the Manchester City forward has been directly involved in 12 goals across her last five FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying matches (seven goals, five assists).

● Georgia Stanway is two away from recording her 50th goal involvement in an England shirt (48 - 29 goals, 19 assists) – the midfielder was the Lionesses’ top scorer in 2025 (eight goals) and could be the first player to net in four consecutive appearances for the nation since Ellen White in July 2019 (five in a row).

England women squad news

See the squad for this fixture here.

 

Ticket Information for England women v Ukraine

Click here to register your interest to purchase tickets.

How to watch or stream England women v Ukraine

 

Details about where this game will be broadcast will appear here once announced.

Sarina Wiegman has named her side to kick off England’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifying campaign.

Captain Leah Williamson wears the armband, back in the line-up for the first time since winning UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.

Alex Greenwood misses this evening with a minor muscle injury and will continue to be assessed ahead of Saturday's fixture against Iceland.

England: 1 Hannah Hampton, 2 Maya Le Tissier, 3 Taylor Hinds, 4 Keira Walsh, 5 Leah Williamson (C), 6 Lotte Wubben-Moy, 7 Jess Park, 8 Georgia Stanway, 9 Alessia Russo, 10 Laura Blindkilde Brown, 11 Lauren Hemp

Substitutes: 12 Lucy Bronze, 13 Anna Moorhouse, 14 Poppy Pattinson, 15 Esme Morgan, 16 Grace Fisk, 17 Chloe Kelly, 18 Lucia Kendall, 19 Aggie Beever-Jones, 20 Lauren James, 21 Ellie Roebuck, 22 Jess Carter, 23 Freya Godfrey

A brilliant second-half showing from England fired the Lionesses to a 6-1 win over the Ukraine in Türkiye in their opening FIFA 2027 World Cup European Qualifier.

The match in League A, Group 3, was goalless in the first half but two goals apiece after the break from Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway and Jess Park ensured it was a comfortable second half.

Ukraine did manage a goal of their own through Yana Kalinina to pull it back to 2-1 on the hour-mark, but in the end, the European champions’ class told.

England had the better of the first half but could not find the breakthrough, with Laura Blindkilde Brown coming closest when she hit the crossbar, narrowly missing out on a first England goal after Kateryna Samson had denied Stanway from long range moments earlier.

Russo was another who had chances, while Lotte Wubben-Moy almost scored a cheeky back-flick after the ball dropped to her in the six-yard box only to be cleared off the line.

But the return from half time saw the game’s dynamic change entirely as England seized control.

Having seen a couple of changes go begging in the first half, Russo made no mistake in the second, played in by Keira Walsh before beating the final defender and slotting the ball home.

Like London buses, she didn't have to wait long for her second as she found herself on hand after some brilliant build-up work by Lauren Hemp.

Those two goals in four minutes put England in the ascendancy, but Ukraine responded with a goal from Yana Kalinina, taking almost the first chance of the game for her side.

Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished however, with Hemp brought down in the box and Stanway stepping up to fire home the penalty.

Just like Russo, Stanway managed her second in quick fashion, firing home the edge of the box to make it 4-1 to England after 70 minutes.

Stanway then turned creator to set up Park after she had escaped her marker, before the Manchester United attacker got her second with a fine finish over Samson.

England will now turn their attentions to Saturday’s clash with Iceland in Nottingham in front of a sold-out crowd at the City Ground.

England: 1 Hannah Hampton (Chelsea); 2 Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), 3 Taylor Hinds (Arsenal), 4 Keira Walsh (Chelsea), 5 Leah Williamosn (Arsenal) (C), 6 Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal), 7 Jess Park (Manchester United), 8 Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), 9 Alessia Russo (Arsenal), 10 Lauran Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), 11 Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

Substitutes: 14 Poppy Pattinson (London City Lionesses) for Hinds 46, 15 Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit) for Williamson 46, 20 Lauren James (Chelsea) for Hemp 73, 19 Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea) for Russo 73, 18 Lucia Kendall (Aston Villa) for Walsh 79

Subs not used: 12 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), 13 Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride), 16 Grace Fisk (Liverpool), 17 Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), 19 Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), 21 Ellie Roebuck (Aston Villa), 22 Jess Carter (Gotham FC), 23 Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses)

Goals: Russo 47, 51, Stanway 64 (pen), 70, Park 78, 89

Ukraine: 23 Samson, 8 Shainyuk, 4 Kotyk, 18 Korsun, 22 Basanska, 5 Andrukhiv, 7 Kalinina, 3 Petryk, 16 Ovdiychuk, 19 Kravchuk, 9 Kozlova

Substitutes: 13 Zaborovets for Kozlova 9, 10 Hiryn for Andrukvhi 64, 20 Hlushchenko for Kravchuk 64, 11 Vorontsova for Kalinina 68, 21 Olkhova for Zaborovets 86

Subs not used: 1 Boklach, 12 Keliushyk, 15 Kohut, 6 Kotiash, 2 Podolska, 14 Shmatko

Goals: Kalinina 58