Ukraine 1-6 England: Stunning second half gives Wiegman winning start to World Cup qualifying

Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway and Jess Park all scored braces as England cruised to a 6-1 victory over Ukraine in their opening World Cup qualifier at Mardan Stadyumu.

After a frustrating first half, England stormed to a comfortable victory with six second-half goals putting them top of Group D on goal difference.

Laura Blindkilde Brown’s long-range effort deflected against the crossbar, while Lotte Wubben Moy saw a cheeky backheel flick clear off the line just before the half-hour mark.

Sarina Wiegman made a double change at the break, giving England a new lease of life as Russo latched onto Kiera Walsh’s throughball before slotting in the opener just two minutes into the second half.

And she got her second just four minutes later, with Lauren Hemp cutting in from the right to set the Arsenal striker up for a clever tap-in behind her defender.

Ukraine added some nerves in the 58th minute, as Yana Kalinina turned a loose ball from a free-kick past Hannah Hampton in their first attack of the game.

But six minutes later, Hemp was felled by Kateryna Korsun in the box, with Stanway confidently dispatching from 12 yards before she fired a stunning strike into the top-right corner from the edge of the box in the 70th minute to get England’s fourth.

There was no let-up from England, though, with Park peeling away from her marker to poke in Stanway’s low cross in the 78th minute. She then rounded off the scoring in style with one minute of the 90 remaining, cutting inside from the left to loop her shot over Kateryna Samson.

A six-goal showcase from the #Lionesses pic.twitter.com/NIBzFr3ogj

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) March 3, 2026

Data Debrief: At the double

While none of the England players managed to get their hands on the match ball, three doubles after the break meant Wiegman’s side stormed to victory.

Russo led their charge throughout, having a game-high nine shots (worth 1.91 expected goals), and 19 touches in the box, though Park and Stanway were not far behind with six and five shots respectively.

Stanway also reached a personal landmark, surpassing 50 goal involvements for England (51 – 31 goals, 20 assists), as she scored in her fourth consecutive appearance.

Overall, the Lionesses had 31 attempts worth 4.91 xG, getting 13 of those on target, to Ukraine’s four shots in total. England also dominated in the final third, with 77 touches in the opposition box and 100 final-third entries, with their pressure eventually telling after the break.