England started their 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign in perfect fashion with a 6-1 victory over Ukraine in Turkey.

Ukraine’s tenacious defensive performance frustrated the Lionesses in the first half, but after the restart the Lionesses gained new momentum and scored six goals to claim victory in their first official match since winning the European Cup in July 2025.

Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway and Jesse Parker all scored doubles at the Mardan Antalya Sports Stadium, which was chosen as a neutral venue to host Ukraine’s designated home games due to the ongoing war with Russia.

Two goals from Russo in just four minutes provided a comfortable and deserved lead, but Yana Kalinina’s effort in Ukraine’s first attack of the game signaled a shift in momentum.

However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Lauren Hemp was knocked down in the area just after the hour mark.

Stanway stepped up to take the penalty and then doubled her tally with a powerful shot into the top left corner.

A flick from Park and a beautiful curling shot got the Lionesses off to an impressive start in Group A3 ahead of their next match against Iceland on March 7 at Nottingham City Stadium.

Steinway: We found our quality

England midfield Georgia Stanway say ITV:

“We needed to improve a little bit more quality in the last third of the first half and we did that in the second half.

“In this qualifying session, every point is very important. Yes, we are happy to get the job done.

“Now you can see the girls working extra hard and that will carry through the rest of the game after the final whistle.”