• Wiegman says she ‘cannot think of a better job in football’

• She can target three European titles in row with Lionesses

Sarina Wiegman has extended her contract to continue as the head coach of England women for Euro 2029. Her deal was due to expire after the World Cup next summer and this extension gives her the chance to lead the Lionesses to three European championship titles in a row.

Wiegman, who took on the role in September 2021, also led her native Netherlands side to European Championship glory in 2017 and has reached the final of the past five major tournaments, twice finishing as a World Cup runner-up.

Lexi Potter and Lauren James stole the show against Greece but England’s 8-1 aggregate win was one of many lopsided scorelines

If there had been a vidiprinter at the King Power Stadium displaying the aggregate scorelines from the night’s Women’s World Cup qualifying playoffs around Europe, it might have looked more at home on the cricket scoreboard just over a mile further south at Leicestershire’s Grace Road. Sweden 15-0 against Lithuania. Republic of Ireland 12-0 against Kazakhstan. Netherlands 11-0 against Hungary.

How much, therefore, could be gleaned from England’s 8-1 aggregate win against Greece? It was, irrefutably, a significantly better performance from England, on a night when they got some of their mojo back, they played with a zip and panache, but overall there was plenty to observe but very little new information. After 180 minutes of football and more than 3,000 miles travelled, to all who correctly guessed the outcome a week ago, congratulations, you were correct: the European champions were able to beat a team ranked outside the world’s top 50 over two legs.

• Playoff semi-final second leg: England 5-0 Greece (agg 8-1)

• Goalscorers: Russo 3 75, James 16 34, Stanway 30

A mercurial Lauren James scored two and provided an assist in a thrilling four-goal first 45 minutes against Greece, as England put themselves two games away from securing their place at the World Cup.

James’s double was matched by Alessia Russo, who scored either side of the break, and her Arsenal ­teammate Georgia Stanway was also on the scoresheet, with the Lionesses setting up a playoff final against Ukraine in November and December. It was a clinical and slick statement from England, albeit against a team they should bypass with ease.

• World Cup playoff, 7.30pm BST kick-off (first leg: 3-1)

• Read today’s edition of Moving the Goalposts on Japan

4 min Papatheodorou almost replies straight away, sweeping a left-foot shot from the edge of the area that is pushed round the post by the diving Hampton. Good save.

Perfect start for England. Lauren James collects a loose ball in the centre circle, surges forward and flicks a perfectly timed pass through to Russo. She rides a lunging challenge from Markou on the edge of the area and passes the ball confidently past Katergiannaki.

• World Cup qualifying playoff: Greece 1-3 England

• Stanway, Le Tissier and Russo on target

Sarina Wiegman said she wanted to see a bit more from her side after their fairly underwhelming performance against a hugely unfancied Greek side, despite securing a valuable first-leg victory in their Women’s World Cup playoff tie.

Georgia Stanway’s neat finish, Maya Le Tissier’s first England goal and Alessia Russo’s low strike were enough to give England control but a Kallisti Brouksair goal for Greece means that the tie is not definitively over, going into Tuesday’s second leg, and Wiegman acknowledged that England had been “a bit sloppy” at times.

⚽ World Cup qualifying news, 5.30pm BST kick-off in Crete
⚽ Read the latest Moving the Goalposts extract | Mail Rob

Thanks to Trevor for pointing out that Tuesday’s second leg is at the King Power Stadium – not, as I suggested earlier, at Wembley.

Grauniad gonna Grauniad.

England’s coach has given a wake-up call to her whole squad by leaving out two heroes of 2022 and 2025

Sarina Wiegman sent a clear message to two of England’s biggest names on Tuesday and – in doing so, irrespective of reputations – fired the same warning to every player: perform for your club or you will not go to the World Cup.

Wiegman was unequivocal with her reasoning for leaving Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly out of her squad for October’s playoff against Greece. Her straight-to-the-point and typically honest style made it inescapably clear, when she said: “The main reason is that I think the levels weren’t what I expect from them on the pitch.”

• England to play Ukraine or Slovakia if they beat Greece

• Scotland probably face Sweden if they win first game

England will need to overcome Greece and either Slovakia or Ukraine to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Scotland were handed a significantly tougher draw and will probably need to beat Sweden, if they first beat Czechia, to head to Brazil.

Thursday’s playoff draw brought Wales a potential reunion with their former manager Gemma Grainger in a tricky tie against Norway. Northern Ireland’s path to a first World Cup could bring them a game against League A’s Iceland.

Footballers, charity founders, actors and musicians among those celebrated for service to Britain

Six members of the Lionesses’ victorious Euro 2025 squad have been made MBEs in King Charles’s birthday honours list, while the actor Dame Helen Mirren has been made a Companion of Honour for services to drama.

They are joined by the former rugby league player Kevin Sinfield, who has been knighted for his campaigning and fundraising to tackle motor neurone disease.

• England 3-0 Ukraine

• Carter 14, Stanway 37, Mead 67

Sarina Wiegman calmly asserted that she was confident England will still qualify for next summer’s World Cup, despite having to settle for a place in the playoffs as Spain’s 6-1 win in Iceland forced England to finish in second spot.

England cruised to victory over Ukraine on Merseyside but the result proved insignificant with Spain getting the result they needed. The Lionesses finish this group with 15 points from a possible 18 but miss out on a precious automatic spot in Brazil because of their inferior head-to-head record against Spain, after Friday’s humbling 4-0 loss in Mallorca.

⚽ Updates from the Group A3 fixture; kick-off 8pm BST
⚽ Mail Will | Hemp backs team to bounce back

ITV are not particularly interested in this game, they have spoken about Friday night for about 15 mins. Look forward, folks.

Sarina Wiegman: “Every game you don’t win, it hurts. Friday was a hard one because we didn’t create any momentum.

• European champions beaten 4-0 in Mallorca on Friday

• Hemp: ‘As a group, we’ve come together and stuck together’

Lauren Hemp says the England squad are sticking together after their heavy defeat against Spain on Friday and have vowed to bounce back from that setback when they face Ukraine in their final Women’s World Cup qualifier at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The European champions were outplayed in a 4-0 defeat in Mallorca where they missed the chance to secure automatic qualification for the tournament in Brazil next summer, with Spain leapfrogging them at the top of the group. By virtue of their stronger head-to-head record against England, Spain have the group’s sole automatic qualification spot firmly in their hands.

England’s heaviest defeat for decades does not signal the end for Sarina Wiegman’s European champions

It was a tough night for Sarina Wiegman and her charges at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix. England’s biggest loss since a 6-2 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2009 final and their first loss in a qualifier since 2002 shattered their ambition of securing top spot in their 2027 World Cup group and automatic qualification for the finals in Brazil.

The 4-0 scoreline was bruising, but the performance against Spain even more so and there was no sugar-coating by Wiegman. Her England side “didn’t play good enough”, “couldn’t get into another gear” and “hardly got into the 18 yard box”.

England were outclassed in Mallorca and would have been better served by trying to contain the world champions

As the game ticked into second-half stoppage time, Spain were almost showboating, Aitana Bonmatí flicking the ball around the pitch with grace, style and a swagger that sent out an emphatic message: Spain are significantly better than England.

On a balmy evening in Palma, the world champions taught the European champions a painful lesson. The scoreline was one thing but, more alarmingly, the undeniable gulf in technical ability between the teams gave the Lionesses a brutal reality check, a year out from the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

• Spain 4-0 England

• Guijarro 19, Putellas 37 55, Pina 78

Only a minor miracle will save European champions England from having to come through World Cup qualifying playoffs after they suffered an utterly humiliating 4-0 defeat by World Cup holders Spain in Mallorca.

A loss by only a one-goal deficit would have been enough to keep England’s hopes of topping their qualifying group alive after an immaculate campaign prior to this. However, with the head-to-head record between the top two sides coming into play should they finish level on points, this emphatic win, with talismanic Alexia Putellas scoring two, means Spain just need to beat Iceland on Tuesday to secure top spot at England’s expense.

Spain ran rampant against England with goals from Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas and Clàudia Pina to move top of their World Cup qualifying group

On the ground: What an atmosphere inside this stadium, with almost every single Spain fan waving their national flag in their air as the anthems are played. They respectfully applauded after ‘God save the King’ and then really upped their noise levels. High up here in the top tier of the stands, we have a view of the mountains to our left and the sea to our right. The sun is setting and the scene is very picturesque.

2 min: López and Imade try to combine but James is all the way back and wins the ball back. Caldentey then plays a good ball in but Bronze deals with it eventually with an awkward header away.

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The shortlists for the Men’s and Women’s PFA players’ awards have been revealed. Arsenal’s Premier League-winning trio of Declan Rice, Gabriel and David Raya all feature while Bunny Shaw and Yui Hasegawa have both been nominated for the Women’s Player of the Year award after helping Manchester City to title glory.

Men’s Players’ Player of the Year nominations

England are upbeat going into the toughest fixture in international football but the hosts’ threat will be amplified by the returning Bonmatí

The equation sounds simple: avoid defeat on Friday and England will qualify automatically for the Women’s World Cup. The reality of the task ahead is far more complicated. Facing the world champions, Spain, like the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range that towers into the sky behind the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, is an imposing barrier between the Lionesses and Brazil 2027.

A positive result in Mallorca would do more than guarantee England a shot at glory next summer. It would send a powerful statement that England remain a force to be reckoned with if they can tame the game’s greatest technical midfield, again.

• Iceland 0-1 England

• Russo goal and Hampton saves keep Lionesses top of group

Snow-capped mountains provided an idyllic backdrop to a less impressive performance, but England’s 1-0 win over Iceland ensured they maintained a three-point gap over Spain in their bid to earn an automatic place at the 2027 World Cup.

Only the four League A teams who top their groups will avoid the playoffs and qualify automatically, and with the European and world champions drawn in the same group, one will be left frustrated and with more games required to book their trip to Brazil.

⚽️ World Cup 2027 qualifying news, 5.30pm BST kick-off
⚽️ England face landmark 500th game | Mail Xaymaca

5 min: Almost a huge mistake from Cecilía Rúnarsdóttir! She stumbles over the ball on her goal line and Russo almost punishes her with a tap in. The Iceland goalkeeper eventually manages to poke the ball away from danger.

3 min: England are already dominating possession while Iceland will likely rely on counter attacks and set pieces.