Mark Sampson happy to see England Women in pole position

The Lionesses put themselves within a point of securing their place in Canada next summer  with a 2-1 victory over Ukraine in Lviv on Thursday night.

And group rivals Wales also kept their hopes of qualification alive with a victory over Belarus in Minsk, which means that when the two sides meet across the border on 21 August, a point will be enough to take England through to the Finals.

"We know what we need to do, we need to put in good performances and get good results,” said Sampson.

"I've heard the Wales result so congratulations to them and they've put themselves in a very good position to set up a very exciting game against us in the next couple of months.

"But we've put ourselves in a brilliant position and we couldn't wish to be in a better one after winning every game so far.

"We know we can go into that Welsh game and perform to our maximum to seal our place in the World Cup."

Thursday’s game was a hard-fought affair for England, as they were made to work for the three points and were put under some late pressure by Ukraine after goals from Casey Stoney and Eni Aluko had put them into an early lead.

But Sampson’s side remained solid to hold on for victory after the hosts pulled a goal back and the head coach was pleased to see his players tested in more ways than one.

"The objective tonight was to get the win, if we'd have got a performance to match at a very high level, that would've been fantastic.

"But we got a good performance in what was a tough and intimidating environment.

"The players will take a lot from that, because we haven't really been challenged or put under pressure and having to deal with a big arena and big crowds.

"It's a challenge, we've overcome and it's another big tick in the box."

Watch the full post-match interview with Sampson in Lviv in the media player below.