CORDOBA, Spain, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Spain's women's football team recovered from its midweek defeat away to England with a resounding 5-0 win over Ukraine on Saturday, keeping alive its hopes of qualifying directly for the 2027 World Cup at Nuevo Archangel Stadium in Cordoba.

The win means that Spain's home match against England on June 5 is almost certain to decide which of the two sides tops the qualifying group and which will have to go through the playoffs.

The reigning world champion, who had beaten Ukraine 3-1 in the reverse fixture, needed just 90 seconds to take the lead. Lucia Corrales surged down the left and delivered a pinpoint cross for Edna Imade to power in a header.

Spain quickly camped around the Ukrainian penalty area, but despite having over 70 percent possession and forcing 10 first-half corners, they found it hard to break down the visitors' organized defense. Ukraine goalkeeper Daria Keliushyk had only one difficult save to make before the break, getting down smartly to deny Alexia Putellas.

Olha Ovdiychuk almost scored a shock equalizer in the last minute of the first half after a strong run and shot which hit the post and almost bounced into the goal off Spain goalkeeper Adriana Nanclares.

Corrales and Imade combined again two minutes into the second half for a carbon copy of Spain's opening goal, with Imade scoring another powerful header.

As the second half progressed and temperatures climbed above 30 degrees Celsius, Ukraine began to tire and the goals flowed.

The impressive Vicky Lopez crossed for Maria Mendez to head in Spain's third in the 61st minute, before Eva Navarro saw her shot take a slight deflection to make it 4-0 in the 70th minute.

Five minutes later, Lopez got her reward as she pounced on a loose ball, rounding the goalkeeper and slipping the ball into an empty net to complete the 5-0 scoreline. ■