Phil Neville has developed a ‘special bond’ with his England squad as 2019 World Cup qualification is sealed

The Lionesses beat Wales 3-0 to secure qualification to next year's World Cup in France

England celebrate reaching the 2019 Women's World Cup (Getty)

Phil Neville says he has developed a "special bond" with his England squad after guiding them to the 2019 Women's World Cup.

The Lionesses brushed aside Wales 3-0 in Newport on Friday night to win their qualifying group and reach next summer's finals in France.

Neville, who was appointed in January after previous manager Mark Sampson had left in controversial circumstances, said: "This is a massive step for us. As a group I feel as if I'm a lot closer to them now.

Jill Scott grabbed the second as England beat Wales (Getty)

"I'm seven months into the job and I think we've got a special bond. Nights like this test that bond and I think we've come through it."

Wales went into the winner-takes-all clash at Rodney Parade without conceding a goal in their previous seven qualifiers.

But second-half goals from Toni Duggan, Jill Scott and Nikita Parris rewarded the Lionesses' domination and bolstered Neville's belief that England can shine in France.

"I told them to relax at half-time," Neville said. "I said if we're going to be affected by what's going on around us at Rodney Parade, then what chance have we got playing in a World Cup final in Lyon?"

England play their final group game in Kazakhstan on Tuesday and Scott, Fran Kirby and Jodie Taylor are set to miss the trip after picking up knocks against Wales.

Gabby George and Lucy Staniforth are expected to make their debuts.

England were made to wait for their opener but had three goals to show for their dominance (Getty)

Wales still have an outside chance of making the play-offs as one of the best runners-up, and manager Jayne Ludlow feels her team is heading in the right direction.

"We have work to do to make sure we have more players at the top level," Ludlow said.

"It would be really nice to see a fully professional outfit on the pitch in the next two to three campaigns, and that can happen if the programmes we have running right now impact the kids."