Phil Neville’s side suffered a 2-0 home friendly defeat against Sweden on Sunday afternoon just a few days after a comprehensive victory in Austria.
Having gone unbeaten through World Cup qualifying and then had the better of matches against Brazil and Australia the result will act as a warning for England that they face a huge task if they are to come home from France 2019 as world champions and Neville admitted afterwards that a first home defeat since 2015 was a 'jolt' for his players.
"Today was what we needed," he claimed.
"I do think that we needed it, the whole of the FA women's division.
"It's just a little bump in the road to remind everyone that no one is going to just give us the World Cup. We've got to keep working hard."
Their group stage opponents for the tournament will become known on 8 December when the draw for the finals takes place.
18 of the 24 competing nations are currently known with the remaining places to be decided over the next few weeks.