England were beaten 3-2 by Denmark in the play-off for fifth place at the World Team Championships in China.
With the tie level 2-2, Donna Kellogg and Jenny Wallwork were beaten 21-15 10-21 21-15 in the women's doubles by the pre-tournament favourites.
Hosts China then beat South Korea 3-0 in Guangzhou on Sunday to win the Sudirman Cup for a seventh time.
England had secured their place among the top eight teams in the world with a victory over Japan earlier in the week.
But hopes of upsetting the Danes were dealt a blow when Anthony Clark and Gabby White were convincingly beaten 21-7 21-12 by Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Juhl in the opening match of the tie.
English National champion Rajiv Ouseph came in for Andrew Smith in the men's singles but ran out of steam in the final game to go down 21-16 18-21 21-11 to Jan O Jorgensen.
Chris Adcock and Robert Blair began the comeback with a straightforward 21-16 21-16 victory over Carsten Mogensen and Mathias Boe.
And when Nanna Brosolat Jensen pulled out of her singles game against Walker, England were suddenly level at 2-2.
But hopes of a remarkable turnaround were thwarted by the Danish women's pair, who are European champions.
RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Sudirman Cup latest (official site)
Sudirman Cup 2009
Badminton on the BBC
International Badminton
Badminton England
Badminton Scotland
Welsh Badminton
Badminton Ireland
Have your say on Badminton - 606
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~05~RS~)