England scored an important victory over rivals Spain to take control of their 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying group.
In a repeat of the Euro 2025 final and the 2023 World Cup final, two of Europe’s best teams were fighting to take first place in Group 3.
It was a perfect start for Sarina Wiegman’s team at Wembley when Lauren Hemp pushed the ball over the line inside three minutes to give them a crucial lead.
The Manchester City winger almost doubled her tally when Lucy Bronze’s backheel put her in the box, but Hemp narrowly deflected her shot.
That set the tone for the Lionesses, who defended well and developed a perfect game plan in the first half to limit Spain’s chances.
The reigning world champions controlled possession and went close thanks to Irene Paredes and Ona Batlle, but did not do enough to test goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
Only the best team in the group automatically qualifies for the World Cup in Brazil, while the rest access the play-offs, so there was a lot at stake.
This led to an intense second half in which both teams created great opportunities. Lauren James, Alessia Russo and Lucia Kendall all failed to score for England, while Olga Carmona and Vicky López hit the woodwork for Spain.
Spain put pressure on the hosts in the final minutes and Edna Imade headed wide from close range before being denied by a good save from Hampton in the final minutes.
The victory maintained England’s record of 100% in the standings after three games and they sit at the top of the table with nine points, knowing that the trip to Spain is scheduled for June.
They head to Iceland, third in the group after beating Ukraine, on Saturday knowing that another three points will put them in a strong position heading into the final round of summer qualifying matches.
Wiegman said afterwards: “I think as a team against Spain you have to defend very well because their individual quality is very high.
“If you don’t stay compact, like we did, they will find spaces to drop back and become more dangerous. We tried not to let them drag us out of position.”
“Overall we did it. We also had moments in the game where we went forward and created chances.
“At the moment it is a really good result and we are very happy, but we must maintain that importance by getting a result on Saturday against Iceland.”
