Jess Park scored the winner for England as they defeated the reigning World Cup champions Spain at Wembley 1-0 on Wednesday evening.
It was the rematch of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final where Spain defeated England 1-0 in Sydney, but this time it was Sarina Wiegman’s team who edged out a narrow victory. England came into the Nations League group stage match looking for a response after a 1-1 draw with Portugal last Friday, while Spain scored three late goals to beat Belgium 3-2.
For the hosts, this was about putting down a marker ahead of the summer, where they head to Switzerland as defending European champions, and they opened the scoring after 33 minutes through Park. Spain continued to cause England’s defence all sorts of problems but a combination of wayward finishing and decent shot-stopping from Hannah Hampton kept them at bay.
The match was temporarily halted in the 51st minute as the floodlights failed at Wembley, but it was a brief hiatus, with play resuming just two minutes later. The pause did little to quell the entertainment, with both teams playing attacking football and Salma Paralluelo finding herself in decent positions in and around the box but with no end product. Spain kept hammering away in the final stages, but England’s defence stood resolute as the visitors had all manner of decent chances but failed to find the equaliser in front of 46,550 fans.
England can thank their defence for the win
After England’s draw with Portugal, Wiegman said her team was “moving forwards.” Defender Millie Bright agreed, but added the caveat they have “lots to work on.” The truth was somewhere in between, but Wednesday’s result — though fortunate given Spain’s number of chances — will come as a huge morale-boost as the start of the Euros ticks ever closer. England’s form since the 2023 World Cup final has been patchy at best, and though the Spanish camp admitted during the week that they too have been struggling to find consistency, you felt the reigning world champions were a level above England heading into Wednesday’s match.
But the Lionesses showed a clinical edge, making the most of having far less possession and fewer shots on goal, but still coming away with a victory. A lot of that was down to their defensive endeavour and pressing. England did their best to move Spain into uncomfortable areas of the pitch and though you’re unlikely to see Paralluelo have this kind of off day in front of goal again, you can’t question England’s defensive effort.
Bright and Leah Williamson stood up to everything thrown at them, and more often than not were blocking anything which came their way. England’s midfield also pressed their Spanish counterparts extremely well. Wiegman will look at the number of times Spain managed to get around the full-backs as an area of concern, but she’ll also point to their clean sheet.
At the other end of the field, Lauren James was their outstanding attacking outlet, but England’s attack was mostly starved of chances for the duration of the match. Alessia Russo did brilliantly to force the opportunity for Park’s winner, while Spain failed to pick up the marauding James, but Wiegman still misses players like Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Fran Kirby and their ability to break down the opposition. But it was about England’s defence on Wednesday, and them nullifying Spain’s world-class attack. — Tom Hamilton
Spain were so wasteful in front of goal
Despite having one of the most ruthless attacks in world football at present, Las Rojas were uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal, failing to convert any of their 20 chances.
Having gone 2-0 down against Belgium last week, overturning the tie after scoring thrice in the closing stages of the game to secure the win, Spain’s clinical finishing seemed to have stayed in Valencia.
There were some big moments for the side, far more clear-cut than their opposition, who did manage to convert one of their nine shots. Lucía García rattled the woodwork early in the first half and Clàudia Pina sent her strike inches over the crossbar as frustrations began to show.
Having the two-time and reigning Ballon d’Or winner at your disposal is only so good if her finishing is as clinical as we usually know it to be. Yet, at Wembley, Aitana Bonmatí‘s two chances — a wide shot and an on-target strike that was expertly saved by Hampton — were squandered. She was not the only culprit with Arsenal‘s Mariona Caldentey also sending her usually pinpoint strike wide of the netting twice.
Having spent much of the end of last season and start of the current campaign out with injury, Paralluelo, who has scored four times in 13 appearances for Barcelona this season, was finding difficulty in the final third despite getting the better of England left-back Charles.
It was vastly different for their opponents, whose creativity was severely lacking in the closing stages of the game. While all the action was in Spain’s favour, their profligacy caused their ultimate downfall, losing their first game since they fell short in the third-place playoff during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Spain resorted to crossing balls into the box in an attempt to level the tie. It was an approach that failed to have any effect, and despite this, they opted not to change tactics. If the reigning world champions had a clear-cut striker on the pitch, someone who could act as a focal point for the crosses, they made have had a different outcome. Instead, Spain’s plentiful options appeared to befuddle them, with no one of them able to find a way through. — Keogh
Hampton back in pole position for No. 1 jersey
The identity of England’s No. 1 promises to be one of the big question marks heading into the Euros. Since the World Cup final, Wiegman has chopped and changed between Mary Earps and Hampton. When Earps was picked to face the United States in November, it looked like she had stolen a march on Hampton. It was Earps who was picked in goal again for England’s draw with Portugal, but it was Hampton who regained the gloves on Wednesday evening against Spain.
Hampton passed the test with flying colours. There was one nervous moment early on where she looked like she was going to get caught in possession in her own six-yard box, but she managed to twist and turn herself out of that. The Chelsea keeper was also able to parry, clasp and punch anything else that was launched her way throughout the game. Spain lacked an end product, but Hampton did what was asked of her. She made five saves, including one flying effort to keep out Leila Ouahabi‘s well-struck effort, but it was also her distribution which impressed. This was a statement showing. — Hamilton
England subs still a major concern
Despite England’s securing their third win in their last seven games, worrying signs still persist for Wiegman off the bench. During the 2022 Euros, it was the super-subs of Russo and Ella Toone who ensured that England could win their first major title. Once acting as game-finishers, the pair are now regular starters for the side, but no one has effectively stepped into their shoes to ensure the Lionesses have reliable options on the bench.
In their last 20 competitive matches, England’s substitutes have only combined to offer two goals and one assist, only once making match-changing result.
Against Portugal, Wiegman waited until the 85th minute to make subs; against Spain, she introduced them in the 65th minute. But both times, the changes did not impact the game. In fact, the subs against Spain took the wind out of the hosts’ creativity as the Lionesses attempted to feed ball after ball through to Nikita Parris — making her first appearance for the side since November 2022 — with little effect.
While Wiegman pretty much has her first choice XI nailed on, sporadic and inconsistent substitutes, often coming too late in a game is still an area that needs addressing ahead of the summer. — Keogh
