By Catherine MacKenzie (27/2/25)
An energetic defensive performance and first half goal from Jess Park saw England beat Spain in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
England and Spain have a recent history that is difficult to ignore. In the 2022 Euros, the teams faced each other in the quarterfinals, where England came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a Georgia Stanway belter. A year later and they faced each other in another major tournament; this time the World Cup final. England’s Lionesses were narrowly defeated and Spain emerged as World Champions, an achievement that would be marred by events off the pitch.
The repercussions of those off-pitch events are still felt today, as the legal case between Jenni Hermoso and Luis Rubiales is ongoing. It is not difficult to imagine that the furore surrounding Spain off-pitch has impacted the team, and recent performances have been mixed. Their characteristic attacking flair has been tinged with an edge of defensive frailty as exposed by Belgium and France; although Spain went on to win both games, they conceded early and looked disorganised defensively.
For their part, England have been under immense pressure in recent months, with performances and results criticised by the media and fans alike. There has been a struggle to score goals, alongside the occasional lapse in concentration that has resulted in the team dropping points in crucial matches – such as conceding to Portugal in the latter stages of the game.
Facing Spain will always be a different animal to facing the rest of Europe; even with defensive fragility and missing players they remain one of the best teams in the world. Housing players like Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and ex-Manchester United player Ona Battle, they have a deep squad that is capable of moments of greatness that can appear to come from almost nothing.
This match was an important one, as the UEFA Nations League group standings determine how teams will be placed in qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. For England, there was also the mounting discontent to contend with, as they have simultaneously been seen as favourites for the Euros title and favourites for a group-stage exit.
“They give me headaches”
Wiegman opted for a lineup with only one change from the draw with Portugal. In a sign that the battle for England’s no.1 spot is still far from over, Wiegman opted for Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton over Mary Earps.
Hampton took her chance against Spain, with a few significant saves. Her distribution was also utilised at points to get the ball through Spain’s midfield. Speaking post-match, Wiegman echoed this sentiment, saying “she (Hampton) had a very good performance”.
England’s last loss came back in October, against Germany at Wembley where they conceded four. Since then, they have kept three clean sheets, against the USA, Switzerland, and now Spain. Hampton has been in goal for two of these (Switzerland and Spain), and Earps put in a similarly significant performance against the USA. Two goalkeepers putting in world class performances is a good battle for a manager to contend with, even if it does “give me headaches”.
“The fight and the togetherness, that is the most important thing”
Since her arrival in 2021, togetherness has been integral to Wiegman squads. She named an unchanged starting eleven for all six games of the Euros win in 2022 for this reason, claiming the connections between players are integral for a positive performance.
It has been argued that this togetherness has been less easy to see of late, with the occasional lapse in communication plaguing the back line in particular. In defence, the partnership against Spain was the same partnership that proved so successful in 2022: Millie Bright and captain Leah Williamson. They collaborated superbly and worked in a symbiotic way that left little to no space for Spain to exploit; and when they did break through, Bright in particular made some crucial blocks.
Asked about Bright’s performance, Wiegman summarised that “moments in the game that we had to defend, we had to fight – and that’s what Millie did really well”.
“We showed again that we can compete with the best”
In the early stages of the game, Spain were dominant, having the lion’s share of the possession and giving England no space in midfield. England struggled at first to win the ball back and find spaces to play through the lines. However, around the twenty-minute mark, the momentum shifted as England found their shape and began to keep the ball more consistently.
Spain failed to clear a ball into the box and Alessia Russo turned superbly to fire a shot off. Although this initial shot was saved, Jess Park was perfectly positioned to tap in the rebound, giving England a deserved 1-0.
England then showed an important indicator of growth: after scoring, they did not sit back – they kept pushing, with a flurry of strong chances coming in the first half. For the second successive game, England were denied a penalty that arguably would have been given had VAR been in operation, and the half finished 1-0 to the hosts.
Where fans and Wiegman will be particularly impressed is that in the second half, England did not allow themselves to falter in the same way as they had the previous week against Portugal. The battle was fought for the entire 95 minutes, by every player on the pitch.
The last time Spain failed to score a goal was in August 2024, in the Olympic bronze medal match against Germany. Since then, they have scored 14 goals in five games, showing more ruthlessness in front of goal.
Whilst Spain lacked this ruthlessness at Wembley, they did have their chances – 20 shots to England’s nine – however most of their chances either flew over the bar or were blocked by an impressive England defence. England were more clinical, with six of their shots being on target, and they forced Catalan goalkeeper Cata Coll into action more than once.
The bigger picture
England are obviously not the finished article yet, and there are still major players to return from injury and to the starting line-up. However, beating the world champions in front of a crowd of over 45,000 at Wembley should certainly be seen as a sign that there is progress to be seen; that the Lionesses team know what they are doing, and that as fans we should trust them.
ENGLAND: Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Bright, Charles, Clinton, Walsh, Toone, Park, Russo, James. Substitutes: Earps, Moorhouse, Morgan, Turner, Carter, Le Tissier, Mace, Blindkilde-Brown, Parris (for Russo 64’), Beever-Jones, Kelly (for Park 64’), Naz (for Toone 84’).
Scorer: Park 33’.
SPAIN: Coll, Battle, Paredes, Bonmati, Carmona, Caldentey, Pina, Aleixandri, Garcia, Mendes, Paralluelo. Substitutes: Romero, Sullastres, Garcia, Codina, Ouahabi (for Carmona 56’), Zubieta (for Aleixandri 83’), Lopez, Oroz, Martin-Prieto, Castillo (for Garcia 70’), Redondo (for Paralluelo 83’).
Referee: Tess Olofsson (SWE)
Attendance: 46,550.
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