Tom Garry was at the RCDE Stadium and here is what he had to say:
The result ensured Spain progressed to October’s semi-finals of the Nations League and England finish second in the group. It will have given the England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, plenty to ponder, with less than 48 hours before she names her final squad for July’s Euros.
The Dutchwoman, who has overseen 12 wins out of 12 in her two previous Euros campaigns as a head coach, named what appeared to be her strongest available starting side, but it was in the second half, when she began to introduce squad players, that Spain began to fully assert their superiority.
Read his full verdict below.
Thank you all for following along with me and make sure you join us here for full coverage of this summer’s tournament as England defend their title in Switzerland. Bye for now!
The post-match postbag is here!
Peter ponders:
There’s no disgrace in losing to Spain who are obviously very very good. But the real issue is taking only one point from the three away games, which made tonight a must-win rather than either a must not lose or even a must not lose by too much. Why is the team so poor on the road? Do we – both men’s and women’s teams – not take this tournament seriously enough? Other countries seem to.
I would hope the tournament is taken at least somewhat seriously since it is such good preparation for the summer tournament but England have been quite poor on the road as of late under Wiegman. A concern going into a non-home Euros.
Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV:
Very intense game. We know they are very tight on the ball. we could have been tighter, switched play quicker and harmed them more in the first half. in the second half they pressed us higher. and then Pina was very decisive with her shots. We need to keep the ball. It is not easy but something to take with us moving forward.
Hampton was put under a lot of pressure. She had a lot of players around her, a lot of crosses. It was a good game from her.
[On what needs to be fixed before the Euros]: Fix it? I don’t know what you mean by that. We had a very good week. Players coming abck from injuries, players fighting for selection. We move forward and get ready for Jamaica [the next friendly] and France [England’s first match at the Euros].
As for Spain, what a second-half performance. Pina has surely done all she can to make her case as a starter but is she better as sub coming on against tired legs?
Wiegman will have a lot to think about before the Euros. England seem to struggle with teams – especially away from home – who can dominate possession. What are her plans for protecting the spaces Pina, Batlle and Bonmatí were able to exploit?
Leah Williamson speaks to ITV after the loss:
The second-half they pressed a bit higher. We struggled to keep the ball as we did in the first half. We didn’t really have a threat. Under that much pressure from a top side sometimes that is what happens. We just have to be a bit better on the ball and find solutions quicker. A great lesson, I always say it, but a great lesson. We just have to react quicker.
[The loss] is not a concern. We know what we’re capable of. we have to be able to adapt a bit quicker but it’s a different mindset now, we have time to build and push ourselves to be ready for the start of the [Euros].
The first half was a solid display. For the most part we looked solid, there’s just tweaks that need to be made but it’s just disappointing because it’s a competitive fixture. It is a disappointing because of the rankings and the seedings.
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Full-time: Spain 2-1 England
England are handed a bit of a lesson by Spain with a stylish second half from the world champions. Sarina Wiegman’s side opened the scoring with a Russo strike but they were second best for the majority of the game and two goals from Pina off the bench turned it around and the Lionesses’ Nations League campaign comes to the end.
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90+5 min: Bonmatí with some great control in the box but her shot at the near post is blocked by Hampton.
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90+3 min: Walsh is now booked after grabbing Batlle from behind as the defender surged forward.
90+2 min: Kelly gets the ball on the flank but Batlle rushes her and her cross goes straight to a red shirt.
90 min: We will get at least six minutes of added time.
88 min: Carmona goes down after clearing a ball away. She was not touched but she seems to have pulled something. Spain won’t take any chances with her and she comes off for Fernández. Batlle will swap to left-back and Fernandez will go on the right.
87 min: Beever-Jones is on for Russo, who has not been a threat at all in this second half. Not completely her fault though with the way Spain were playing.
86 min: Carter does well as she tries to get forward but three red shirts crowd her out and win the ball back. This team are ruthless when they are on it.
85 min: After some treatment Guijarro is OK to continue but Spain’s free-kick hits the wall.
83 min: Kearns loses the ball, makes a rough challenge on Guijarro in response and is booked. A tough debut for the Villa player.
82 min: Carmona plays a good cross to González. The striker is situated between the two England centre-backs but her header is wide. That will be her last action of the game before she is replaced by Lucía García.
80 min: Hemp takes the corner and there is a collision after Kearns heads it down between Carter and Coll. The Spanish keeper collects and everyone is OK.
79 min: A rare England attack! Russo gets forward and she wins a corner. The replay looks like she might have been just offside.
76 min: What a touch from Pina and what a pass! She evades Carter and spots Bonmatí but the Ballon d’Or winner cannot keep her shot down.
74 min: Ole! rings out from the crowd as Spain keep possession. What a turnaround! Park comes off for Toone.
GOAL! Spain 2-1 England (Pina 70)
The super-sub has turned this game around! England just sloppy in midfield as Batlle wins the ball almost too easily. She lays it off to the forward who takes a touch before a sucker-punch of a shot finds the bottom corner. Golazooo as they would say in Spanish. Pina has completely flipped this game on its head!
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69 min: Spain have slowed down a bit now they have their equaliser. Remember they only need a point to qualify for the finals whereas England need to win.
65 min: Hampton is down and getting treatment. The commentators on ITV think Wiegman just wants to have a chat with her players. The replay shows Williamson whispering in the keepers ear just before she goes down.
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63 min: Putellas wins a free-kick in a dangerous position after Kearns and Kelly try to get the ball off her. Hampton sets up her wall as Pina takes … and it curls at the near post but the keeper handles it.
GOAL! Spain 1-1 England (Pina 60)
That is why they brought her on! England struggle to play out from the back as they head the ball away right to a red shirt. It gets to Pina and she does not let Hampton set her feet before netting a low shot at the far post. Definition of super-sub!
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58 min: Paralluelo comes off for Pina, Barcelona’s ruthless goalscorer this season. Can she find an equaliser?
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58 min: Bonmatí with a stunning backheel but it is intercepted. Caldentey then tries to go for goal but it is high and wide.
56 min: Bronze and Mead are off for Carter and Kelly. Tomé is chatting to her players on the bench so expect a Spain substitution soon.
55 min: England are struggling even more to get up the pitch in this half as Spain are being a bit more aggressive off the ball, pressing higher up the pitch.
50 min: González collides with Hampton after the keeper claims a cross. She is grimacing as she is holding her knee but gets up and will be able to continue.
48 min: Caldentey with a good ball into the centre of the box and Putellas stops it with a brilliant touch. She turns and her effort is just wide. Spain have been pushing but they have only had that one early chance that Hampton saved on target.
46 min: Spain almost score moments after the whistle is blown. Carmona puts a peach of a ball past several white shirts for Paralluelo but the forward can’t keep the ball down with her shot.
46 min: We are back underway! England make a substitute at half-time with Stanway coming off for Kearns. The under-23 captain is making her senior debut.
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Half-time: Spain 0-1 England
The Lionesses lead through a Russo goal with a bit of controversy surrounding a possible foul in the build-up. As it stands England would qualify for the Nations League semi-finals.
45 min: Guijarro hits one from about 25 yards out but it is wide. We are getting at least one minute of added time.
42 min: The flag has gone up three times in the last two minutes, twice for England and once for Spain. This time, they look like the right decisions, though they were tight.
39 min: Stanway and Bronze with a quick one-two before the full-back puts a cross in but there is no white shirt to test Coll.
37 min: Bonmatí and Putellas combine well at the edge of the area (a scary sentence for any opponent) but the final ball just isn’t quite there.
35 min: Walsh tries to find Mead but her pass is quite far way from her target and Spain intercept it.
32 min: From right outside the box González has a go. The shot looks like it could sail on target but it dips too late, just going over the bar. The crowd oohs at the chance.
29 min: Russo is a nuisance for England – in the best way. The striker gets forward to try and receive the ball and Aleixandri has to grab her to stop her. She is shown the first yellow card of the game. Mead takes the free-kick and it is a good chance for Williamson to head it towards goal but Coll deals with the tame shot.
25 min: Spain look to respond quickly. A Paralluelo cross comes in and the ball clearly hits Charles’s arm in the box. But the referee waves to play on much to the crowd’s frustration. England let-off again.
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GOAL! Spain 0-1 England (Russo 22)
Charles wins the ball off Paralluelo and the ball is played to a rushing Russo. She is 1v1 against Coll and there was likely going to be one result: the ball in the back of the net.
Spain are not happy because they think there was a foul from Charles. But the assistant referee disagrees and, again, no VAR.
On her 50th cap, that is Russo’s 22nd goal for her country. What form she is in!
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20 min: It is getting a bit cagey now. England have been forced to defend deep and compact for most of this opening 20 minutes and Spain are still looking for the spaces.
17 min: Charles plays a great curling ball to Hemp on the flank but Batlle deals with the danger.
13 min: The ball bobbles around in the England box and it breaks towards González but her first touch is a bit too heavy, allowing Hampton to quickly gather the ball.
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12 min: Hemp plays Charles into the box but the flag goes up again. This one looked like the right decision.
11 min: Bonmatí is through on goal but the flag goes up for offside. She wags her finger, denying the claim. The replay shows she was well onside with Williamson caught out but there is no VAR in the group stages of the Nations League so play continues.
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8 min: Spain get two corners back-to-back. The first ends in a wild Carmona shot and the second is cleared away by Charles.
8 min: What a let-off! Williamson looks like she will easily deal with a rare ball over the top from Spain but instead passes it straight into the pass of González. The striker cuts inside and shoots but it’s well-wide.
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6 min: England get up the pitch but Bronze and Mead can’t get their passing quite right.
3 min: Spain win an early corner. Paralluelo takes the set-piece and it lands to Parades who has a swipe at it. It lands towards González, who spins and shoots but Hampton is there, her strong hand coming out and denying what looked like a sure goal. Great save from close range!
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1 min: Spain start early with Bonmatí and Paralluelo attempting to combine but Williamson deals with the pressure.
Kick-off: Spain 0-0 England
The players take a knee before the referee blows her whistle. The hosts in all red and the visitors in white and blue.
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The teams are out and the national anthems are played. Paredes and Williamson – the two captains – shake hands and we are moments away from kick-off.
The pre-match postbag is here!
Peter questions the line-up:
Stanway starts, Beever-Jones a sub. Why? Stanway has had a few minutes playing for England. Beever-Jones a hattrick. This is the most important game.
Definitely an interesting change from Wiegman. She did not really give a clear answer in her pre-match interview for her reasoning but I believe she’ll want to assess Stanway’s ability before this summer and see if she can keep up against one of the best midfields in the world in Spain. Let’s see if Beever-Jones make an appearance off the bench.
And Assaf with some extra info:
Besides being all-or-nothing for Nations League semi-final qualification, the No 1 team of each League A group also qualifies directly to the 2027 Women’s World Cup. That’s at least four games saved for the increasingly tired bodies of top players.
Great spot! Wiegman has been vocal about the number of games her players are forced to play and I am sure she and the players would be grateful for the rest.
Thank you for all the discussion! Feel free to continue sending your thoughts via email.
Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV before kick-off:
It is great as everyone was fit today. So everybody could start. It is good to have them on the pitch and good to have other options too.
[On dropping Beever-Jones to the bench after her hat-trick]: She is in good form, but Alessia [Russo] is in good form too. It is good to have all these centre forwards in the squad. It gives me many options.
[On Jess Park starting]: “Jess has done really well. Ella [Toone] is coming back, we have to build her into the squad, coming back with a little niggle, but Jess stays in the lineup.
[On if she knows her starting XI for the Euros]: It is a little bit too early. Of course, the players get some rest, then we play Jamaica, and then we make the decisions.
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15 minutes until kick-off at the RCDE Stadium!
There is quite a rivalry building between these two sides. England knocked out Spain in the last Euros with Stanway scoring in extra-time.
Spain then went on to beat England in the World Cup final with the sole goal coming from Real Madrid’s Olga Carmona.
Here are some of the stats between these two sides:
England beat Spain 1-0 at home in this season’s Nations League. The USA were the last nation to beat Spain twice in the same calendar year (2019).
Spain are unbeaten at home to England in all competitions (W1 D3), last hosting the Lionesses in June 2010, a 2-2 draw in a World Cup qualifier. They did surrender a 2-0 lead in that match, however.
Spain have won nine of their last 10 home games in all competitions (D1), since a 3-2 loss to Italy in the 2023-24 Nations League.
England have failed to win each of their last three away games in all competitions (D2 L1), last going longer without victory on the road between September 2002 and October 2003 under Hope Powell (P8 D2 L6).
Spain have scored 28 goals in their last seven games across all competitions, scoring 3+ goals in six of those games. Indeed, in nine of their 13 games in the Nations League they have scored 3+ goals.
England are in good form, beating Portugal 6-0 last week with Beever-Jones’s first-half hat-trick leading the rout.
But Spain, the world champions, are a different test all together. Here is what Wiegman said on tonight’s task:
I think Spain is a totally different game than what we had on Friday.
We are aware that Spain is different – it’s the highest level we can imagine so we have to have a good start again. We’re going out there to play the best performance and to take another step in our style of play and our development and have a good gameplan.
I think our squad is strong enough that we can have a good performance against a top, top team but I think we’re a good team too and we’re going to do everything to win that game.
Sarina Wiegman will announce her Euro 2025 squad on Thursday as England begin their title defence against France in Switzerland. Will any of her players make enough of a mark tonight to cause a last minute shuffle?
One player we know will not be on the team sheet is Mary Earps, who announced her shock retirement late last month.
Wiegman has preferred Hampton between the sticks as of late but Earps’ experience would have been invaluable this summer.
Quite a few England and Spain players were a part of the Champions League final last month, where Arsenal – the heavy underdogs – beat Barcelona 1-0. Lucy Bronze, a five-time Champions League winner said it was only a positive more England players have won the pinnacle of club football.
It’s just fantastic for us as an England team and us as a country, to have so many more players who are doing great things and achieving great things.
The Chelsea full-back also spoke on her teammate Millie Bright’s decision to take a break for her mental health.
We’ve all spoken to Millie during the week. We’ve just offered her our support. Both physically and mentally, it’s been a long season for everyone but, having spent every day with Millie, I know she’s someone who’s quite tough and maybe just holds a lot in, so I think it’s been quite brave for her to come out and speak.
Team news
Spain (4-3-3): Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Carmona; Bonmatí, Guijaro, Putellas; Caldentey, González, Paralluelo
Subs: Nanclares, Sullastres, Fernandez, S García, Méndez, Zubieta, López, L García, Redondo, Pina, Martín-Prieto, Del Castillo
England (4-3-3): Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Charles; Stanway, Walsh, Park; Mead, Russo, Hemp
Subs: Moorhouse, Keating, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Carter, Le Tissier, Toone, Kearns, Agyemang, Parris, Beever-Jones, Kelly
Preamble
It is all or nothing for the Lionesses in tonight’s Nations League match between Spain and England as both sides fight to finish top of Group A3 to qualify for the finals.
Spain currently lead the pack in a group that also includes Portugal and Belgium with 12 points while England trail in second with 10.
Sarina Wiegmna’s side need a win tonight to advance to the knockout stage while Spain can get by with only a point.
Join me for team news and buildup before the 6pm BST/7pm CEST kick-off. And, as always, feel free to send me an email with your thoughts, questions, predictions, complaints and rituals. I want to hear it all!
