England secured an impressive Nations League victory over reigning champions Spain.
On a night when the floodlights temporarily went off at Wembley Stadium in the second half, England shone brightly in their first match against the world champions since the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, Australia.
Lucia Garcia’s shot hit the woodwork early in the first half before Jess Park put England ahead from the six-yard box after Alessia Russo’s shot had deflected towards her path.
Spain had plenty of opportunities, but England’s defence held firm to put the Lionesses level on four points with fellow leaders Portugal in their group after two games.
Is this a significant victory?
After the disappointment of the 1-1 draw in Portugal on Friday, England will be slightly surprised to end this international break at the top end of their Nations League group. Portugal’s 1-0 victory in Belgium means they share the top spot with England, with Spain just behind on three.
For England, however, this result was about more than the Nations League. The World Cup final defeat to this opposition 18 months ago still hurts, particularly in the manner England found themselves completely unable to fight their way back into the game in the second half. In some ways, it was a role reversal: just as England hit the bar at 0-0 in Sydney, Spain hit the bar at 0-0 on Wednesday. Small margins can change a lot and the importance of the first goal should never be underestimated.
Besides, by the end of the game, Spain had probably got themselves into enough promising situations to feel they should have found an equaliser — although their typical inability to convert chances remains a concern.
England head coach Sarina Wiegman is always calm after matches, never going overboard after a victory or becoming too negative after a defeat. This victory was significant, in terms of points and morale, but she knows England will need to keep possession better and prevent the opposition from getting in behind if they’re to defend their European Championship title in Switzerland this year.
Michael Cox
Did Hampton justify selection ahead of Earps?
Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was given the nod to start for England in the latest chapter of Wiegman’s battle for the No 1 shirt.
Hampton, who has 13 starts for Chelsea this season, started England’s 4-3 friendly defeat to Germany under the Wembley lights back in October before Mary Earps started against the U.S. in November’s goalless friendly draw. Given the glamour and consequence of this match, the advantage seems to reside with Hampton ahead of Euro 2025.
Hampton makes a save against Spain at Wembley (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
The 24-year-old did well, further stating her case to be first choice. While she could be grateful for the crossbar’s intervention in denying Garcia in the 12th minute, Hampton dealt calmly with shots from Aitana Bonmati and Salma Paralluelo in the first half and showed off her reflexes to deny Ona Batlle from close range.
Less than four minutes after the restart, Hampton was called into action again, smartly sticking a leg out to deny Garcia.
“I think she had a very good performance,” Wiegman said after the match. “The whole team did. And as I say, we have three goalkeepers, two are fighting for the No 1 position and they’re world-class goalkeepers. They give me headaches.”
Megan Feringa
James adds spark to England’s attack
When the noise picked up around Wembley in the first half, it was invariably due to one player getting on the ball. Before this international break, Lauren James had not featured for England since April 2024 and they had sorely missed her in attack.
Lauren James was impressive in defence and attack against Spain (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
It was James who created England’s only goal against Portugal as she danced through the middle of the pitch before playing the ball out to Lucy Bronze, and she caused similar problems against Spain. Her desire to seek out the ball drags players out of position and makes her unpredictable, with Spain right-back Batlle left unsure as to how she should mark James.
But perhaps most impressively, James demonstrated a defensive attentiveness that her critics have previously said she lacked. In the 92nd minute, she was still tracking back to tackle Mariona Caldentey in the England box, one of a number of moments when she made a significant effort to ensure her side were not overrun in defence.
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James should have finished the game off when the ball was pulled back to her on the edge of the area towards the end of normal time, but, despite her shot squirming under Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll, she did not get the goal to justify her impressive displays in both matches this February.
Jessy Parker Humphreys
Will Williams and Bright be the first-choice defensive partnership?
There has been a lot of focus on England’s injury absentees, with Alex Greenwood’s MCL tear being a key concern ahead of the Euros. The left-footed centre-back started every game at the World Cup in 2023 and had looked like she would be in contention to do the same again in Switzerland.
Greenwood had broken into the side originally as a result of captain Leah Williamson’s ACL injury, with England relying on her further last year when Millie Bright was ruled out for several months with a knee issue.
It has been a rocky road back to full fitness for both Williamson and Bright, who were England’s first-choice defensive pairing when they won the Euros in 2022.
But against Spain, the imperious combination that has been lacking for Wiegman’s side over the past 12 months returned. Bright, who has played every minute for Chelsea in the league so far this season, used all her physicality to stop Spain’s attackers from penetrating the penalty area, while Williamson looks to have regained her confidence on the ball to be a more reliable foil for the often well-marked Keira Walsh.
The duo’s reinvigorated partnership has come at a crucial time for the Lionesses.
Parker Humphreys
What did Sarina Wiegman say?
On the team’s turnaround from the draw with Portugal: “We just wanted to do a lot better than Friday. Friday, we had momentum then lost it. We tied. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do better and we knew we had to against Spain. You can’t be slow against Spain because then they’re gone.”
On confidence building ahead of the Euros: “We’ll face Spain in June, but that gives a boost. We showed ourselves again tonight we can compete with the best. We showed it before but good to show it again, mainly to ourselves but after such an intense game, the fans enjoyed the game.”
What next for England?
Friday, April 4: Belgium (H), UEFA Women’s Nations League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)