Top News

England’s women’s football team faces the real prospect of going through the play-offs in their Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign after a heavy 4-0 defeat to Spain — their worst result since Sarina Wiegman took charge. The result handed La Roja the advantage in securing the group’s only automatic qualification spot. England travelled to Mallorca knowing that even a draw would ensure their place at next summer’s tournament in Brazil, but goals from Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas, and Claudia Pina meant the hosts overtook them with one match remaining.

England entered the contest with a perfect qualifying record, including a 1-0 win over Spain at Wembley in April, and initially looked composed. Spain created the first real chance when Alexia Putellas delivered a superb cross for Edna Imade, forcing Hannah Hampton into a good early save. At the other end, Keira Walsh came close with a long-range effort that narrowly cleared Cata Coll’s crossbar. But everything changed once Guijarro broke the deadlock.

Guijarro skillfully nutmegged Georgia Stanway before surging into space left open in England’s midfield and fired home, with a deflection taking the ball past Hampton. From that moment, England appeared disjointed and vulnerable, as Spain repeatedly sliced through their defence. However, La Roja’s wastefulness in the final third initially spared the Lionesses. That reprieve didn’t last long — Alex Greenwood played Putellas onside for Spain’s second, and Hampton, despite getting a strong hand to the midfielder’s shot, couldn’t prevent it from finding the net.

That second goal proved crucial, eliminating England’s head-to-head advantage since their earlier win was by just one goal. With that, Wiegman’s side could no longer rely on the away-goal or goal-difference tiebreaker and had to chase the game. But Spain maintained control, and before the hour mark, Alexia Putellas grabbed her second after Lucy Bronze’s last-ditch block was undone by hesitation from Greenwood.

Things went from bad to worse late on when substitute Claudia Pina added a fourth, completing England’s heaviest defeat under Wiegman by some distance. Before this, England had never lost by more than two goals since the Dutch coach’s appointment in September 2021. The 4-0 defeat also marked England’s biggest loss in 17 years — their worst since the 6-2 defeat to Germany in the 2009 European Championship final. The result now means that the 2023 Women’s World Cup runners-up will likely have to navigate the play-offs to reach the 2027 tournament, unless Spain slip up against Iceland on Tuesday night.

GOAL presents England’s player ratings from the Estadi Municipal de Son Moix...

Goalkeeper & Defence

Hannah Hampton (3/10):

Produced a strong early save to deny Imade but was below her usual standards thereafter. Couldn’t prevent Putellas’ strike and lacked precision in her distribution.

Lucy Bronze (4/10):

Struggled throughout, starting with her turnover leading to Guijarro’s opener. Made a superb goal-line clearance later but it didn’t matter as Spain scored again. Outmatched for most of the game.

Lotte Wubben-Moy (4/10):

Overwhelmed by Spain’s relentless attack and easily bypassed for Pina’s fourth goal.

Esme Morgan (4/10):

Found it difficult to handle Spain’s continuous pressure and looked unsettled throughout.

Alex Greenwood (3/10):

Played Putellas onside for the second goal and failed to clear in the lead-up to the third. A night to forget for the experienced defender.

Midfield

Keira Walsh (4/10):

Needed to close down Guijarro more aggressively before the opener. Showed some composure when on the ball but lacked influence overall.

Georgia Stanway (4/10):

Tried to get England back into it with a shot that went just wide at 2-0 but couldn’t impose herself otherwise.

Ella Toone (4/10):

Struggled to make any impact or get involved in possession on a difficult night for the midfield.

Attack

Lauren Hemp (5/10):

England’s brightest presence in attack, with her pace and direct running offering brief moments of hope, though without real end product.

Alessia Russo (4/10):

Starved of service and barely involved in attacking sequences.

Lauren James (5/10):

Worked hard defensively and connected a few promising passes that created half-chances. Unlucky to slip when tracking back for Spain’s third goal.

Substitutes & Manager

Beth Mead (5/10):

Found decent positions after coming on but lacked the conviction to capitalise on them.

Chloe Kelly (4/10):

Couldn’t make a noticeable difference, understandable given the game’s context when she entered.

Jess Carter (N/A):

Came on late and had little time to influence proceedings.

Niamh Charles (X/10):

Another late substitute with minimal impact.

Sarina Wiegman (3/10):

Opted to start Toone in midfield, despite Kendall’s strong showing in the reverse fixture, but the move didn’t pay off. Waited too long to make substitutions and might regret leaving Aggie Beever-Jones out of the squad, as England desperately needed more attacking options by the end.