{"id":4913,"date":"2026-04-15T02:16:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/4913\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T02:16:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:16:50","slug":"england-1-0-spain-lionesses-take-significant-step-towards-world-cup-qualification-with-win-over-the-world-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/4913\/","title":{"rendered":"England 1-0 Spain: Lionesses take significant step towards World Cup qualification with win over the World Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"

England secured a crucial 1-0 win over World Champions Spain in the UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at Wembley Stadium,<\/a> courtesy of an early Lauren Hemp<\/a> strike.<\/p>\n

The result pushes Sarina Wiegman’s<\/a> side three points clear of Spain at the top of League A qualifying Group three and maintains their perfect start to qualifying ahead of next summer’s tournament.<\/p>\n

The Lionesses extended their unbeaten run against Spain on English soil to 10 games, halting La Roja’s impressive 17-match unbeaten run in all competitions (excluding shootouts). England have also now won four consecutive matches at Wembley for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n

The game marked England midfielder Keira Walsh’s 100th Lionesses appearance, a special moment for the 29-year-old who has been a consistent, steadying midfield pillar for Sarina Wiegman’s<\/a> side in recent years.<\/p>\n

Hemp was clinical to volley home England’s opener in the third minute following a scramble in the penalty area, and resilient defending saw the hosts take all three points.<\/p>\n

Wiegman<\/a> made three changes to the Lionesses side that beat Iceland 2-0 at the City Ground<\/a> to continue their perfect start to qualification back in March.<\/p>\n

Lotte Wubben-Moy<\/a> and Alex Greenwood<\/a> started ahead of captain Leah Williamson,<\/a> who was not fit to feature despite training with the group yesterday, and Taylor Hinds<\/a> in defence.<\/p>\n

Lucia Kendall<\/a> also came into the side in place of Manchester United<\/a> midfielder Jess Park.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sonia Bermudez,<\/a> meanwhile, made wholesale changes to the Spain side that secured a 3-1 win over Ukraine last month, with several stars returning to the starting lineup, including Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey,<\/a> Ona Batlle, Mapi Leon,<\/a> Cata Coll,<\/a> Patri Guijarro<\/a> and captain Irene Paredes.<\/a><\/p>\n

Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas<\/a> and Vicky Lopez retained their spots in the starting lineup from March’s victory, while three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati<\/a> missed out through injury.<\/p>\n

The hosts raced out of the blocks and broke the deadlock in just the third minute. A moment of chaos in the box saw Spain fail to clear Greenwood’s floated corner delivery, before Alessia Russo<\/a> scooped the ball up off the ground into the path of Hemp.<\/a> The Manchester City<\/a> forward made no mistake, converting from close range with a first-time volley. Putellas attempted to make a last-ditch block off the line but was unable to sort her feet out in time.<\/p>\n

Another chance for Wiegman’s side followed. Lauren James<\/a> found space on the left and beat Ona Batlle with excellent footwork, but the 24-year-old blazed the resulting shot over the bar.<\/p>\n

Spain went close to getting back on level terms soon after when a dangerous corner dropped to Paredes in the box, but her header looped over the crossbar.<\/p>\n

As La Roja began to find their rhythm in possession, Guijarro worked her way through the England backline after some tidy build-up, but saw her shot blocked. Batlle met the rebound but could only slice it wide.<\/p>\n

Defensive solidity was a clear priority for England after the opener, as their backline stood strong despite Spanish pressure. Going forward, though, the Lionesses remained dangerous in transition and came agonisingly close to doubling their lead before the 20-minute mark, when Hemp exchanged a one-two with Bronze in the box before curling an effort towards goal. It looked destined to bend into the far corner, but instead ricocheted off the post before bouncing away.<\/p>\n

There was then a chance for Vicky Lopez as the visitors continued to probe. The Barcelona starlet received the ball just outside the box before it opening up her body, aiming to place the ball in the far corner, but her strike sailed wide.<\/p>\n

After the half-hour mark, Spain came close again, with the quality in possession they possess in abundance on full display. After an intricate passing move, full-back Batlle showed good feet to beat several England defenders, but she could not add the finishing touch, firing her close-range effort well over the bar.<\/p>\n

Soon after, an England break forward saw the ball eventually drop kindly for Walsh, looking to mark her 100th Lionesses appearance with a goal, in space, but she blazed her strike over.<\/p>\n

A misplaced pass inside their own half then saw Spain concede possession, and the Lionesses almost pounced. Russo evaded several Spanish defenders before firing a powerful strike towards goal, but the tight angle meant it was straight down the throat of Spain goalkeeper Coll.<\/p>\n

Wiegman’s side headed into the break with their early lead still intact, despite La Roja dominating the ball with over 62.5 per cent possession in the first period.<\/p>\n

The visitors started the second half as brightly as they had ended the first, with a huge chance early on. Olga Carmona\u2019s strike from inside the area deflected heavily off Bronze, who was sliding to block, before looping over Hampton\u2019s head. The ball struck the bar before bouncing back down, but did not trickle over the line as Spain were denied by a matter of inches.<\/p>\n

Another big chance went abegging two minutes later, but this time it was England who came close. James won the ball back in an advanced area before feeding Russo, who drove forward before cutting the ball back to Kendall in space in the middle of the area. The 21-year-old rushed her effort, fizzing it over the bar.<\/p>\n

A second chance in quick succession followed for Wiegman’s side, as Bronze threaded it through Russo. Under pressure from centre-back Leon, the England striker dragged her effort wide of the far post.<\/p>\n

A frenetic opening to the second period continued in the 55th minute as La Roja hit the woodwork once again. Lopez exchanged a one-two with Battle before firing an effort at goal, but it clipped the outside of the post before being cleared away.<\/p>\n

James then looked to extend England’s lead before the hour mark, as she turned past Guijarro and darted into the Spain box. The Chelsea forward then looked to find the far corner, but her effort drifted wide.<\/p>\n

Spain kept pushing forward but struggled to find a way through. Claudia Pina<\/a> burst past Bronze down Spain\u2019s left and delivered a dangerous ball to the back post, but Lopez failed to get on the end of it.<\/p>\n

Lopez was involved again shortly after as she cut inside onto her left foot inside the box and powered a shot at goal, but Hampton claimed it comfortably.<\/p>\n

With 20 minutes remaining, Pina delivered another threatening cross towards the back stick, where Parades meets it, but she was unable to guide her header on target. She had a similar chance in the first half and perhaps should have done better on both occasions.<\/p>\n

A decisive stop from Hampton in the closing stages denied Spain a last-gasp equaliser. A corner delivery was met by Edna Imade who did well to angle it on target, but a decisive claw from the England shot-stopper allowed Wiegman’s side to see out a vital victory.<\/p>\n

As well as netting the decisive goal in a lightning start for the Lionesses, Hemp was dangerous all evening down the right flank.<\/p>\n

The Manchester City<\/a> forward linked up superbly with right-back Bronze, with some neat combination play and dangerous runs in behind. On the ball, she constantly looked a threat, while she also did the dirty work, defending strongly when required to help keep hold of England’s early lead throughout the 90 minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"England secured a crucial 1-0 win over World Champions Spain in the UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2383,3378,2379,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-4913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-england","9":"tag-england-women","10":"tag-lionesses","11":"tag-spain"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}