England needed only to avoid defeat against Spain, but instead, they faced their worst loss in 17 years.
A win or draw would have guaranteed the Lionesses a spot in the 2027 Women’s World Cup, yet a 4-0 defeat in Majorca means they will likely have to go through two rounds of playoffs in the autumn instead.
It was a night to forget for manager Sarina Wiegman, who acknowledged the heavy loss against their rival “hurt”.
As they return to England, a victory against Ukraine in their final qualifying match on Tuesday (20:00 BST) will only be significant if Spain drops points against Iceland at the same time.
“I expected a very close match. The outcome tonight was disappointing – and it hurts,” Wiegman said.
“We simply did not perform well enough, and we couldn’t elevate our game. They began to create more danger while we struggled to find another gear.”
“First, I need to assess what went wrong. We have to understand what caused this.”
“I’m obviously frustrated and disappointed, but the players feel the same way. This loss hurts because we’ve been beaten before, but never by such a margin.”
How damaging was this result?
Spain leads the group due to a better head-to-head record against England [BBC]
With one year remaining until the World Cup kicks off in Brazil, this alarming scoreline provides Wiegman with much to reflect on.
Playing the world champions Spain away is arguably the hardest test in football, but losing by such a significant margin was tough to observe.
Former England midfielder Fran Kirby remarked that Wiegman’s players appeared “deflated” by the final whistle and she felt “hurt just watching it”.
“They will learn from this, and they must rise to deliver a strong performance against Ukraine,” Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Only the top team from their group automatically qualifies for the World Cup, and even if England secures a win against Ukraine on Tuesday, they may still miss out, making the loss to Spain the only blemish on an otherwise solid campaign.
So just how damaging was the 4-0 defeat for England?
“Clearly, this isn’t a good scoreline. It’s tough, disappointing, and there was a noticeable difference between us and Spain,” Wiegman admitted.
“We’ll analyze this, recover, stay united, and focus on playing well as we move forward.”
“If we qualify automatically, our preparations will differ from if we don’t. Let’s see what happens on Tuesday first.”
England midfielder Keira Walsh, who captained the side in the absence of injured center-back Leah Williamson, acknowledged that they “simply weren’t good enough”.
“Spain displayed exceptional quality, but there were many areas where we could have improved. It felt like they had players everywhere,” said Walsh.
“It was tough to get out of our own half. I don’t currently have answers. We’ll analyze the game later, but for now, emotions are running high.”
“It was a disappointing match. We still have a small chance to qualify automatically, but that’s out of our hands. We can only hope Iceland does us a favor.”
Where did it go wrong?
Having lost 1-0 at Wembley in April, the world champions needed this match to overcome England’s three-point lead atop Group A3.
This convincing 4-0 victory now places them at the top of the group and they merely need to match England’s result against Ukraine on Tuesday.
Spain led the match after Patri Guijarro nutmegged Georgia Stanway before finding the net after a deflection against goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
England’s defense was penetrated again by two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who scored before halftime and then reacted quickly to score again after Lucy Bronze had cleared the ball off the line.
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England struggled with ball possession, lacked creativity, and recorded no shots on target as they were consistently outperformed by a relentless Spain side, creating a stark contrast between the teams.
The class gap was underscored when Putellas was substituted for three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who assisted her fellow substitute Claudia Pina, who sealed England’s disastrous evening.
“It was a night to forget – we were second best in every aspect,” remarked ex-England midfielder Karen Carney told ITV.
“Spain outperformed us in every area, and we need to come to terms with that.
“In matches like this, you sometimes find yourself wishing for the final whistle because you don’t know how to respond. We were far off our game.”
England’s lack of energy could potentially be attributed to the WSL season ending on 16 May, while several Spanish players were fresh off winning the Women’s Champions League with Barcelona just two weeks prior.
England were also missing captain Williamson, which weakened an already troubled defense, and Wiegman’s decision to start Ella Toone over Lucia Kendall was noteworthy, given Kendall’s recent return from a four-month injury layoff.
Ultimately, though, the disparity is straightforward: Spain exhibited their exceptional prowess while England failed to show up. Against such talent, they cannot afford that.