England vs Spain LIVE: Result and final score as Lionesses defeat world champions at Wembley
England 1-0 Spain: Jess Park scored the only goal at Wembley as the Lionesses defeated the world champions
England defeated Spain at Wembley as Jess Park’s goal secured victory for the Lionesses in the rematch of the Women’s World Cup final.
Park’s finish from close range, following Alessia Russo’s turn and dribble into the box, secured England their best victory in almost 18 months and will give Sarina Wiegman’s side hope ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
World champions Spain had plenty of chances at Wembley, with Lucia Garcia hitting the crossbar early in the game and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton having to make a string of important saves in the second half.
But England survived waves of pressure to close out victory. England drew their opening Nations League match in Portugal but victory against Spain, who defeated Belgium on Friday, is a boost to their chances of reaching the finals.
Follow all the latest updates from Wembley in our live blog below:
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Mariona Caldentey to pull the strings for Spain
Another Arsenal star set to star at Wembley is Mariona Caldentey. She has become a quick fan favourite in N5, often deploying on the wings or as a roaming attacking midfielder, scoring five goals so far in her debut season.
She takes up a similar role in the national setup, racking up more goal contributions than any other member of the Spain squad since the start of last year (12).
Caldentey remains on red-hot form, too, with one goal and three assists in her last three appearances.
One to watch: Alessia Russo
With every passing day, it gets harder to discuss the Lionesses without mentioning Alessia Russo.
After a slow start to the season, she has rediscovered her best form under Renee Slegers, recovering to eight goals and two assists in 14 appearances. That is translating well into her international performances.
She has been involved in more goals than any other England player since the start of 2024 (7).
Spain are proving to be something of a bogey team, though. She is yet to score against Las Rojas in three appearances (127 minutes).
Last time out: Spain 3-2 Belgium
Las Rojas kicked off their Nations League campaign with an all-action win over Belgium at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
They left it late to secure the three points, adding two injury-time goals to equalise and take the lead.
Mariam Toloba opened the scoring for Belgium after 18 minutes, with Inter Milan’s Tessa Wullaert doubling the advantage with 72 minutes on the clock.
Claudia Pina would pull one back for the hosts with less than a quarter of an hour remaining before Lucia Garcia of Barcelona equalised with a 92nd-minute tap-in.
The winner would come just four minutes later as calamitous Belgium defending failed to dispossess Salma Paralluelo, whose deflected shot was finished by Cristina Martin-Prieto, triggering emphatic celebrations on the Spanish bench.
Montse Tomé is expecting fireworks under the Wembley arch
Tomé is clearly relishing the prospect of a first trip to Wembley Stadium as the national team manager. After downing France and Belgium in recent outings, tonight represents yet another opportunity to renew Spain’s credentials as the world’s best.
She said: “‘It will be a top level match, between the World champions and the European champions, it has to be a beautiful spectacle of women's football.
“We plan to play on the front foot, get into the box and score goals and that's what we'll be looking for tomorrow. England have a strong attacking game, a midfield that plays well, their right wing has a lot of attacking potential.”
There is always room for improvement, though. Despite scoring 16 goals in their last six outings, she believes her side can be more clinical: “We generate a lot of chances and sometimes we don't score. We have to improve. Now, we have to play a great team, one of the best in the world. Every game at international level requires the best of us and we have to be very focused on the game.”
A dubious honour looms for a Lionesses legend in the making
Keira Walsh is closing in on an unwanted Lionesses record. Should she play tonight and fail to score, she will draw equal with Rachel Brown as the most capped Lioness to have never scored for the Three Lions.
Tonight would be Walsh’s 82nd cap, making her one of the most experienced members of the current squad.
Walsh made an emphatic deadline day transfer from Barcelona to Chelsea in January, returning to the WSL after three seasons in Spain. While there, she became a two-time Champions League winner, knocking Chelsea out in the semi-finals last season.
Arsenal teammates set to go head-to-head
Arsenal stars may well make the difference tonight, as three Lionesses and two Spaniards ply their trade in N5.
For the home side, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo are both likely to start in attack, with the latter looking to add to her 21 England goals after scoring against Portugal last week. Stalwart defender Leah Williamson remains Wiegman’s first choice for the captain’s armband.
Lining up across from them are fellow Gunners Laia Codina and Mariona Caldentey, who has been something of a sensation since signing from Barcelona last summer. Her five goals and two assists marks her as one of Arsenal’s most productive forwards and a clear fan favourite.
Versatile defender Codina has been similarly impactful. She will tonight fulfill her dream of playing at Wembley Stadium. Russo reports she is “buzzing.”
How does the Nations League work?
This is the question on everybody’s minds ahead of any international break. The answer is not straightforward, so here is a brief crash course.
We are currently in the League Phase, where teams are sorted into three divisions based on prior performance in the competition and play a round-robin for promotion or relegation. Those three leagues are also broken down into four groups of four.
The winner of each group progresses to the Nations League finals, a knockout tournament which decides the ultimate Nations League champion.
The top eight teams in Group A at the culmination of the League Phase qualify for Euro 2025.
Toni Duggan is among the legends at Wembley tonight
Keep an eye on the pitch at halftime this evening - legendary Lioness Toni Duggan is set to receive a “special presentation” celebrating her retirement. The winger has 38 WSL goals to her name following stints with Everton and Manchester City, adding three League Cups, two FA Cups, and one WSL title to her resume.
She is also set to be presented with her Legacy Cap alongside Ellen White, Rachel Williams, Jo Potter, Fara Williams and Clare Wheatley.
Legacy Caps are presented to all Lionesses, prominently featuring each player’s unique Legacy Number. They were first presented to celebrate the Lionesses’ 50th anniversary in 2022.
The numbers say it could go either way
The Lionesses have never lost at home to Spain, winning five of their eight encounters. The most recent of those wins, though, was nearly three years ago, when a late Ella Toone equaliser and extra-time Georgia Stanway winner put England into the semi-finals of Euro 2022. England would go on to win the tournament.
Despite that, Spain have impressive form on the road, winning six of eight away matches under Montse Tome, the manager appointed in September 2023.
Spain are also the most efficient goalscorers in the Women’s Nations League, scoring more goals per game (3.4) than any other nation.
Russo: "We want to be moving forward" from World Cup defeat
Alessia Russo said the Lionesses are not interested in taking revenge for the 2023 World Cup Final defeat, where Olga Carmona’s first-half goal ultimately made the difference.
She said: “Revenge kind of reflects on the past a little bit. We’re a new team and we’ve got lots of new faces and lots of new qualities within the squad now.
“We don’t want to be looking back. Obviously, it hurt. You can ask every player that was in that game and it wasn’t nice to lose out but we want to be moving forward.
“We’ve got a new opportunity – we’re back at Wembley and we’ve got all of our fans there and we’re really looking forward to it.”
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