Spain v England: Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifying – live
Key events
Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV before the match.
On Wutten-Moy slotting in for the injured Leah Williamson:
She has had a very good season and she and Leah tend to swap positions when Leah is out, or if she isn’t. She is ready for tonight.
On Toone’s first England start since November:
Ella is very talented and brings something different to our team. I expect a very intense game and I hope she can bring what she can do.
On what will be learned from this game:
You learn from every game. We learned a lot from Iceland. We learned a lot from Ukraine. This game will give us the most pressure we can imagine, in execution but also decision making.
On James returning from injury:
Having Lauren is a boost. The squad is in a good place. [James] had a small injury and she recovered really well.
Tom Garry
On the ground: We are expecting about 20,000 fans here tonight and the atmosphere is lively outside. We have drummers, dancers, a DJ and red-and-yellow Spain kits everywhere.
Permutations: The league stage of the Uefa’s Women’s World Cup qualifiers runs until 9 June.
Four direct qualification spots for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil will be decided by then while 32 slots in the playoffs (drawn on 18 June) are also up for grabs. Teams are also competing for promotion and relegation ahead of the next edition of the Nations League.
England will qualify as group winners if they avoid defeat by Spain today while Spain will be confirmed in the playoffs if they do not beat England.
Should Spain beat England today, the two teams will both be on 12 points. From there, qualification will be based on goal difference.
Iceland and Ukraine make up the other two teams in the group. Both are confirmed in the playoffs and the former are safe from relegation after beating the latter 1-0 earlier today.
Team news
Spain (4-3-3): Coll; Batlle, Paredes, León, Corrales; Caldentey, Guijarro, Putellas; López, Imade, Paralluelo.
Subs: Rodríguez, Nanclares, Méndez, Carmona, Codina, Serrajordi, Bonmatí, Benítez, González, Del Castillo, Navarro, Pina.
England (4-3-3): Hampton; Bronze, Wubben-Moy, Morgan, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; Hemp, Russo, James.
Subs: Moorhouse, Baggaley, Le Tissier, Carter, Charles, Fisk, Kendall, Mead, Park, Godfrey, Blindkilde, Kelly.
Referee: Ivana Martincic (Croatia)
Preamble
The newest chapter of the Spain-England rivalry will be written today in Mallorca where the World Cup holders host the European champions.
The two teams have met six times since Sarina Wiegman’s side beat Spain 2-1 during the quarter-finals of the Women’s Euro 2022. Most recently, England beat Spain 1-0 at Wembley and, with the only perfect record remaining in Group A3, will qualify for next summer’s showpiece event in Brazil with a game to spare if they avoid defeat.
Spain have been here before – back in the 2025 Nations League, Spain lost 1-0 at Wembley before beating England 2-1 to qualify – and eventually win – the World Cup in Australia.
Permutations and team news to come. Join me for the 8pm BST kick-off.
