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Spain v England: Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifying – live | Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifiers
Key events
63 min: Guijarro with a stunning backheel for López whose curling finish at the near post is just wide. What a stunning goal that would have been.
61 min: Guijarro is almost away celebrating a fourth after she heads a looping corner goalwards but a combination of the crossbar and Hampton just manage to keep it out.
60 min: Corrales surges forward and gets ahead of Wubben-Moy. She tries to find Paralluelo but Morgan cuts out the pass.
58 min: Imade has a go from about 40 yards out as the confidence continues to flow. Wiegman has seen enough and makes two changes with James and Toone off for Kelly and Mead.
GOAL! Spain 3-0 England (Putellas 55)
England have absolutely no answers against the world champions. Some magic footwork from Battle keeps the ball and she cuts back to send the ball to Putellas. She takes the shot and Bronze comes in with the important goalline block only for Putellas to be the quickest to respond and slam it goalwards.
54 min: England are out of their own half. I repeat, England are out of their own half. This feels like breaking news given how the game has gone. Stanway gets the ball on the edge of the box and has a go from distance and it drifts just wide.
51 min: Paralluelo leaps forward to try to get on the end of a ball over the top and Greenwood just does enough to throw off the forward. I wonder if the Spanish centre-backs are stretching and trying to keep warm on the other end of the pitch. The camera has not panned over to them in a while.
50 min: López glides past several England players and tries to walk it into the net but just one touch too many from the Spaniard and the ball is cleared. It is almost a one-woman show at this point.
48 min: Hemp fouls López near the left corner flag but England clear the free-kick in.
46 min: Spain quickly retain possession of the ball and test Hampton early on but it is an easy catch for the keeper. Meanwhile, Mead is already warming up on the touchline.
Second half: No changes at half-time from either side and we are back underway in Mallorca.
Half-time: Spain 2-0 England
Not a single minute of added time from the referee as Spain head in at the break having been the far better team. Work for Sarina Wiegman and England to do.
44 min: López dribbles into the box and finds Imade. She dribbles in the box and trips over the box over Stanway’s outstretched leg. The referee is not interested despite the home fans’ protest for a penalty.
Tom Garry
On the ground: Spain have been significantly better than England so far. Too many England players are off their game at the same time as one another. There have been sloppy passes, loose touches and sleepy marking. It could and perhaps should be 3-0 or 4-0. England have to ride out this Spanish storm and try to get back into the game. The home fans in the stands are loving what they are seeing.
40 min: England, despite the dangerous forwards, are struggling to create much. Hemp wins a corner and Greenwood sends the looping delivery only for Imade to head away immediately … Spain are on the break and it is only Morgan who is back, and she somehow sticks a leg out to stop the attack. Crucial intervention from the Washington Spirit defender.
GOAL! Spain 2-0 England (Putellas 37)
Spain are completely in control of this group now. The hosts pass it around the box with one-touch passes and it is Putellas who is through on goal. Hampton is able to get a hand on the shot but it powers into the back of the net anyway. Putellas had two wasted chances earlier in this match. You can’t give her a third.
35 min: López gallops away, evading multiple white shirts. Wubben-Moy finally gets the slightest of touches after a sliding tackle that allows Hampton to collect.
35 min: James sprints forward and sends a ball in. The ball looks like it is going to float in at the back post but it curves away and there is no white shirt to poke it home.
33 min: Hampton receives the ball and she thinks she just manages to keep it in. The Spanish crowd disagree and the replay shows that they might be right, with the ball out of play. No VAR or goalline technology here in Mallorca today.
31 min: Paralluelo tries to find López but Morgan is able to stick a foot out. The ball switches flanks and Corrales attempts a cross but Hampton catches the ball.
28 min: England again lose the ball at the edge of the box and Paralluelo pounces. She skips forward but nothing comes of the chance. Spain are taking charge but have been very wasteful.
25 min: Spain win the ball back in the final third after England’s sloppy passing at the back. Putellas again … and her low shot is on target this time but straight at Hampton.
24 min: Spain pass the ball around casually and it gets to Putellas, who is unmarked at the edge of the box. Luckily for England, she skies it high and wide.
20 min: A bit of drama after the goal scored … Hampton kept hold of the ball despite the Spanish players attempting to get it from her grasp and Guijarro had a few words for the referee. England hope to respond with a corner which they fail to do.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 England (Guijarro 19)
Patri Guijarro was born here in Mallorca and she is the one who opens the scoring with a fantastic low shot that wrong foots Hampton after she nutmegs Stanway in midfield. Huge goal for Spain, who need to win today to have a chance of topping the group.
17 min: James has a go at a curler after an England corner but the ball hits a sea of red shirts and bounces to Walsh. She then attempts a shot and it drifts just above the bar. Not a bad effort at all.
15 min: Guijarro finds Paralluelo with another ball over the top. The latter can’t get the touch right but she recovers well and gets past her marker but her cross is headed away. The ball limites to Caldentey, who has a go from distance, but it dribbles wide.
13 min: Huge chance! Imade sneaks off the shoulder of Morgan and meets a looping ball that comes in over the top. Hampton comes out and catches the ball before dropping it but no red shirts are around to hit the rebound. Relief for England.
9 min: Spain now enjoying the ball. Corrales gets forward and with a great cross to an unmarked Putellas. She had all the time to bring the ball down but she opts to head it straight away and fails to hit the target.
6 min: England enjoying the possession but Spain have a chance to counter here … and Imade is offside.
5 min: Encouraging from England. Stanway wins the ball back in the final third and the visitors are on the attack again. Greenwood and Russo try to combine and Spain just manage to clear it. Hemp then wins the ball back on the left and attempts a cross but Spain, once again, deal with the danger.
4 min: James shrugs of Paredes and finds Greenwood with a great pass forward. Greenwood then finds the central Russo but Greenwood was well offside.
Tom Garry
On the ground: What an atmosphere inside this stadium, with almost every single Spain fan waving their national flag in their air as the anthems are played. They respectfully applauded after ‘God save the King’ and then really upped their noise levels. High up here in the top tier of the stands, we have a view of the mountains to our left and the sea to our right. The sun is setting and the scene is very picturesque.
2 min: López and Imade try to combine but James is all the way back and wins the ball back. Caldentey then plays a good ball in but Bronze deals with it eventually with an awkward header away.
Kick-off: Spain 0-0 England
Here we go! Spain in their red shirts and navy shorts and England in their white tops and blue shorts.
The players are out of the tunnel and the national anthems are about to be sung.
Here is a reminder of the teams:
Spain XI (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 XI (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.
Preview: Can England show that they are ready to be world champions? Here’s a bit of Tom Garry’s thoughts.
Spain away is the toughest fixture in international football. Topping a difficult qualifying group – in a fixture that is a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final – would show the Lionesses are ready for a world title to add to their two European triumphs.
As Europe’s two strongest sides, and as two of the best in the world alongside the USA, these rivals met in the European Championship final only 11 months ago, which England won in a penalty shootout.
Lucy Bronze says Spain “bring out the best in us”, the England right-back adding: “It’s one of those rivalries where we have made each other better over the years. It’s good for the game and it’s good for each other.”
Read the full preview below.
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 XI (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 XI (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.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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