In a fixture that has become something of a classic in recent years across both the men’s and women’s games, England will take on Spain on Wednesday night [20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET] on matchday two of the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Another tricky clash in Group C will serve as the perfect preparation for both sides ahead of the upcoming UEFA Euro 2025 tournament set to take place in Switzerland this summer [2-27 July], following eventful outings for both sides last week.
England were held to a 1-1 draw by Portugal at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, with Kika Nazareth arriving off the bench to restore parity after Alessia Russo’s early opener, while Spain fought back from a two-goal deficit to claim an impressive 3-2 win over Belgium.
This is perhaps the most highly anticipated of fixtures in this season’s UEFA Women’s Nations League given the fierce history between these two sides, and fans of the Lionesses will look to their performance on Wednesday to gauge an early insight into England’s tournament hopes later this year.
The Stats
Wednesday’s meeting at Wembley will be the 13th time these sides have met, with England picking up all three points in half of their prior clashes. Sarina Wiegman’s record against the Spaniards isn’t quite as pretty: England’s extra-time win at Euro 2022 is the only time she’s beaten la Roja in six attempts.
Spain claimed one of their three victories against England when these sides last met in 2023, with Olga Carmona’s strike in Sydney handing la Roja a slender 1-0 victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final.
Under the lights of Stadium Australia, Spain mustered up an xG of 2.28 compared to England’s 0.51 – a direct result of their heightened shots tally, which saw the Spaniards test Mary Earps five times from thirteen shots. England, by comparison, managed just eight shots with three on target.
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland head into this latest encounter on the back of a tricky run of form that has seen them win just two of their last six games, with those victories coming against South Africa and Switzerland. Context is important, however, and it’s worth noting that Sarina Wiegman was forced to field significantly weakened sides towards the end of 2024 due to injuries affecting her preferred starting lineup.
Defeats against Brazil and Germany at the 2024 Olympics sparked an indifferent run of form for Spain, who then went on to draw against Canada and Italy in a series of October friendlies. Montse Tomé appears to have turned things around in recent months, however, with a 5-0 thrashing of South Korea in November coming as the first of three consecutive victories.
Team News
England appeared to leave Portugal unscathed by injury, but Sarina Wiegman had already been forced to make two changes to the squad prior to touchdown on the Iberian peninsula.
Arsenal’s Chloe Kelly and Aston Villa’s Lucy Parker were called into the Dutchwoman’s squad earlier this month to replace the injured Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy, both of Arsenal. Kelly made a 7-minute cameo against Portugal, while Parker was an unused substitute.
Montse Tomé was also forced to make an unplanned early change to her squad ahead of Spain’s 3-2 comeback win over Belgium, with Real Sociedad’s Amaiur Sarriegi replaced by Benfica’s Cristina Martín-Prieto. The forward had an instant impact on the team, scoring the winning goal in the 96th minute last Friday.
Embed from Getty ImagesWe expect that players to watch on Wednesday will be England’s Keira Walsh and Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí. Walsh, who played alongside plenty of Spaniards at Barcelona before making the switch to Chelsea in January, has long been identified as the player that defines England’s buildup play. When the 27-year-old ticks, England ticks – but when she doesn’t, the Lionesses find themselves frozen out of the game and unable to progress effectively.
Bonmatí is enjoying something of a never-ending trophy haul at the moment, and while there’s no major silverware on the line on Wednesday, the Catalan midfielder will still have her eyes on the Player of the Match award. Her ability to dictate the tempo of the match and glide into spaces effortlessly makes her a lethal threat for an England defence that has looked shaky at times, especially in the second half.
TV Guide
Tickets still remain on sale here for England’s meeting with Spain, but for those who cannot make it to Wembley, the match will be televised.
Fans in the United Kingdom can tune in on ITV4 or ITVX, with coverage commencing at 19:15 GMT ahead of kickoff at 20:00 GMT.
For those in Spain, RTVE 2 will be showing the match with coverage from 20:50 CET ahead of a 21:00 CET kickoff in London.
FromTheSpot prediction
We predict an enthralling affair between two of Europe’s greatest sides on Wednesday, but envisage that Spain will edge it and claim a 2-1 lead at Wembley.
La Roja will be high on confidence following their dramatic comeback victory over Belgium in Valencia on Friday, and if Montse Tomé’s side can carry that with them to London, they could well claim a second successive win over the Lionesses.
Defeat would certainly leave Sarina Wiegman with plenty to ponder, with her England side set to meet Spain in the reverse fixture ahead of commencing preparations for a tricky Euro 2025 group this summer that has seen the defending European champions pitted against France, the Netherlands and Wales.