England’s heaviest defeat in 17 years leaves their automatic World Cup qualification hopes in serious doubt after a sobering night in Majorca.
A win or draw would have secured the Lionesses a place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup, but a comprehensive 4-0 drubbing changed everything.
Manager Sarina Wiegman admitted the result “hurts” and acknowledged a clear gap between the two sides on the night.
“I expected a very tight game. There was a difference tonight because we were disappointing – and it hurts,” said Wiegman after the match.
England now return home knowing only a win against Ukraine on Tuesday, combined with Spain dropping points in Iceland, will secure automatic qualification.
“Of course I’m frustrated and disappointed but so are the players. This hurts because we have lost a couple of times but not with such a big score,” Wiegman added.
Spain, the reigning world champions, were on an entirely different level throughout the contest at Son Moix Stadium, exposing serious structural weaknesses in the England setup.
Patri Guijarro opened the scoring by nutmegging Georgia Stanway before firing past goalkeeper Hannah Hampton via a deflection, setting the tone early.
Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas then struck before half-time and later stabbed home a third after Lucy Bronze had initially cleared the ball off the line.
The damage was completed when Putellas was replaced by three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who set up substitute Claudia Pina to seal a miserable evening for England.
England captain Keira Walsh, who led the side in the absence of injured Leah Williamson, was brutally honest in her assessment after the final whistle.
“Spain played incredibly well but I think there are a lot of things we could have done better. It felt like they had bodies everywhere,” said Walsh.
“It was very difficult to get out of our own box. I don’t have solutions right now. Obviously we’ll look back but right now the emotions are very high.”
Former England midfielder Fran Kirby said the players looked “deflated” at full-time, admitting she “hurt just watching it” from the commentary position.
“They will learn from it, and they have to rise up to put in a good performance against Ukraine,” Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Ex-England midfielder Karen Carney was equally damning, telling ITV: “It was a night to forget – we were second best at everything.”
“Sometimes in football matches, you’re just desperate for the whistle to go as you don’t know how to fix it. We looked miles off it,” Carney continued.
England registered no shots on target, were sloppy in possession, and appeared devoid of any creative ideas throughout the ninety minutes.
Several Spanish stars arrived fresh from winning the Women’s Champions League with Barcelona just two weeks ago, and the difference in sharpness was painfully evident.
With automatic qualification now almost certainly out of their hands, England will likely face two rounds of play-offs in the autumn to reach Brazil.
Wiegman insists the squad will regroup, saying: “We review this, recover, stick together, play a good game and then move forward.”
