Spain need to be more Spanish to beat England
Since the start of last year, Spain have played 20 matches — almost exclusively against strong opposition — and been left disappointed in just three of them. All have been against England. And so it is only Sarina Wiegman’s side who have truly stopped them.
England’s Euro 2025 final success came on penalties. On Tuesday, England had a lucky escape when Spain twice hit the woodwork in the second half. Equally, England had some excellent chances of their own.
England versus Spain is now women’s international football’s most fascinating rivalry. It’s not necessarily that they are the best two sides, more that they face one another so regularly and the matches are always extremely tight. It was 2-1 to England at Euro 2022, 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup 2023 final , 1-0 to England and then 2-1 to Spain in the last Nations League campaign, before an England victory on penalties in Basel after a 1-1 draw and, most recently, a narrow 1-0 England win.
Many of these matches could have gone the other way. But the question, really, is why England can compete on such even terms against a side that, in terms of individuals and in a technical sense, are much better than them. Not only do Spain have more of the game’s true superstars, even without the injured Aitana Bonmati, the fact that the majority of their side play together at Barcelona (eight of their starters, with Mariona Caldentey also a relatively recent departure) ensures more cohesion.
Spain always dominate possession. Spain usually have more shots. Somehow, Spain don’t always win.
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