England’s win over Spain proves small details, like set pieces, make all the difference

The opener, and eventual winner — the Lionesses’ fastest ever goal at the venue — put England in a commanding position as they top their Natio

Fine margins separated European champions England and world champions Spain on Tuesday at Wembley. Three minutes into the match, Alex Greenwood aimed an outswinging left-footed corner towards Lucy Bronze and Alessia Russo at the far post. Somehow, Russo, surrounded by four Spanish players, scooped the ball goalwards for Lauren Hemp to flick over the line.

The opener, and eventual winner — the Lionesses’ fastest ever goal at the venue — put England in a commanding position as they top their Nations League group with only first place qualifying automatically for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. Sarina Wiegman’s side kept the ball well, were defensively organised, sharp on the counter attack and worked hard to regain possession quickly to disrupt Spain’s rhythm. When you make few mistakes and your opponent is profligate in front of goal, small details like set pieces can be decisive.

Given Spain’s technical superiority , dead-ball scenarios should be an area England exploit but the Lionesses’ conversion rate from such situations has been particularly poor. Despite conquering Europe twice and making the 2023 World Cup final, England failed to convert their set-play chances in those tournaments, scoring just three goals from free-kicks and only four from 107 corners (a corner conversion rate of four per cent). What’s more, as the table below shows, their expected goals (xG, a measurement of the quality of chances created) value from corners throughout those three tournaments has been low: 0.