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FT: England 1 - 0 Spain - Hemp scores early for Lionesses Keira Walsh reaches 100 caps and is captain Williamson not in squad England v Iceland on Saturday will be 500th match for Lionesses Click listen at top of page for BBC Radio 5 commentary Adam Millington England 1-0 Spain Once again, Spain fail to finish. Ona Batlle (yes, the full-back Batlle gets through in the middle of England's box) takes a touch and turns inside the area after nicely being teed up, but she slices her effort over the bar from close range. England 1-0 Spain That's the first England attack for a while. Lotte Wubben-Moy launches the ball forward, but Alessia Russo can't get to it before Olga Carmona. A loose ball then falls towards Lucy Bronze, but it slips under her foot. England 1-0 Spain Fran Kirby Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra I just wonder sometimes when England win the ball, if they should just play back to Hannah Hampton and give themselves the respite. At the moment they're just trying to play out and play into tight areas. They are not quite getting out. England 1-0 Spain Spain are finding their groove. Vicky Lopez has a crack from the edge of the area but her shot goes wide. England 1-0 Spain England are closing a lot of the gaps, but not all of them. A good ball comes through towards Esther Gonzalez but the Spain striker can't quite get to it. England 1-0 Spain Spain have had nearly double the number of passes England have so far. Spain are in control. England 1-0 Spain Fran Kirby Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra We did anticipate the game to go this way. I just hope England don't allow it to go for too long. They have to gain some territory. At the moment, they are getting a lot of luck because Spain's quality on the ball hasn't been what it can be. England have to find a way to get territory without exposing themselves in terms of stretching the pitch too much. England 1-0 Spain Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Wembley It's a very good sign that Sarina Wiegman has been stood calmly on the edge of the dugout, or sat in her seat, for the majority of the opening 20 minutes. England have controlled things well so far and that latest attack showed the confidence they are playing with. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Lauren James often gets criticized for not tracking back, hope people are appreciating how much she's added to her game! Elly, Plymouth England 1-0 Spain England are sitting deep. Think of the sort of thing you'd expect from a third-tier side against a top flight team in the FA Cup. It's working, though. Spain look vulnerable on the break. England 1-0 Spain Fran Kirby Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra England's gameplan is working. They are really frustrating Spain. England 1-0 Spain Siobhan Chamberlain Former England goalkeeper on ITV Unbelievably close to a bit of magic from Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze. England 1-0 Spain That would have been lovely. Some excellent passing from England, the sort of thing you'd expect to see Spain try to do. Lucy Bronze backheels it to Lauren Hemp, but her effort from just inside the area strikes the far post. England 1-0 Spain Good work at the back from Lauren James. She tracks Mariona Caldentey, who fails to control the ball well on the edge of the England box, before taking it out wide and sending her clearance bouncing off Caldentey to earn the Lionesses a throw-in. England 1-0 Spain Fran Kirby Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra England are defending extremely well. They are being compact and know where they want Spain to go. Spain are doing the long ball to force England to step a little bit and get a bit more space in the middle. England 1-0 Spain Still a bit of sloppiness on display from Spain. They whip the ball across to Vicky Lopez as they look to play the ball out, but she takes a poor touch and it goes out of play. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Can't get a better start than that. But be prepared for 80 minutes of nerve jangling. Can never relax versus Spain. Craig C, Rochdale England 1-0 Spain Spain are starting to get into their passing rhythm. Patri Guijarro gets through after some neat build-up, but her shot is blocked. Ona Batlle rushes her effort from the rebound and slices wide. England 1-0 Spain Fran Kirby Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra Hampton gets away with it there. We've seen in the last few weeks that she has been a little cagey with her distribution so that won't help her confidence. England 1-0 Spain Siobhan Chamberlain Former England goalkeeper on ITV England got very lucky there. You could see the pass Hannah Hampton was trying to make but Caldentey's outstretched leg got the interception. Had Lopez taken it early, the goal was open. Lauren Hemp scored in the first three minutes for England At a glance Lauren Hemp gives England lead within three minutes and hits post later in the first half Olga Carmona's effort deflected on to crossbar in second half for Spain, while Vicky Lopez hits post England fail to take further chances, while keeper Hannah Hampton denies Edna Imade with fine late save Midfielder Keira Walsh makes 100th appearance for Lionesses PLAYER RATINGS England claimed a significant victory over rivals Spain to take control of their 2027 Women's World Cup qualifying group. In a repeat of both the Euro 2025 final and the 2023 World Cup showpiece, two of Europe's best teams were battling to take top spot in Group 3. It was a perfect start for Sarina Wiegman's side at Wembley as Lauren Hemp poked the ball over the line within three minutes to give them a crucial lead. The Manchester City winger almost doubled her tally when Lucy Bronze's backheel set her up in the box but Hemp sliced her effort just wide. That set the tone for the Lionesses, who defended well and played out the perfect gameplan in the first half to limit Spain's chances. The reigning world champions controlled possession and came close through Irene Paredes and Ona Batlle, but did not do enough to test goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Only the top team in the group earns automatic qualification to the World Cup in Brazil, with the rest entering the play-offs, so there was a lot at stake. It led to a fiery second half with both teams creating huge chances. Lauren James, Alessia Russo and Lucia Kendall failed to take theirs for England, while Olga Carmona and Vicky Lopez struck the woodwork for Spain. Spain put the hosts under late pressure and Edna Imade headed wide from close range before being denied by a fine save from Hampton in the final minutes. Victory maintained England's 100% record in qualifying after three games and sit top of the table on nine points, knowing a trip to Spain is due in June. They head to Iceland - third in the group after beating Ukraine - on Saturday knowing another three points will put them in a strong position going into the final round of qualifying fixtures in the summer. Wiegman said afterwards: "I think as a team against Spain you have to defend really well as their individual quality is so high. "If you don't stay compact, like we did, then they find spaces to get behind and become more dangerous. We tried not to let them drag us out of position. "Overall, we did that. We also had moments in the game where we went forward and created chances. "At the moment it's a really good result and we're really happy but we need to keep that significance by getting a result on Saturday against Iceland. " Success over Spain - but how can England get best out of classy James? Walsh hits century - but who has most England Women caps This is a rivalry that has developed rapidly during Wiegman's tenure with many considering England and Spain the current best two teams in the world. It was the European champions facing the world champions - a repeat of the last two major finals - and with just one automatic qualification spot up for grabs in their group, this was a crucial encounter. Hemp's winner - the fastest ever by England Women at Wembley - followed Russo's quick-thinking to scoop the ball up while she fell to the floor in the box. It helped the hosts get an early foothold in the game and Wiegman will have been pleased at half-time as her gameplan worked a treat. England were organised and smart off the ball and dangerous and patient on the rare occasions they were able to attack. Hemp enjoyed herself down the right-hand side, James was exquisite in her defensive duties on the opposite wing and young Aston Villa midfielder Kendall looked at home in the number 10 role. Spain were weaker without three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati - currently recovering after a broken leg - and starting centre-back Laia Aleixandri, but England made it difficult for them to show their quality. However, as the match wore on, their pressure built and England defended deeper, needing Hampton to pull off a superb save to deny forward Imade an equaliser. Wiegman admitted: "[Hampton] had a save against Iceland when we really dominated but it was still 1-0 and she had that crucial save. She had that tonight also. "It makes a difference. As a team we really fought. Most of the games we played recently we have the ball a lot and this was a bit different to what we have recently showed and I felt we did that really well. " Spain made attacking substitutions and created more in the second period, but England were resolute and appeared fairly comfortable defending set-pieces. It has always been a high-quality match when these teams have met previously, and this was no different, although Sonia Bermudez's side will be disappointed by their lack of ruthlessness in the box. The narrow success has given England the upper hand in qualifying with a three-point lead in top spot over Spain, who will need to respond in similar fashion when the two meet again in Mallorca in June. England travel to Reykjavik to face Iceland in their next Women's World Cup qualifying match on Saturday (17: 30 BST). Spain host Ukraine on the same day in Cordoba (15: 00 BST). They meet the Lionesses again in Mallorca on 5 June. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Head here to get involved Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page Last Updated 14th April 2026 at 22: 43 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Sarina Wiegman Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Sonia Bermúdez Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Sarina Wiegman Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Sonia Bermúdez Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Women's WC Qualification Europe All competitions All competitions All competitions Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.