Spain falls due to poor aim at Wembley against England

When it's not, it's not. The match at Wembley could have lasted 90 more minutes, and Spain would have been left blank. It was not their night in London. They shot 20 times, 6 on target, and did not find the goal on a night of bad shooting. So England, in 15 very good minutes, took their own revenge for the 2023 World Cup final and knocked the Spanish team off the lead in the Nations League.

“We don't score the ones we have, and in Europe this will dictate your game,” Laia Aleixandri summed up accurately.

English domain After some initial attempts by Salma Paralluelo and a crossbar by Lucía García, England took control and took the 1-0 lead in a great play.

The duel between the two giants, the world champions (Spain) against the European queens and runners-up of the world (England), started with the last-minute absence of Tere Abelleira. The Real Madrid player injured her left knee in the training session beforehand and appeared in the warm-up on crutches. The Blaugrana players (6) were the majority in Montse Tomé's starting eleven.

The English team was eager for revenge, less than two years after the defeat at the 2023 World Cup in Sydney. At stake was the leadership of Group A3 of the Nations League, a competition whose crown Spain is defending.

The first few minutes of the match were dominated by Spain, with the Blaugrana Salma Paralluelo taking centre stage, very active, with a cross and a foray into the area in just 8 minutes, which were the first warnings of danger.

But the clearest chances came from Lucía García with a shot that hit the crossbar in the 11th minute following a corner from the left, and from Claudia Pina with another missile from outside the area that grazed the crossbar (m. 20).

England shook off the Spanish dominance and gained ground on both sides of the attack. The most dangerous approach was a double chance in a row, one minute apart. First, a free kick from the left side of the area taken by Lauren James and responded with a great save near the post by Cata Coll (24), and immediately afterwards, a counterattack with a long pass behind the Spanish defence that James finished from point-blank range and Coll stopped opportunely (25).

The goal was passing through the Spanish area and Montse Tomé reacted with instructions from the touchline, seeing that England was beginning to eat away at her team. She needed to regain control of the ball and play.

It was so obvious that it would fall that the score ended up being 1-0 in the 33rd minute. In a very fast play on the left flank, with Ona Batlle and Irene Paredes out of the way, the forward Alessia Russo got into the heart of the area, shot with power, Paredes saved it, but Jessica Park collected the rebound to beat Cata Coll.

Spain reacted bravely, determined to recover from the blow. Salma Paralluelo, the most proactive, responded with a great shot from the edge of the box that went in and just missed the left post (m. 36), and immediately after that Aitana Bonmatí tried (m. 37) with a powerful long-range shot that was stopped by the goalkeeper. And again Paralluelo repeated the play, from outside to inside, with a shot that was again stopped by Hampton (m. 40).

Second Spain laid siege to Hampton's goal without success

In the second half, Spain again insisted on the most dangerous moves: quick combinations and a one-two to strike from outside the area, as Mariona Caldentey tried in the first attack (m. 47) after relying on Salma. And again it was the Mallorcan who filtered a pass to Lucía García who was kicked out by Hampton (m. 48).

In the 52nd minute, the lights went out at Wembley, and the stadium suddenly went dark. The darkness lasted less than a minute, just enough for the players to rehydrate and receive some tactical instructions.

Spain continued to try with long-range shots, and in the 55th minute Aitana Bonmatí tried her hand from outside to inside on the left, but her shot went wide.

Spain continued to try with long-range shots, and in the 55th minute Aitana Bonmatí tried from outside to inside from the left, but her shot went wide. The minutes were dull, with no chances, and Montse Tomé tried to shake things up by bringing on Athenea del Castillo to gain bite. The team seemed to wake up, and they came back to the charge with more shots: Ouahabi had a good chance (m. 74) with a save from Hampton, and Mariona Caldentey sent it into the side netting (m. 75). It was a siege and demolition by Spain, which had England bottled up, but without reward.

Still, England had the 2-0 with a good shot from Lauren James that was stopped by Cata Coll in two steps (87).

And the last Spanish chance came twice for Claudia Pina, with a powerful shot that Hampton stopped (90) and a header that went wide (91). Nothing, not even then: 20 shots, 6 on target and no goals.