England Beat Spain 1-0 As Wiegman Notes Progress Toward World Cup Qualification

England moved closer to Women's World Cup qualification with a narrow 1-0 victory over reigning champions Spain at Wembley Stadium, where an early strike from Lauren Hemp secured three important League A Group 3 points and extended a long unbeaten home run in qualifying matches.

The result keeps Sarina Wiegman's side perfect in the group with three wins from three matches, while another clean sheet at home in World Cup qualifying underlines England's defensive consistency and leaves the Lionesses well placed before facing Iceland on 18 April 2026.

Wiegman felt the win marked significant progress in the campaign and immediately highlighted the need to reset for the next fixture, saying: "It's a great step forward. This is hard now. [Now] we recover and then we get ready for Iceland because it's a quick turnaround," Wiegman told ITV.

Hemp's decisive finish arrived after just two minutes and 34 seconds, registering England Women's fastest goal at the new Wembley Stadium, and that early breakthrough proved enough despite long spells without the ball as Spain increased pressure and forced England to defend deep for extended periods.

Spain created more chances overall and ended with a higher expected goals figure, with 21 attempts generating 1.84 xG compared with England's nine shots worth 0.79 xG, but crucial interventions from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, including a late save, preserved the clean sheet and protected Hemp's early contribution.

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On home soil in Women's World Cup qualifiers, England remain unbeaten across 25 consecutive matches, with 23 wins and two draws since a 1-0 defeat against France in a play-off in October 2002, while the latest success also stretched the current sequence of clean sheets in such fixtures.

England World Cup qualification context and Spain's run ended

The Lionesses maintained a strong record at Wembley by making it just one defeat in their last 12 outings at the national stadium, with eight victories and three draws, and this match also delivered a fourth straight Wembley win for the first time, reflecting growing comfort in major occasions there.

Spain arrived on a 17-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, but England halted that sequence and extended their own positive home record against Spain to 10 games without defeat, with seven wins and three draws in those meetings, underlining how difficult England remain to beat in these conditions.

Wiegman recognised the level of defending required, stating: "I'm really happy. We got a good result. We had to defend a lot, we know Spain are so good on the ball. You have to defend well and be really compact," Wiegman added. "We had our chances, they did too. But sometimes you have to fight to get the win and that's what we did. We hoped we'd be in a higher block more, but we got pushed back. Sometimes we could have been better on the ball and created more momentum. As soon as we got in their half of the pitch, we made them uncomfortable."

The night also carried special meaning for Kiera Walsh, who became the 15th player to reach 100 caps for England, captaining the side in Leah Williamson's absence and winning possession five times, more than any other England player, while controlling key spells against Spain's strong midfield unit.

Hemp praised Walsh's influence within the squad, saying: "Keira is a fantastic player. I've known her since I was young and she was teaching me the ways," Hemp said. "It's great to have someone like Keira in the team. I'm really proud of her reaching 100. She carries the team at points when we need her to. She's the engine."

With Spain beaten, records extended and Walsh reaching a major personal landmark, England move towards the trip to Iceland on 18 April 2026 with confidence, knowing another win would further strengthen World Cup qualification chances after a controlled and resilient performance at Wembley Stadium.