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England 1-0 Spain: Jess Park scored the only goal at Wembley as the Lionesses defeated the world champions
England defeated Spain at Wembley as Jess Park’s goal secured victory for the Lionesses in the rematch of the Women’s World Cup final.
Park’s finish from close range, following Alessia Russo’s turn and dribble into the box, secured England their best victory in almost 18 months and will give Sarina Wiegman’s side hope ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
World champions Spain had plenty of chances at Wembley, with Lucia Garcia hitting the crossbar early in the game and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton having to make a string of important saves in the second half.
But England survived waves of pressure to close out victory. England drew their opening Nations League match in Portugal but victory against Spain, who defeated Belgium on Friday, is a boost to their chances of reaching the finals.
Follow all the latest updates from Wembley in our live blog below:
Lauren James has been named the Player of the Match!
Ever the talisman, she was the driving force behind England’s attack throughout the match, creating chances with piercing passes and mazy dribbling.
She even went close to scoring herself in the second half, but was denied by Coll.
The Lionesses back line shone as they battled to a 1-0 win over Spain. Lucy Bronze in particular rolled back the years to produce a vintage performance, keeping Aitana Bonmati quiet for much of the 90 minutes, while Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton all produced equally impressive performances.
Wiegman recognized this at full time, saying: “We know we have to defend really well to keep the ball out of the net.
“We had a couple of opportunities but overall we’re very happy with how the team stood up and how hard we worked to get the win over the line.”
Wiegman also highlighted her side’s fighting spirit in their nervy win over Spain.
She said: “I’m really happy with the win. It was an absolute team performance and we fought for every yard. A very intense game and we had some very good moments in the game.
“I think the fight and the togetherness is the most important thing and it always starts with that. It helps to improve your game.
“Of course it gives a boost when you win then. At the same time you want to see improvements and that is what I saw today.”
Sarina Wiegman sees tonights win as a statement of intent for her England side, saying they proved they can compete with the best.
She said: “Of course it gives us a boost. We showed again tonight that we can compete with the best. We have shown that before and it was really good to show that again, maybe for ourselves.
“The fans who were in the stadium I think enjoyed the game. We’re on a journey and we had four friendlies where we tried out lots of things. Some things go really well and some things don’t go really well. The games are not easy anymore.”
Montse Tomé has told the press that her Spain side deserved more from the match, and it is tough to disagree with her.
With the majority of the possession and plenty of attacking guile, they will be beyond frustrated to make the trip home empty handed.
She said: „I think the players performed at a high level. We played to win.“
Toni Duggan was presented with a framed England shirt before the match today in recognition of her time playing for England, during which she made 79 appearances and scored 22 goals.
England’s three points tonight take them to a tally of four for this Nations League campaign, but results elsewhere are keeping them off top spot.
Portugal’s one-goal win over Belgium means they match England for points, goal difference, goals for and goals against, though they will remain in first place until the next international break in April.
One goal made the difference, and Jess Park has already called it one of the most memorable of her career! Take another look here.
Hannah Hampton has weighed in on the race for the England number one shirt after playing a key role in tonight’s win.
Whether she or Mary Earps will start at the Euros has been a key part of the narrative surrounding tonight’s match, and such a display from Hampton will certainly boost her stock as Wiegman makes her decision.
Hampton remains humble though, saying: “I am just here to play my own game, I know what I can bring to the team. Mary is a brilliant goalkeeper, you’ve seen that in the last few tournaments. I am focusing on myself. When I am happy I play my best football, I just have to put myself in the shop window.”
Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV at full-time, citing England’s team spirit as a key factor in their win.
On the performance: “I think the whole game was very impressive, very high tempo, very intense. The work the team put in and the togetherness, that showed off today.”
On Jess Park’s goal: “I think she needed that too, this performance helps us a lot. We have been working so hard but think shave not gone our way. Now it goes. Jess grew into the pace of the game and did really well.”
On England’s self-belief: “Winning always helps and we know where we want to go. We just want to improve every single day. The best thing is the togetherness and the fight that we put in today. Next time when we play Belgium we will want to take it to the next level again.”
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England vs Spain LIVE: Result and final score as Lionesses defeat world champions at Wembley – The Independent
