England were beaten 4-0 by Spain at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Friday, a defeat that was their heaviest for decades and one that badly damaged their route to automatic qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Sarina Wiegman did not dress it up. England, she said, “didn’t play good enough”, “couldn’t get into another gear” and “hardly got into the 18 yard box” as the champions were overwhelmed in a qualifier that carried real weight for their place at the finals in Brazil.
The loss was England’s biggest since a 6-2 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2009 final, and their first in a qualifier since 2002. More than the scoreline, it shattered the clearest path to top spot in their group and put pressure on the closing stages of the campaign, where every point now matters.
There is still a route back, but it is a narrower one. If England and Spain both win again, they will finish level on 15 points, with Spain top on superior goals scored in the head-to-head games between the sides. Only the top four League A group winners go straight through, while the rest face a two-round playoff phase for seven further Uefa spots and one place in an inter-confederation playoff.
That is where the bruise becomes a practical problem. England could be playing playoff matches in October and then again from November into December, first against a first- or second-place League C team, then against the winner of a tie involving a second- or third-place League B side or a team that finished bottom of League A or top of League B. At worst, that route could bring Belgium or Portugal in the second round, a far less forgiving road than finishing top now.
Wiegman has reason not to panic, and she knows it. England have an excellent tournament record even if performances between major competitions have not always matched it, with question marks again appearing in the build-up to the 2025 Euros after a disappointing Nations League campaign that also followed the failure to qualify Team GB for the Paris Olympics after Euro 2022. That history does not erase Friday’s setback, but it does explain why the reaction is likely to be measured rather than frantic.
England travel to Reykjavik to play Iceland on Tuesday, and that meeting now looks decisive. England found the conditions there suited the home side in April, and any dropped points by Spain combined with a home win over Ukraine would flip the script again. For now, though, the task is simpler and tougher at once: recover quickly, win in Iceland and keep alive any chance of still finishing top.
