England’s 2027 World Cup qualifying route changed in a single night in Mallorca, where Sarina Wiegman’s side were beaten 4-0 by Spain at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix. The defeat ended England’s chance of sealing top spot in the group and automatic qualification for the finals in Brazil.
That was the result readers were searching for around soccer games today, because it was not a narrow setback or a late collapse but England’s biggest loss since a 6-2 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2009 final. It was also their first loss in a qualifier since 2002, a run that had helped give weight to the idea that Wiegman’s team could still control their own path.
Wiegman did not dress up the performance. England, she said, “didn’t play good enough”, “couldn’t get into another gear” and “hardly got into the 18 yard box”. Spain controlled the game and England never found a way to change it, leaving the scoreboard to tell a harsher story than any post-match explanation could soften.
The damage is immediate, but the qualification picture is not completely closed. England can still be dragged back into the conversation if Spain drop points, and a win at home against Ukraine would flip the script for Wiegman’s side. That keeps the next fixtures live, even if the margin for error has all but disappeared.
England now head to Reykjavik to face Iceland in conditions that suit the home side, and they found those same conditions to their cost in April. The trip will test whether the Spain defeat was a one-night collapse or the moment the group’s balance finally tipped away from them.
The wider day around soccer games today also carried its own separate flashpoints. In Chicago, Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was held and questioned for nearly seven hours after arriving with the squad at O’Hare airport on Saturday morning, before later being allowed in, while Iraq’s team photographer was barred from entering the United States. The incidents underlined how much international football this week has been shaped by what happens away from the pitch as well as on it.
For England, though, the table now matters more than the talking points. Spain have opened the door, not slammed it shut, and Wiegman’s side will need results elsewhere to stay alive before their own home meeting with Ukraine can matter at the top of the group.
