England can book their place at the 2027 Women's World Cup on Friday if the Lionesses avoid defeat against Spain in Mallorca, a result that would settle qualification with one group game still to spare. The stakes are immediate, and Lucy Bronze said the rivalry has pushed both sides on: “It’s a rivalry that’s made us both stronger.”
That is why the match has drawn so much attention. England are top of Group A3 after four matches, with four wins and only one goal conceded, and a point in Mallorca would leave them with an unassailable lead. If they get it done, Sarina Wiegman’s side would qualify for next summer’s tournament in Brazil more than a year early and could turn to Ukraine at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on June 9 knowing the job is already complete.
Bronze is available to start after an injury worry, as is Lauren James, while Leah Williamson will not play. Those absences and returns matter because England know exactly how slippery this fixture can be. They have won three of the four meetings with Spain since the 2023 final, including both of the last two Euros, yet Spain still carry the weight of that World Cup win and the confidence that comes with it.
The teams have met seven times in less than four years, and this will be their fourth meeting since last June alone. When they met in Barcelona this time last year, Claudia Pina scored twice as a substitute after England had gone 1-0 up but struggled to build momentum. England also beat Spain at Wembley in April without Williamson, a reminder that the balance between the sides has been tight even when the results have tilted England’s way.
The friction is obvious: Spain beat England in the 2023 World Cup final, but England have since found a way to edge the rivalry more often than not. Friday’s match in the heat of Mallorca is not just another chapter in that contest; it is the one that can send England to Brazil now, or leave qualification hanging over them for a little longer.
If England avoid defeat, the final group game becomes a formality, and the Lionesses will have turned a difficult away trip into an early ticket to the next World Cup.
