England vs. Spain: A High-Stakes World Cup Qualifier at Wembley

Eight-and-a-half months after they locked horns in the final of Euro 2025, England and Spain meet again on Tuesday night in front of more than 70,000 at Wembley.

This time it is in qualifiers for the Women’s World Cup, another tournament in which they met in the final last time out.

Despite the relatively brief period since the game in Basel, Spain have a noticeably fresh look with a new head coach and a crop of emerging young players. They have already won a trophy under Sonia Bermúdez, who led them to the Nations League title after replacing Montse Tomé, and, unlike England, are unbeaten since the Euros with five wins and a draw in six matches.

“They have some other players, but their DNA stays the same,” said the England head coach, Sarina Wiegman. “They really want to have the ball. They play very dynamically and they really want to go forward, whether that’s in possession or out of possession.

“I don’t think that’s going to change because that’s in their system and in their DNA. There might be some little tweaks, but in principle it will be very similar.”

The visitors’ ones-to-watch list is long and entering contention this season are youngsters such as the Atlético Madrid midfielder Fiamma Benítez, whose seven goal contributions in the Champions League this season were more than any other player whose side did not reach the quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old’s vision and clever darts into the penalty area are partly why Bermúdez brought her on to replace Alexia Putellas as an impact substitute in Spain’s past two matches. Since then, she has scored three goals in five Atlético games.

The Barcelona winger Vicky López, another young talent, was a late substitute for Spain during last summer’s final and has become a regular starter.

Bermúdez has a choice to make in regards to her central striker. Esther González is available again after returning from maternity leave and Real Sociedad’s Edna Imade impressed with goals in the recent wins over Iceland and Ukraine. Bermúdez could also opt for Barcelona’s Salma Paralluelo.

As youngsters break into the team, established figures are notably absent. The Ballon d’Or winner, Aitana Bonmatí, remains sidelined after sustaining a broken leg towards the end of last year and the former Manchester City centre-back Laia Aleixandri had surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury in February.

For England, who top the qualifying group on goal difference above Spain, Leah Williamson is an injury doubt. The captain has been out of action since March with a hamstring injury, but trained with her international teammates at St George’s Park on Monday.

“We have been really careful with her, and she’s careful, her club have been careful,” Wiegman said. “We made a plan [for her return]. She’s good in this plan and I don’t want to give anything more away. But she is moving forward well.”

England will definitely have to make at least one change from the starting XI that beat Spain in Switzerland with the midfielder Ella Toone out injured. Jess Park will probably start in her Manchester United teammate’s place as part of an attack that should also include the in-form Alessia Russo, Lauren James and Lauren Hemp.

Keira Walsh is in line to win her 100th cap. Praising the Chelsea midfielder, Wiegman said: “She has enormous vision and game understanding. When I came in, I thought: ‘Oh, [she’s] even better than I thought.’

“She is an important player in leading the team in how we want to play.”