Claudia Pina’s second-half brace saw Spain come from behind to beat England 2-1 and top League A3 in 2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Pina equalised for Spain with a low 60th-minute strike into the far-right corner from Patricia Guijarro’s pass, before she completed their comeback with a stunning 70th-minute curler from Ona Batlle’s pass on the edge of the box.
Alessia Russo on her 50th senior cap had put England into a 22nd-minute lead from Keira Walsh’s pass on a quick breakaway attack, after Niamh Charles won possession in a fumble with Salma Paralluelo.
The result meant that Spain topped League A3 to continue their UEFA Women’s Nations League title defence as they progressed to the semi-finals, whilst England finished second once again and will now face friendlies in October and November – December’s international windows.
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses will now turn their attention to preparations of their UEFA Women’s Euro title defence, with the 2025 edition of that competition running from 2 – 27 July in Switzerland.
Spain and England are also guaranteed a place in League A for UEFA’s Qualifying phase of the 2027 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, where they will be seeded second in the Qualifying draw on 4 November 2025.
Knowing that only victory would see them top League A3, England were handed two early scares as Hannah Hampton made a third minute save to deny Esther Gonzalez, who then fired wide just four minutes later.
Gonzalez almost got lucky from Aitana Bonmati’s 13th minute pass to the forward was just too heavy albeit bent to a slightly acute angle, and was safely collected by Hampton before Paralluelo curled over five minutes later in a dominant start for the hosts.
England however were dealt a slice of luck as Charles committed a 22nd-minute foul on Paralluelo which saw the ball fall for Walsh, who calmly teed up Russo to slot into the far-right bottom corner past a helpless Cata Coll to put the Lionesses ahead and top of the group.
Spain continued to press and nearly got a lucky 25th-minute equaliser after Charles deflected a cross onto her own goal with her right foot, yet Hampton was crucially alert to make a save to protect the visitors’ lead.
Bonmati and Gonzalez then put shots wide as the Spanish struggled to find a polished final touch in the remainder of the first half.
England meanwhile almost put daylight between themselves and the reigning world champions at the break through a 29th-minute free-kick from Beth Mead, which Leah Williamson headed into Coll’s arms after Russo won the set-piece through a foul from Laia Aleixandri.
Spain however continued to pile on the pressure early in the second half as Paralluelo, Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey put shots wide, which prompted manager – Montse Tome to introduce Pina as a 58th-minute substitute.
Her gamble quickly paid off just past the hour mark as England twice failed to clear crosses, of which the second clearance fell for Guijarro to tee up Pina to rifle into the far-right corner low past Hampton’s grasp to equalise.
England struggled thereafter to mount a response as Pina curled a 64th-minute free-kick into Hampton’s arms.
The 23-year-old forward however wasn’t denied a second goal as she met a 70th-minute pass from Batlle on the edge of the box, from which she calmly curled in beyond the reach of Hampton to turn the game around for Spain.
Not content to settle for her brace, Pina tried to turn playmaker with a 76th-minute cutback pass to Bonmati, yet the midfielder couldn’t angle her shot which flew over the bar.
Gonzalez’s frustrating end product continued with a 82nd-minute header nodded wide of her near right corner.
Spain ultimately saw the match out to top the group and continue their title defence and will go into the Women’s Euros in July as hot favourites, whilst England must regroup ahead of the major tournament where they seek to retain their crown.
Speaking to ITV post-match, Wiegman felt that the match was “very intense” but believed that England could of improved their marking and patience.
“Of course we know that they are very tight on the ball. I thought we did well. After half-time you saw that they had more of the ball but we saw a lot of the ball as well and we could have been a bit tighter and a bit more patient but you could see where we could harm them.
“A couple more times we would not have been offside, or if we’d played a bit quicker or switched the play quicker we could have harmed them even more.”
What’s Next?
Spain will host Japan in a friendly on 27 June ahead of the UEFA Women’s Euros where they kick off their campaign on 3 July against Portugal, before facing Belgium and Italy on 7 and 11 July respectively in Group B.
England too will play a friendly before heading to the Euros with the Lionesses hosting Jamaica on 29 June in Leicester at 5pm BST.
Wiegman’s Lionesses then kick off their title defence with a blockbuster Group D showdown against France on 5 July, followed by a clash against Netherlands on 9 July before concluding their group phase with a Battle of Britain against Wales on 13 July.
Teams
Spain: Cata Coll, Ona Batlle, Irene Paredes, Laia Aleixandri, Olga Carmona (Fernandez 89′), Aitana Bonmati, Patricia Guijarro, Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey, Esther Gonzalez (Garcia 82′), Salma Paralluelo (Pina 58′)
Substitutes: Jana Fernandez, Lucia Garcia, Sheila Garcia, Vicky Lopez, Cristina Martin-Prieto, Maria Mendez, Adriana Nanclares, Claudia Pina, Alba Redondo, Esther Sullastres, Maite Zubieta, Athenea del Castillo
England: Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze (Carter 56′), Leah Williamson, Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles, Georgia Stanway (Kearns 46′), Keira Walsh, Jess Park (Toone 75′), Beth Mead (Kelly 56′), Alessia Russo (Beever-Jones 87′), Lauren Hemp
Substitutes: Michelle Agyemang, Aggie Beever-Jones, Jess Carter, Missy Bo Kearns, Khiara Keating, Chloe Kelly, Maya Le Tissier, Anna Moorhouse, Esme Morgan, Nikita Parris, Ella Toone, Lotte Wubben-Moy
Referee – Katalin Kulcsar
