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Sarina Wiegman feels England produced ‘something different’ to beat Spain
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- Sarina Wiegman feels England produced ‘something different’ to beat Spain
Sarina Wiegman felt England required "something different" to secure their 1-0 win over Spain at Wembley and take a huge step forward in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Lionesses needed a penalty shoot-out the last time the frequent foes met, in the 2025 European Championship final, when England successfully defended their title against the World Cup holders.
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This time it was Lauren Hemp 's opener – just two minutes and 34 seconds in – that made the difference as England moved three points clear of Spain at the top of the Group A3 table.
"I think as a team we really fought today," said Wiegman. "I think we're always ready to fight, but most of the games we have played recently, we have a lot of the ball ourselves, and this demanded something different from us than we have recently shown.
Lauren Hemp (right) scored an early goal (John Walton/PA)
"I think we did that very well."
The contest's lone goal was brilliantly teed up by Alessia Russo , who had been knocked to the ground in the scramble from Alex Greenwood 's corner, but, flat on her back, still managed to scoop it up and over to Hemp, who hooked it over the line.
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Hannah Hampton 's excellent save late in the second half ensured England would walk away with all three points.
Only the winners from each of the League A groups will earn direct passage to next year's tournament in Brazil .
The Lionesses next travel to Iceland on Saturday, where they will look to maintain or even extend their advantage in their 500th international fixture.
Keira Walsh captained England (Nick Potts/PA)
"Of course it's a very good result," Wiegman continued. "We're really happy but we need to keep that significance by getting a result on Saturday. Tomorrow we really need to have a mindset shift straight away."
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Keira Walsh celebrated a century of England caps and took the captain's armband in place of Leah Williamson , who is making her way back from a hamstring issue and trained in the build-up, but was ultimately ruled out of the clash.
"We said we didn't want to take that risk," Wiegman explained. "She actually was in a very good place, but having the conversation we thought it was not the right thing.
"From having trained to straight away in the world-class, highest level games we didn't think that was a smart thing to do.
"But she's in a very good place, and we hope she is available for us Saturday."
