The first defeat of the Sonia Bermúdez era has put Spain in a bind to secure a direct ticket to the World Cup. The 1-0 loss to England last Tuesday at Wembley has left the team with no margin for error in the three remaining qualifying matches. The first will be this Saturday against Ukraine (16:00; La1) at the Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba, followed by the matches in Palma against the lionesses (June 5) and in Reykjavik against Iceland (June 9). La Roja still depends on itself, but any other slip-up would inevitably send them to the playoffs because only the first place in the group grants direct access to Brazil 2027.
Read more A Busy Neolithic
“Returning to Wembley and losing with a goal that is avoidable, from a corner where they shot twice from the ground… I don’t like to rely on luck, but it’s true that England had that little edge. The team didn’t give up, but we played against one of the best teams on the planet at their home,” said Irene Paredes, the captain, after the loss in London, which left Spain with six points, three less than the team led by Sarina Wiegman. The main option for the world champions to avoid the playoffs is to beat England at Son Moix by a result better than the one suffered at Wembley this week. La Roja would win the direct goal difference against the European champions if they win by two or more goals difference, and would be first in the group in the likely scenario that both teams win against two weaker teams like Iceland —17th in the FIFA ranking— and Ukraine —35th—, whom they already defeated in March, and end up tied at 15 points.
The task is complex because Sarina’s team is extremely competitive and because the precedents are not encouraging. Spain and England have faced each other seven times since 2022 and neither team has ever won those matches by more than one goal difference. La Roja triumphed in the 2023 World Cup final with a left-footed shot from Olga Carmona (1-0) and won last year in the Nations at the RCDE Stadium with a double from Claudia Pina (2-1). England has two wins at Wembley by 1-0 and also prevailed in the Euro 2022 quarterfinals (2-1), in addition to winning the Euro in Switzerland last summer in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the 120 minutes of the final.
Read more Jorge Fernández, 20 years on ‘The Wheel of Fortune’: “I am very comfortable being typecast”
Bermúdez appeared after the match at Wembley and tried to send a message of calm: “We have to correct the mistakes we made as soon as possible and score goals in the next matches. It’s three points and this is not decided yet.” Mariona Caldentey, one of the captains and locker room leaders, said this Friday in Córdoba that they had been “difficult days.” “When you lose and things don’t go well, we and the staff are the first to feel the pain. There are nine points left and we have to go for those nine points. We know that goals can be important.” The second possibility for La Roja to achieve direct access to Brazil 2027 involves precisely beating England by just one goal margin to at least tie the direct goal difference but achieve a better overall goal difference than the lionesses. The team led by Sarina —who faces Iceland today in Reykjavik at 18:30— currently has a +8, compared to Spain’s +4. “We are thinking a lot about tomorrow [today], about scoring goals,” Bermúdez insisted at the pre-match press conference.
Vicky López, who was one of the standout players in the defeat in London for her ability to break through with combination play and dribbling, considered last Tuesday that direct qualification is not in danger: “We have to stay calm and keep in mind that there is another match against England that we will play at home and with our fans.” Before that key match at Son Moix against the lionesses, Bermúdez’s group, which lost Patri Guijarro due to the sprain she suffered at Wembley, must start this Saturday by thrashing weak Ukraine in Córdoba, a team that has never been to a World Cup and is worn out by the more than four years their country has been enduring the Russian invasion.
Read more Trompe-l’œil: The childhood of a writer
Standings
| Group 3 | PT | PJ | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 ENG | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
2 ESP | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
3 ISL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 UKR | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Group 3 | PT | PJ | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ENG | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 ESP | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 ISL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 UKR | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
