England soar past Spain as they secure a win at Wembley

The European Champions managed to secure a win tonight against World Champions, Spain, with an excellent finish from Jess Park giving the Lionesses the lead after just 33 minutes. 

Spain had a strong start to the game, their first attempt at a goal came after just 10 minutes when Salma Paralluelo took a shot at goal, but England’s defence fizzled the shot out. Spain had 20 shots throughout the game, with 5 on target, but England’s goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was constantly on the ball, along with their defence made up of Lucy Bronze, captain Leah Williamson, Millie Bright and Niamh Charles, denying all shots towards her net, despite the 58.3% possession that Spain had throughout. 

Jess Park’s goal came in the 33rd minute, after an incredible setup from Alessia Russo in the build up to the goal. This is Jess’ second goal for England, her first at Wembley, so this was a special one for her as well as the team. 

Lauren James played an excellent part in tonight’s game, using all her strengths to be all over the pitch, not only helping on the wing and in midfield, but also making herself known in the penalty areas and setting up shots. 

The second half saw more of the same from both teams, both extremely on top of their form. Despite a shock of the stadium lights going out at around 50 minutes, the situation was solved pretty quickly, with the lights coming back on about 3 minutes later and the game was able to continue shortly afterwards. 

England made some significant substitutions in the second half, with Nikita Parris returning to the pitch for England for the first time since the 2022 EUROs, and Chloe Kelly celebrating her 50th cap for England after being subbed on for Alessia Russo. Chloe Kelly was not originally selected for the Lionesses squad this time due to lack of playing time at Manchester City, causing her to struggle with her mental health. Since moving to Arsenal on loan for the remainder of the season, she is hoping to play more and get more minutes to get herself back on top form. Kelly was brought into the squad along with Lucy Parker after Arsenal’s Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy had to withdraw due to injury. 

Spain worked hard in extra time to get that all important equaliser, but England were just too strong, and Spain’s performance was not enough to retrieve that goal. 

A game that was expected to be tough for both sides proved just that, and a victory for England at home with an impressive 46,550 in attendance is something that fans won't ever forget.