England beat Spain again and Marie-Louise Eta blazes a trail – Women’s Football Weekly

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:15Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. The Lionesses have the edge in the qualification campaign for Rio 2027 after a 1-0 win over Spain. Lauren Hemp's early goal was the only difference, but the question is, Will it be enough? It was a good night for the home nations and the Republic of Ireland. We'll dissect all the action, plus we'll preview England's game against Iceland. We'll also discuss Marie-Louise Etta making history, plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. What a panel we have today. Susie Rack, good morning to you.

0:51Morning. Soph Downey, how are you? I'm okay, a bit coldy, but all good. Aisha Galati, lovely to see you as always. Lovely to see you too, Faye. Lovely to have you all with us as well. Everybody had a late night last night, obviously, watching the Lionesses at Wembley because England got the better of Spain again to maintain a 100 % record in their World Cup qualifying campaign. Lauren Hemp's third-minute goal was the difference for Serena Wiegmann's side and they maintained their spot at the top of their group. It was massive in terms of qualifications, Susie. Really important victory. We knew it wasn't going to be a pretty game.

1:32It was going to be a difficult game. But what were your reflections on the night? Yeah, it was interesting because I thought if you were neutral watching that game, it wasn't the most thrilling game to watch. I'd say it wasn't the most Spain-England of games to be watching in that sense. Obviously, the Euros final thrilling encounter, the World Cup final for the encounter, various meetings between these two sides, like always great games, always fine margins though. And I just think it was lacking in that like real kind of like high excitement level across the 90 minutes. I thought England played brilliantly, just needed to be more clinical, fair few missed chances.

2:14Obviously the hemp effort off the post, I wanted that to go in so much because it was just such a beautiful move in the build up to it. a couple of late chances perhaps should have been more on target lucky not to concede to a certain extent particularly at the end but it was great I mean the most important thing about this game was getting three points and putting ourselves in a really really great position for topping the group and avoiding having to go through playoffs and having extra matches in the calendar that you know mean something and they did that and it was a very strong performance and I think Spain really, really miss Bon Mati.

2:51Yeah, without a doubt. And actually, that's what I meant when I said, you know, we thought it might be like that because when it's two-legged, essentially, which it is, you can expect two teams to be a tiny bit cagey. And then when you lose a player like Aitana Bon Mati, obviously Spain are not quite as pleasing on the eye in many ways. And actually, since their defeat in the World Cup final back in 2023 in Australia, England England have won three of their four encounters against Spain. And so you wrote about England having found the blueprint to succeed against them. What does that game plan entail?

3:28Spill the secrets. So England have come on leaps and bounds in terms of their out-of-possession work. And they've realized that, you know, against Spain, you can't play possession football. You can allow them to have the ball for, I think they had 65 % of possession or something, 63 % of possession last night. and England had, what, 35 or whatever it was going to be. And they've become very content of the ball. So every time Spain had possession, they were so well-organized and so well-structured. You could see the lines of defending, the lines of the defense and the midfield. Everyone knew where they had to be and who they were picking up.

4:07And it kind of closed all of the passing lanes and space for Spain to do their rotations and operating like they normally do. and I think they've realised that, I think it was this time last year, wasn't it, or just around this time last year at the Wembley game where that phrase proper English came out about the fight and the desire and I think everything that's happened in the last 12 months have only given England that fight and desire even more and they've learnt it through the Euros, they've learnt that real character and even I was panicking in the last five minutes when, you know, Edna Omadi has that head on target and Hannah Hampton has to produce a wonderful save.

4:47But they didn't look panicked at all. They just looked like they knew what they were doing. They'd been there. They'd done it before. They'd done it on much bigger stages than Wembley and much more stressful situations. And they were just handling the situation. They were absorbing the pressure. Yeah, there were chances. Yeah, there were mistakes. There's always going to be mistakes. But I think England have become really comfortable in that. These games are always, as Susie said, decided by fine margins. It won't always work. But I think England have come closest of anyone else I've seen to regularly compete with the Spanish side and realising that you can't just try and go for it and possess it.

5:23You have to be very, very savvy about it and frustrate them. And that's OK. Yeah. And it helps to get an early cushion as they did, Aisha. Lauren Hemp scoring inside three minutes and she was impressive again, wasn't she? Yes, she was. She was so impressive. And I think actually that early goal was so crucial. And we thought there might be more goals after that moment because the chances were created from both teams. But actually, it really was that fast start that was needed. And there's no better player than Lauren Hemp to have that kind of explosive nature to her. But also shout out to Lauren James in that move because that was kind of what won the corner, that real persistence.

6:02Alex Greenwood's delivery was bang on the money. And also Russo's assist. I mean, we can give Lauren Hemp all the plaudits, but that whole kind of sequence of events was just moments of excellence from all of the team, all really fighting, not stopping and making every moment matter. the way Russo kind of juggled the ball between her feet while she was on the floor and laid off Lauren Hemp who then just created that amazing moment and I mean you could say maybe Alexia Puteas could have cleared that quicker I think maybe she'll look back and be a bit disappointed with that but and Lauren Hemp actually said in the mix zone oh yeah I should have hit that a bit harder shouldn't I say but she was very grateful for the goal line technology on the night of course that that is in play which which was actually needed and um yeah it was it was a brilliant goal like from all the team and and Lauren Hemp continued to be on fire as as you mentioned that that move with the Lucy Bronze back heel I mean it was this is against the world champions and England were playing this really free-flowing football and yeah they didn't have all the possession but in attack they looked so fierce and they should have been a bit more clinical and moments and in another game they would have kind of be led to regret that but thanks to Hannah Hampton with that couple of brilliant saves to to keep that lead but also keeping that clean sheet you know I'm praising the attackers but we had a centre-back pairing of Lottwee Ben Moy and Esme Morgan who haven't played a lot together and for them to be able to keep a clean sheet obviously aided by um by Hannah Hampton making some great saves it was a real team performance.

7:43I've not even mentioned the midfielders who were again, you know, Kira Walsh, amazing. But yeah, I was really impressed with England. But as Serena Viegman said, they need to be more clinical in those moments because on another day, they might be ruining those missed chances. Yeah, there were some quite big calls that she made, Susie, didn't she, Serena Viegman? As Aisha said, lots of Uwe Mui and Esme Morgan as the centre-back partnership, obviously no Leah Williamson. How much of a surprise was that? And I mean, they clearly handled the pressure because they kept a clean sheet and they didn't have too much to soak up, but it was impressive from them.

8:22Yes and no surprise in that, like, personnel-wise, I feel like that is almost what kind of had to happen. It's been obvious that Serena has favoured having Mayor Letizia as a deputy right-back to Lucy Bronze rather than playing her more centrally with those options sort of a little bit limited at the moment. And then obviously you've got no Leo Williamson at the moment. Niamh Charles is only recently back from injury-ish. So playing Alex Greenwood out there when you're strapped makes a bit of sense. So then when you're looking at centre-back, suddenly some of the options in that squad a little bit kind of faded away.

8:59And it's just brilliant to see, for me, a lot of Wobben Moy get a chance to start in a big game like that for England because her options have been so, so limited. Over the years that she's been in squad, like ultimate professional, everyone speaks so highly of her in and around the camp. And she's a great footballer too. And whenever she gets a chance, I think she really steps up to the plate. We saw it for Arsenal a few seasons back when they played Wolfsburg in the Champions League, when they had that season sort of completely marred with injuries. And it was her and Jem Beattie partnering each other at centre back for a chunk of the end of the season.

9:36And they were fantastic. and she was absolutely brilliant in that with Leah Williamson injured and a few other injuries and we've seen it again this time round with Leah injured again. Steph Catley obviously spending a significant chunk of the start of the year at the Asia Cup meant that Lotta has played a lot of minutes recently and done incredibly well. Arsenal's record defensively has been really strong and it's nice that she's been rewarded for that at an international level. and Esme Morgan I think has been performing brilliantly when she's been coming in for England since well whenever she's coming for England but really I thought there was a big step up around the Euros when she did come into the side during the tournament all the way through to now so like surprising in that we've not seen them really much together as a pair starting for England partly because we've not seen Lotta starting for England much at all but then also not surprising because of the sort of personnel issues, injuries, etc.

10:38Well, what was surprising, not on the fence, and was immediately what my eyes were drawn to on the team sheet when it came out, Lucia Kendall chosen to fill in at number 10. Massive night for her, just 21 years old. So what did you make of her performance? I think everyone knows how big a fan I am of Lucia Kendall. And I actually wasn't surprised at all by the decision because I think, especially when you're playing Spain, you want a bit more defensive solidity in the midfield. And she is naturally probably more an eight or a six. She can play either of those positions. So she added a bit of defensive grit and maybe she wasn't as good in possession, but she didn't have a lot of time on the ball.

11:22I had my head in my hands when she had that opportunity that she sent over the bar. I think she was devastated by the fact that she didn't put that opportunity away because what a moment that would have been on her first night at Wembley. But I think she did really well. She applied herself really well. We've got to remember, this is like one of her first few handful of caps as well. She's only just come into the side. So to be trusted, to be in that 10 role and to provide that kind of solidity alongside Georgia, Stanway and Keira Walsh is a massive call of trust by Serena Viegman. It shows how much she values her.

11:54I think she applied herself well throughout the night. She really, really added a lot of cover. And I think she's probably cemented her in place at this point. Yeah, definitely. Spain without Italo Bormati, as we mentioned, Aisha, Leia Alexandre as well, but they've still got incredible talent on the pitch. And so perhaps registering three shots on target was not what we were expecting from them. Do you think they look static? Were you surprised by that? Yeah, I was. I think we're so used to seeing a Spain team that just creating chances all the time. We mentioned the possession, but it's kind of actually what they go on to then create.

12:41They create really normally brilliant goals. And the opportunities yesterday, I think it said a lot that it was on a Bache who had that first good chance, I'd say, you know, right back. And then the next good chance fell to Carmona at left back. And it's kind of like not those players that you'd be expecting to actually be finding the goal in those situations. I think if you cast your mind back to that Germany semifinal at the Euros, it was, you know, all square. And it did need that moment of magic from a player like Bon Mati. And I think it's easy for us to say that there should be other players who can go and be as good for Spain.

13:17But, you know, there's only one Itana Bon Mati. But having said that, I think the players that do usually shine weren't shining in the same way that they do normally. You know, Patrick, she was decent, but it wasn't a normal Patrick performance you would expect. She ended up coming off injured. I hope she's OK because that would be incredibly disappointing for Spain. But yeah, it was just those attacking players not finding the opportunities. And actually, those opportunities they did get, they just weren't ruthless. I think that that can be said for both sides, in fairness. When they did find the positions in the box, they didn't finish them.

13:58Yeah, not the Spain team, not the free-flowing, attacking Spanish team that we've come to know and love watching. England have the edge, though, when they meet up again in Mallorca in just under two months' time. What would you say both teams need to improve on, Susie, ahead of that one? Their finishing would be the biggest place to start, I think, for both. Both kind of lacking clinical quality in this match. And I think that was hugely important for England. Obviously, they did get the early goal, which made up for that. But I think that's going to be significant in Spain. It's a tough ask. But to be coming out of this game with three points and going into that, not necessarily needing a win, but being OK with a draw as well, I think is a really, really comfortable place to be, particularly given, as Soph said, the way that England have sort of figured Spain out and worked out the best way to play them and to kind of not try and compete with them for possession of the ball.

14:55It's a really good position to be in, to be leading the group going into that fixture. So that's key for England. For Spain, I mean, Bon Matty is the kind of player that can pull something out of their hat, right? Even when they're kind of not finding the spaces and the passes that they want. and there were some nice movements, they did have some good chances but hit the post as well but they're really missing that element of surprise, the player that can pull some ink out of the hat at a moment's notice regardless of what is happening or how frustrated they're being and in theory they've got players on the pitch still that can do that in Mariana Caldente, Alexi Puteas, there's players that have that ability but don't seem to be doing that quite as often as perhaps they should be and I think a lot of that has fallen on Itana to kind of shoulder that element of their game so they need to find that creativity in the final third a little bit I think because for all the possession they should be having more chances more clear-cut chances on goal.

15:59Yeah and just a reminder there is only one automatic qualification spot up for grabs we're at the halfway stage now of World Cup qualification this is how it looks England sitting top of the group, three wins from three and a plus four goal difference over Spain. So that is a pretty good psychological advantage, I would say, for England, Soph. Yeah, definitely. They are top of the group, as you say. They've got the goal difference, which is probably going to be crucial coming down to that final set of games as well. I think England have a real psychological edge now over Spain. As you said earlier, they've won three of their last four encounters they're not scared of them that doesn't mean that they can be complacent and it's not going to be tough but I think that element of fear is definitely gone I will just say once more though that this qualification system is mad the fact that you have across Europe the potential of four big teams going through a playoff system where there's an element of risk involved and for the Euros qualification it was the top two teams in each group that went through So you're looking at it across the board, and at the moment, Spain are in second, Sweden are in second.

17:10Those kind of teams are looking at having to go through a playoff system, which the first Lego players should be easy enough for them, because they're playing League C teams or something like that. But then you get into the really tricky bit where you could have Sweden against Italy or whatever as a playoff, and then the jeopardy is really high. I just don't really understand why we have so many teams heading into that playoffs where if you come talk to in your group, that should be enough. Do you know what, though? There is a little part of me that is like, well, it should be difficult to qualify.

17:47It should. Big countries don't have a divine right, even though they have history. I mean, look at Italy in the men's game. You know, yes, it would be a better tournament with them in it. But, you know, it's tricky for a reason. By the way, I'm not saying I disagree with you because I absolutely don't think that the qualification system makes any sense. I'm just playing devil's advocate. I'm just saying that I think there shouldn't be as many playoffs as there are because you're bringing the whole of League B into play and the whole point of the Nations League is to celebrate the best in the world.

18:24And when you consistently have teams at the top two of the groups, they're consistently the best teams in the world. They should get the job done, but you just never know one refereeing call, one lack of goal line technology at some point that, you know, last night that goal wouldn't have counted if it had been down to the referees because they didn't give it. It was down to the technology. There's just, you know, any mistake could happen. Any injury could happen. And you're suddenly without Spain into a World Cup. And that just seemed like the jeopardy is too high for me. It's not saying that they don't have to earn it, but I just think it's way too high that you're only having four automatic places.

18:59What is really special is the game against Iceland on Saturday. We'll talk about why that's special in a second, but let's talk about the actual match itself at first, Ayesha, because England beat them 2-0 back in March. What do you expect from them on their home turf? Yeah, I mean, that 2-0 wasn't necessarily an easy game. I mean, they came out on top and they were good in attack, but I think they might have hoped to be a bit more free-flowing in that game. Iceland put up a good fight, but they set up fairly well defensively, but they weren't able to create much in attack. So England weren't super threatened.

19:36Iceland are going to be a lot better in Reykjavik than they were in Nottingham. That's for sure. But I think England will definitely be looking to get another win. They'll be hoping to keep that top sport. And I think it will be a comfortable win for England in the end, even though it is on Iceland home turf. Yeah, it's going to be their 500th international fixture. so at Wembley last night there were lots of special moments including former Lionesses and the FA have done a lot of work around remembering past Lionesses as well as the current group how impressed have you been with their efforts Susie I saw Mary Earps on pitch yeah it's great I mean the Mary like giving Mary Earps a proper send-off at Wembley I think was really fitting and good that they did it on a big occasion like that you know particularly after the controversy around the book and things which probably has like very different feelings on in hindsight after that whole episode and you know good to see her recognized for what she achieved with England and the role she's played and I think that was an important statement from the FA and I think the work done on sort of recognizing the legacy of the team and the contribution of those that played in the 499 games played so far has been really important not just for like now in terms of you know what it says to players today and where they fit in the ecosystem of the history of the Lionesses and also you know kind of people watching stuff but also what it says to those players who were at the very very start and having to fight to be able to play and fight for recognition from the FA and things like that was a battle that has got us to this point and so to be able to reward those pioneering players for the role they played I think is is really significant particularly when it's from an organization that even when it did recognize women's football it was still you know a bit of a hands-off approach so even you know kind of after the ban was lifted it was you know kind of still a long long time before it kind of got proper recognition and funding and support and having that recognition of the role those people played in doing all of that work in those early years, I think is really, really important and really nice for them.

21:49And what is great is it's not been tokenistic in any way. I think it's really been genuine, which has been really nice. It's definitely not tokenistic because they're doing it in the men's game as well. It's across the board and you can tell the efforts. And you reap what you sow, don't you? The investment into the women's game from the FA has brought us two trophies. It's really important. And hopefully, if England can qualify, we'll bring a third and a World Cup, which would be incredible. Right. In part two, we're going to catch up on some of the other key World Cup qualification matches. And we'll talk about the historic appointment of Marie-Louise Etter.

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23:16Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Carla Ward's Republic of Ireland got their first three points of the campaign with an impressive victory over Poland. It finished 3-2. Ireland's goals coming from Emily Murphy, Katie McCabe, Marissa Sheva, Tanya Pawlec and Eva Payal scored for Poland. It felt like a real statement victory for Ireland. So how pleased would Carla Ward be with that performance? She'll be very, very pleased. I think the team got quite a bit of criticism, undeserved criticism, to be honest, after the first two games with their narrow losses to France and Netherlands.

23:51I think there has to be a real evaluation of where Ireland are at at the moment, right? And they've qualified for one major tournament in 2023. They didn't back that up with the Euros. They just missed out. And so when they come up against the Netherlands and France, you're not going to be expecting them to win. It's just about how close they can get to them. and they gave them both a really good try. It was a game against Poland, I think, for me, that was the real marker of where they are at. Poland, obviously, just being at the Euros in the summer, so coming off that high and have some really good players in the likes of Eva Payor, we all know what she can do in front of goal.

24:27She scored an absolute blinder goal as well yesterday. But I think this was a real confidence-boosting win for Ireland, for sure. It was a really good performance. The conditions weren't brilliant, but they had a lot of chances. It should have been 4-2. Katie McCabe skied a penalty late on. So they know that they had the margins there. And I think it's against these teams that we've seen real progress in the year and a bit that Carla was being in charge. And they host them again at the Aviva on Saturday. They'll be having a feeling that they can do it again. And if they can get six points from those two games, then they're looking pretty steady in terms of that third place.

25:06and then they go to that final round of games knowing anything could happen against the Netherlands or France. You know, they've beaten France before in Cork. They've got good results. They know they've got quality in that team. Katie McCabe is a ridiculous player. I think Carla Wolves said last night that she was the best left-back in the world. But she really brings that team along. You've got youngsters like Emily Murphy coming through. That was her third player of the match in a row. She's really broken out into this Ireland team and I think they're going to be looking steady for a playoff place in terms of qualification and they'll want to back up that one from 2023 for sure.

25:40Good night for Scotland as well. They kicked off their difficult doubleheader against Belgium, salvaging a point at the death at Easter Road. Kathleen McGovern grabbing a 95th minute equaliser, which cancelled out Sari Keyes' opener. Felt like a really vital point for Melissa Andreata's side, Susie. They've got to go to the Dendreef on Saturday. You've been there several times. I really love it actually as a ground. I think it's brilliant, but it's quite a formidable place to go. Great ground. Hate going there because I'm always watching England lose there. And it's been a scourge. And it doesn't make sense, you know, like Spain beat them 5-1 there in May last year.

26:22Like there's no reason why it should be such a... A bogey ground. Some reason it is. But yeah, like, I mean, Scotland have put like the momentum that they'll have from that late winner puts them in a great position in that group and going into the second game. I'm always glad that they're coming back-to-back like this because they literally carry the momentum straight in. But at the same time, I also think that, you know, when you play back-to-back games against the same side, that also presents challenges for both teams. So it's going to be really interesting to see how Belgium sort of set up in that game and how they respond because Scotland, after they conceded, really, really went for it and, you know, kind of really, really pushed to get something out of the game.

27:06And, I mean, it looked like Belgium were clung on until, you know, obviously the very, very late equaliser. But, you know, it was a really strong attacking, like intentful performance from Scotland. They have a really, really good chance of putting themselves in a great position in the group in League B, which has a complicated playoff scenario of games that you play. and it's important to get the kindest draw possible when a lot of those playoff games are going to be between teams who were in that League B at various stages, thus are in and around sort of their level. So they're going to be really, really tricky.

27:47Belgium are not an easy side. So to come away from that game with a point is significant and they've sort of got everything to play for going into the away game and a lot of heart can be taken from the performance in Scotland. Yeah, without a doubt. Quite a lot of heart to be taken from many of Wales' performances of late. It was a routine win against Albania in Wrexham, their second of the World Cup qualification campaign. Hannah Kane scoring twice in their 4-0 victory. The other goals came from Elise Hughes and Rhiannon Roberts. Look, we knew that they were always the favourites in this one, Aisha, but just how important is it for them to be getting these results over the line?

28:26It kind of shows the progress that they're making under Rhianne Wilkinson at the moment. Yeah, definitely. I think a dominant win was what was needed. She said at full time that, you know, how could you not be impressed with that 90 minutes? They did dominate that game. And as they were expected to do, I think 40 places between the two teams. So it was, like you said, a routine win, but a really important one. And in that group, we've just mentioned the importance of trying to top that group. And they are going head to head with the Czech Republic, like properly toe to toe with them. You know, it's only Czech Republic are only ahead on away goals scored, which tells you everything you need to know.

29:04And that's all they can really do in that group. Czech Republic, you know, they almost were a League A team. So they're in that same category. And I think that's going to be a really important tie for them come June, that tie against Czech Republic. And all they can do until that point is just keep winning and keep dominating those games. Some great goals in that game too. So, yeah, nice to see Wales getting a well-deserved win there. Northern Ireland started off life under new manager Michael McArdle with a confident 4-0 victory over Malta. It's been turbulent, I think it's fair to say, Soph, hasn't it, for Northern Ireland.