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Sarina Wiegman credited training as the key to the Lionesses' victory over World Cup holders Spain, with Lauren Hemp scoring the fastest goal in Wembley history. This 1-0 win strengthens England's chances for automatic qualification for the upcoming Women's World Cup.
Wiegman reveals simple way Lionesses bested World Cup holders Spain
In the age of set pieces, it was from a corner that Lauren Hemp volleyed home the Lionessesâ winner against world champions Spain in record time this evening â unlike some of her peers, Sarina Wiegmanâs methodology was simple.
âTrainâ, she said.
England put themselves in strong contention to qualify automatically for the Womenâs World Cup just over a year from now, with their quickest goal ever at Wembley earning a 1-0 win in a repeat of the finals at the previous tournament and Euro 2025.
It was a significant occasion that proved once again Englandâs ability to perform against the strongest opponents, and why they should be among the contenders to lift the ultimate prize at Brazilâs tournament in 2027.
Wiegman was quizzed over her preparations for the big game in terms of being effective from set pieces, where her team hasnât had the best conversion rate compared to open play over the past three tournaments.
She said: âWe review our set plays and we try to improve. We watch clips and we have conversations with players, sometimes in small groups [where] you get more feedback, sometimes with the whole team.
âThen we go out on the pitch again and we train, sometime they take some corners â things like that.â
But it wasnât just the corner from Alex Greenwood that gave England a crucial victory, with Hannah Hampton making a âworld classâ save to deny substitute Edna Imadeâs header â also from a set piece â in the final minute of normal time.
âShe had a save against Iceland were we really dominated the game, but it was still 1-0â, Wiegman recalled. âTonight she had that crucial save also, so thatâs really nice to have in the team.
âMost of the games weâve played recently, weâve had a lot of the ball ourselves. This demanded something different from us than weâve shown, and I think we did that.â
England could afford possession hungry Spain the majority of the ball throughout the encounter by keeping compact and providing plenty of threat on the counter, all the while Sonia BermĂșdez made several changes to try and break them down.
Wiegman was pleased with how her game plan was executed, saying: â It always helps when you score quick because it gives a boost, so that was really nice.
âI think the game plan worked [in] both halves, although we would really love to have the ball a little longer.
âThey put different personnel in and went a little more direct, and tried to change the game with other personnel. Lucy [Bronze] had to make that header, [and] that challenge definitely.â
Although their victory over the world number ones is indeed quite the statement, the Lionesses manager already has her sights set on getting results out of Iceland â their 500th competitive fixture â as well as Ukraine and tonightâs reverse fixture.
Wiegman said: âItâs a very good result and weâre really happy, but we need to keep that significance by getting a result next Saturday, and then we have Ukraine and then we play Spain again.â
The Lionesses defeated Spain 1-0, with Lauren Hemp scoring the fastest goal in Wembley history from a corner kick.
Sarina Wiegman emphasized the importance of training as the simple strategy behind the Lionesses' victory over Spain.
This victory puts England in a strong position to qualify automatically for the Women's World Cup scheduled for next year.

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