\n<\/p>\n
England did almost everything right in their qualifying group, winning five of their six matches, including the victory over Spain at Wembley in April.<\/p>\n
They also scored 13 goals, conceded just five – four of which came against Spain – and kept four clean sheets.<\/p>\n
But it is not easy to qualify automatically and England were given a rough draw with world champions Spain in their group. The quest for top spot was always likely to come down to their head-to-head record.<\/p>\n
That is what happened as England ultimately missed out because they were thumped in Majorca.<\/p>\n
That humbling defeat – which showed the gulf between the two teams when Spain are at their best – was their downfall.<\/p>\n
Wiegman opted for experience in the starting XI against Spain. Despite not featuring for England since October, and only returning from a four-month injury in April, midfielder Ella Toone was given the nod over Lucia Kendall and Laura Blindkilde Brown.<\/p>\n
Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze started at right-back despite an injury in the build-up to the game.<\/p>\n
In the end, England’s midfielders were too passive and easily controlled by Spain, while the usually explosive frontline of Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp and Lauren James proved ineffective.<\/p>\n
At the back, England struggled to live with Spain’s creativity and dynamism, with only Esme Morgan impressing in a generally dismal performance.<\/p>\n
England’s sloppiness was compounded by the fact Spain produced one of their best performances to date and Wiegman could not come up with an answer for it.<\/p>\n
Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live this week that she is “absolutely convinced” England can match Spain at their best if they are to meet again next year.<\/p>\n
But that one crucial defeat showed just how difficult it is for England to qualify for major tournaments and why they cannot afford an ‘off day’ against the best teams.<\/p>\n
“We have mixed feelings, of course. We were very disappointed with the way the game went (against Spain),” said midfielder Georgia Stanway, a scorer on Tuesday along with Jess Carter and Beth Mead.<\/p>\n
“It’s very rare that you get 15 points and still not make it out of the group. I think that it shows our level, our consistency, but we know our performance wasn’t good enough against Spain.”<\/p>\n
Wiegman said it was a “good thing” that there is more competition throughout Europe but admitted it was tough to miss out on such fine margins.<\/p>\n
“The Nations League brought more competition in Europe. I think that’s really nice. We also noticed we have to play Spain so many times,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I was excited for this group to play Iceland as we hadn’t played them. It’s something for Uefa to have a look at, at least. The good thing is there is a lot of competition.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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