England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that her side will have their eyes firmly set on securing their place at next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup when they face Spain in Mallorca on Friday night.
Victory over the reigning world champions would be enough to book England’s place in Brazil in 2027 while a draw would leave them on the verge of qualification going into the final round of matches next week.
When speaking to the media ahead of the match, England boss Wiegman said that her side’s target is to seal FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualification at the earliest opportunity.
“Of course, that’s what we want and it’s what we are going out for tomorrow,” Wiegman said. “We are ready, we are in a good position and we just really want to qualify as quickly as possible, that’s what we’ve said all along.
“It’s a hard group, it’s a difficult game tomorrow but it’s the same for Spain too. It just helps [qualifying automatically] because you have time to prepare.
“We know what the consequences are but no matter what happens, we will have another opportunity. We are going out there to win.”
Spain defeated England in the final at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 but the Lionesses got their revenge as they beat La Roja in last summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO final. Wiegman said that there’s a mutual respect between the two teams.
She said “We have so much respect for each other, we have played each other many times. They’re always exciting games and some finals. Tomorrow is another exciting game with two teams that have done really well recently but it’s a new challenge.
“At the moment, history doesn’t count. We will just go out and try to win the game and they will too.”
The England squad reported for camp at St George’s Park with players having played different levels of football in recent weeks. Wiegman admitted that this does throw up one or two challenges in terms of preparation.
She said “This window is always a bit difficult because for most of the players the season is finished. For some now, it has been done for two weeks but they’ve kept training.
“They’ve had different schedules but they came in well and I think we are ready for tomorrow.”
England’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualifier against Spain in Mallorca kicks-off at 8pm on Friday night.