Spain expose England's flaws in heavy defeat that 'hurts'

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The 4-0 defeat by Spain was England's biggest under Sarina Wiegman - and heaviest since 2009 By Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Son Moix Stadium Published 4 minutes ago England just needed to avoid defeat against Spain - instead they suffered their heaviest loss in 17 years. A win or a draw would have sealed the Lionesses' place at the 2027 Women's World Cup but a 4-0 drubbing in Majorca means they will likely have to navigate two rounds of play-offs in the autumn instead. As nights go, this was one to forget for manager Sarina Wiegman, who admitted it "hurt" to lose so heavily against their rivals. Now England return home knowing victory against Ukraine in their final qualifying match on Tuesday (20:00 BST) will only matter if Spain drop points in Iceland at the same time. "I expected a very tight game. There was a difference tonight because we were disappointing - and it hurts," said Wiegman. "We just didn't play good enough, and we couldn't step up anymore. They became more dangerous but we couldn't get to another gear. "First of all, what I'm trying to do now is think 'what caused this?' We have to see what went really wrong. "Of course I'm frustrated and disappointed but so are the players. This hurts because we have lost a couple of times but not with such a big score." The Debrief: Sorry England humbled in Spain How England can still qualify for the Women's World Cup Published 29 minutes ago How damaging was this result? Image caption, Spain top the group courtesy of a better head-to-head record against England With a year to go until the World Cup starts in Brazil, this was a concerning scoreline that gives Wiegman plenty to ponder. Facing world champions Spain away is arguably the toughest test in football, but to lose so comfortably was not an easy watch. Former England midfielder Fran Kirby said Wiegman's players looked "deflated" at full-time and she "hurt just watching it". "They will learn from it, and they have to rise up to put in a good performance against Ukraine," Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live. Just the top team from their group automatically qualifies for the World Cup and even if England beat Ukraine on Tuesday they will likely miss out, with this defeat by Spain the only blotch on their otherwise solid campaign. So what damage did the 4-0 defeat have on England? "Of course, it's not a great scoreline. It's hard, it's disappointing, and I think there was a difference - a big difference - between ourselves and Spain," added Wiegman. "We review this, recover, stick together, play a good game and then move forward. "We know if we qualify [automatically] that there's a different preparation than if we don't qualify. Let's first see what happens on Tuesday." England midfielder Keira Walsh, who captained the side in the absence of injured centre-back Leah Williamson, conceded they "just weren't good enough". "Spain played incredibly well but I think there are a lot