Pina punishes England's lack of intensity as Kirby follows Earps into retirement
In the penultimate match before Euro 2025, the Lionesses struggled to match Spain, with Fran Kirby's shock retirement dominating post-match headlines
On the outskirts of Barcelona, England were defeated by Spain 2-1 in the final match of the Uefa Nations League group stage.
The defeat means the Lionesses will finish second in Group A3 and will not advance to the Nations League semi-finals, and have a lower seeding in the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.
Alessia Russo had given England a 1-0 lead at half-time, but in the second half, Clàudia Pina changed the game by scoring two goals in 12 minutes after coming off the bench to flip the scoreline and complete a memorable comeback for Spain.
The story of the match was that Spain dominated the ball and the flow of the contest throughout. Something which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Spain is, if nothing else, the possession queens of football.
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