Sarina Wiegman believes England have taken a "great step forward" to World Cup qualification after defeating defending champions Spain 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.

The Lionesses made it three wins from three in League A Group 3 on Tuesday, with Lauren Hemp's early goal at Wembley Stadium proving to be the difference for the hosts. 

Timed at two minutes and 34 seconds, Hemp netted England Women's quickest ever goal at the new Wembley, though Wiegman's side were made to work for their victory. 

Spain finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.84 from their 21 shots, compared to England's tally of 0.79 from their nine attempts. Hannah Hampton had to pull off a great save late on to preserve the hosts' clean sheet.

However, England remain unbeaten and have not conceded across their last 25 Women's World Cup qualifying matches at home (W23 D2), since losing 1-0 to France in a play-off match in October 2002.

They are back in action on Saturday against Iceland, who they beat 2-0 last month, and Wiegman switched her focus straight to that trip.

"It's a great step forward. This is hard now. [Now] we recover and then we get ready for Iceland because it's a quick turnaround," Wiegman told ITV. 

"It was an intense game. Be happy now, but then switch straightaway to Iceland."

Job done.

Thanks for your amazing support at @WembleyStadium! pic.twitter.com/CJITaddisz

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 14, 2026

England have lost just one of their last 12 games played at Wembley (W8 D3), while they have now won four consecutive matches at the national venue for the first time.

The Lionesses also ended Spain's 17-match unbeaten run in all competitions, while also extending their own unbeaten stretch against their opponents to 10 games in matches played on home soil (W7 D3). 

"I'm really happy. We got a good result. We had to defend a lot, we know Spain are so good on the ball. You have to defend well and be really compact," Wiegman added. 

"We had our chances, they did too. But sometimes you have to fight to get the win and that's what we did. We hoped we'd be in a higher block more, but we got pushed back.

"Sometimes we could have been better on the ball and created more momentum. As soon as we got in their half of the pitch, we made them uncomfortable."

There was also a special moment for Chelsea midfielder Kiera Walsh, who became the 15th women's player to make 100 appearances for her country. 

In Leah Williamson's absence, Walsh captained the side and won possession back more times (five) than any other player for England, and goalscorer Hemp lauded the midfielder's display. 

"Keira is a fantastic player. I've known her since I was young and she was teaching me the ways," Hemp said. 

"It's great to have someone like Keira in the team. I'm really proud of her reaching 100. She carries the team at points when we need her to. She's the engine."