World Cup 2026 buildup as England and Scotland gear up for friendlies – matchday live

Key events Some stats/facts for you on last night’s game: It was England’s heaviest defeat in 17 years. They had not lost by a four-goal margin since the Euro 2009 final – a 6-2 loss to Germany. It was the first time the Lionesses had conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier. Prior to the match, England had not lost a qualifier since November 2002. Let’s start by looking back at what happened last night. England suffered their worst defeat under Sarina Wiegman in a 4-0 thrashing by Spain. If you missed it, be sure to read the match report below… Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! England kick off their final World Cup preparations with a warm-up match against New Zealand tonight. The Three Lions arrived in Florida on Monday and have been acclimatising to the (very) warm weather. Some concerns have already been raised about the pitch they will play on, however. We will touch on that a bit more later on. Meanwhile, the Lionesses suffered a dent in their World Cup qualification hopes last night with a 4-0 loss to Spain. England needed just a draw from the clash to punch their ticket to Brazil, but they will now likely have to go through additional qualifiers. Scotland are also in action later today as they face Bolivia. We’ll be looking ahead to that as we get closer to kick-off. All of that and more to come!