Football Bet of the Day: Can England pass toughest test in world football?

The men’s World Cup may be just around the corner, but on Friday night, the women will take centre stage as the Lionesses head to Spain (9pm local, 8pm BST) for a crucial 2027 World Cup qualifier. 

Below you can find my Football Bet of the Friday, which comes from this fixture. 

Spain vs England Odds

This is a repeat of the 2025 Euros final and the 2023 World Cup final, with a serious argument to be made that these two are the best two teams in the world. Ranked first (Spain) and third (England) in FIFA’s world rankings, with USA separating the two, it does seem rather bizarre that only one of them is guaranteed to be at the World Cup.

This complex qualification system means that only four group winners are guaranteed a spot at the World Cup, with the runner-up having to go through the play-offs. To make it very simple, if England avoid defeat in Spain they are very likely to top the group and be at the World Cup, with only Ukraine left to face at home.

This is a massive game then, with Spain losing 1-0 to England in the reverse fixture to hand the initiative to the Lionesses. Sarina Wiegman should rely upon her core players once again for this tough away test, with Hannah Hampton, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo all set to feature.

Football Odds

I think this team have grown massively over the past few years. Two European Championship successes have given them confidence, with the 2025 Euros win in Switzerland the first on foreign soil by a senior England side. This fixture takes place at Son Moix Stadium in Palma de Mallorca, with over 20,000 fans expected to cheer on the teams.

I don’t think England will struggle too much with the conditions, it’s expected to be around 21 degrees at kick off, and they know what they have to do. Avoid defeat, and a place at the World Cup is almost theirs.

In terms of quality, we know what Spain have to offer. They clinched the Nations League title with a 2-0 victory over Germany back in December and have comfortably won the rest of their qualifiers. But England have had their number recently despite their individual talent. We could go on and on about the likes of Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati, with several of this squad winning the Champions League with Barcelona this term, but this England team has a desire to grind out results.

I’m going to back the Lionesses to avoid defeat in Spain and get over the line to the World Cup. This is the biggest test in world football, but I’m backing Wiegman to pass it.