Spain defeated England at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, by a scoreline of 2-1. While this result means that the Three Lionesses will not advance to the Nations League semifinals, it was a notable occasion for an Aston Villa Women player.
Missy Bo Kearns made her senior-level debut for the England squad. It is not the first opponent anyone would wish for on opposing territory. The way she faced the difficult challenge that the Spaniards presented today deserves admiration.
Kearns' goal since arriving from Liverpool was to make a strong enough impression at Villa to be considered for the international side. From that perspective, the midfielder has achieved her goal, as Sarina Wiegman called the AVWFC player up for the Nations League fixtures.
While watching and staying ready during the match against Portugal, Kearns saw her number on the board at the halfway mark when she entered the game for Georgia Stanway. For the Villa midfielder and team as a whole, this will serve as a great learning moment that they will look to grow from.
If it weren't for the second-half introduction of Claudia Pina, there may have been a way for the Lionesses to sneak out a result. The Barcelona forward provided that clinical edge that was missing from Spain throughout most of the match.
Even so, England was defending for most of the second set of 45 minutes. Despite having the 1-0 advantage, Wiegman's side was largely on their back heels.
Rather than overreacting to anything, the final group stage fixture should simply show how good the best teams can be when they are playing at their best. Even then, it was only a one-goal defeat.
Takeaways for Aston Villa Women midfielder
Kearns ended up picking up a yellow and had a hard time, along with her teammates, to retain possession and show anything moving forward in the attack. It may be a difficult watch, but this will be one for the Villa midfielder, and the rest of this squad will need to watch again and see areas where they could have helped themselves out more.
Spain dominated in a narrow victory, but there is plenty of quality from Kearns and other England internationals that would easily be able to achieve a result against a Spanish team that is playing well.