Mallorca misery isn’t the end of the world for the Lionesses

Getting dismantled 4-0 by Spain in Mallorca on Friday wasn’t just a bad night at the office for England. It was a full-blown, cold-water-in-the-face reality check for a squad that has spent years sitting comfortably at the top table of women’s football.

Sarina Wiegman’s side looked shell-shocked. It was the kind of performance that leaves a team staring at the ceiling at 3:00 AM wondering if their reputation is currently outpacing their output. According to Sky Sports reports, Lauren Hemp has already admitted to a sleepless night following the thrashing.

Wiegman isn't pushing the panic button yet

While the Twitter trolls are busy writing England’s obituary, Sarina Wiegman is playing the long game. She told the press that her hurt squad needs these humbling moments to evolve. It is a classic manager pivot: don't call it a breakdown, call it a breakthrough.

As the BBC noted, Wiegman is viewing this as fuel for improvement rather than proof of decline. It is easy to say that when you’ve got a trophy cabinet full of accolades, but the tactical disconnect in Mallorca was glaring. You cannot just rely on "sticking together" when you are getting sliced open with surgical precision in the middle of the park.

The squad’s response to the heat

Lauren Hemp has been out in front, insisting that the group is staying united despite the noise. There is a lot of talk about internal cohesion, but internal vibes don't track back on elite Spanish midfielders. The Lionesses have 3 days until the World Cup kicks off on June 11, and they are currently walking into that tournament with more questions than answers.

Let’s call a spade a spade: this loss was ugly. Losing by that margin creates a psychological scar that doesn't just disappear because the manager gives a rousing halftime speech in the next session. They have to prove that the Spain result was an outlier, not the start of a trend. The lack of intensity in the defensive third was arguably the most worrying part of the display.

Meanwhile, in North London...

It’s not just the national team struggling with identity crises. Spurs are currently undergoing their own public autopsy. A former Champions League finalist recently spoke to FourFourTwo, essentially saying that the Tottenham dressing room needs an exorcism. If the Lionesses need a spine that delivers every week, they should probably avoid watching any match tapes from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.

The criticism for Spurs is simple: they lack the grit required to hang with the big dogs for 90 minutes. England isn't quite at the "tear it down to the studs" phase that Tottenham is, but the comparison in discipline is worth making. If you don't have the stomach for the pressure, you don't belong on the pitch when the stakes are at their highest.

Final thoughts on the road to the World Cup

England is still one of the best teams on the planet, but they’ve been served notice. The parity in international football is closing fast, and you can’t win matches on nostalgia alone. Wiegman has built a culture of winning, but that structure is currently under the most stress it has seen in years.

If the Lionesses want to make a run at the World Cup, they need to stop leaking chances like they did on Friday. It is going to take more than just collective optimism to fix those defensive holes before the opening whistle blows. They have 3 days to find their grit, or the summer is going to be a very long one.