Massive Lionesses boost! Sarina Wiegman confirms Lauren James is fit as England coach demands a win in blockbuster showdown against Spain

The Lionesses have been handed a major lift ahead of Friday’s blockbuster clash as attacking star James has been cleared to play. After a brief scare over the weekend, Wiegman revealed that the Chelsea forward has recovered well and is back in full training with the squad.

Providing an update on James and fellow returnee Ella Toone, Wiegman told reporters: "[James] has been good. Had a little bit of recovery after that moment at the weekend [in the World Sevens], but could go back in training very quickly. That's positive. [Toone] has trained very hard to come back. We have a lot of good midfielders and she brings something different. It's really good to have that option in our team. She's ready to go and we'll see what tomorrow brings."

Despite only needing a draw to guarantee their spot in the 2027 World Cup, Wiegman has insisted that England will play for nothing less than three points. The Lionesses currently sit top of Group A3 with a perfect record - holding a three-point lead over second-placed Spain - and the Dutch coach is eager to wrap up qualification as early as possible to aid long-term preparations.

Wiegman was clear about her team's intent, stating: "We approach the game as we want to win the game. We will go out there tomorrow to win the game. We're in a good position. We just really want to qualify as quick as possible. We want to top the group. It's a hard group, it's a difficult game. It's the same for Spain, it's a difficult game for them, too. And it just helps [to qualify early] because you have time then to prepare. We know what the consequences are so, no matter what happens, we have another opportunity, but we go out there to play and win."

The history between these two sides adds an extra layer of tension to the fixture, following Spain’s victory over England in the 2023 World Cup final. However, the Lionesses have reclaimed the upper hand recently, winning three of their last four encounters, including a 1-0 victory at Wembley back in April.

Looking ahead to the tactical battle, Wiegman added: "We know each other really well, so we know what type of players Spain have. But they have more than 11 players that are really good and they have different options in different positions. We just try to prepare for everything that will come in front of us tomorrow. Challenging games always bring the best out of us. We have challenges in every single game. We want to be at our best all the time. We want to improve on the last game we played against Spain. We want to improve every single time we have played a game and take out those things we think we can improve on. That's no different to other games we play."

While captain Leah Williamson is out, Wiegman is confident her squad can handle Sonia Bermudez's side. Avoiding defeat in Mallorca will secure England’s spot in Brazil for the 10th Women's World Cup more than a year early, turning their final qualifier against Ukraine at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on June 9 into a dead rubber.

Reflecting on the captain’s injury, the manager admitted: "Of course it's disappointing that [Williamson] is injured, first of all for her, but also for us. At the same time, we moved on quickly because we have to play with the team we have and I think we have a very good team. We've done this before, a squad without Leah, so I'm comfortable with that."