Why England missed out on an automatic Women’s World Cup place.

England have done everything right in their group stage, winning five of their six games, including a win over Spain at Wembley in April.

They have also scored 13 goals, conceding just five – four of them against Spain – and keeping four clean sheets.

But automatic qualification is not easy and England were drawn in the group with world champions Spain. The quest for top spot is always likely to come down to a head-to-head record.

That was because he was beaten by Mallorca when England finally lost him.

That humiliating defeat – the difference between the two teams was their collapse when Spain were at their best.

Wigman chose his starting XI based on his experience against Spain. Despite being out of action for England since October and returning from a four-month injury layoff in April, midfielder Ella Tone has been given the nod over Lucia Kendall and Laura Blindkilde Brown.

Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze started at right back despite being injured in the build-up to the match.

In the end, England’s midfield was too friendly and easily dominated by Spain, with the usually explosive Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp and Lauren James failing to make a breakthrough.

At the back, England struggled to keep up with Spain’s creativity and agility, with only Esme Morgan performing in a generally entertaining manner.

England’s slump worsened as Spain put in one of their best ever performances and Wiegman failed to respond.

Wigman told BBC Radio 5 Live this week that he was confident England would compete well against Spain if they were to meet again next year.

But that one crucial defeat showed just how difficult it is for England to qualify for the big tournaments and why they can’t have an ‘off day’ against the best teams.

“We have mixed emotions, of course. We were very disappointed with the way the game went (against Spain),” said goal scorer Georgia Stanway, along with Jess Carter and Beth Mead, on Tuesday.

“It’s very rare that you get 15 points and still not go out of the group. I think that shows our level, our consistency, but we know our performance wasn’t good against Spain.”

Wiegmann admits that it is a good thing that there is more competition across Europe, but it is difficult to lose such good margins.

“The Nations League brought a lot of competition in Europe. I think that’s great. We noticed that we have to play Spain more often,” she said.

“I was excited to see this team play Iceland because we haven’t played them. UEFA is at least something to watch. The good thing is there’s a lot of competition.”