England held goalless by organised Spain for second draw of Arnold Clark Cup

England were held to a goalless draw by an organised Spain side in the second round of fixtures in the Arnold Clark Cup.

After a 1-1 draw against Canada in the opening round, England went into the game looking to make a mark against a Spain side built around a core of players from Champions League winners Barcelona.

Sarina Wiegman made eight changes from the Canada clash and the Lionesses kept Spain quiet for the most part, but also struggled to impose themselves on the match.

There were just five shots on target in the 90 minutes and neither was able to break the deadlock, in front of 14,284 fans at Carrow Road.

However, the result was an improvement for England who were beaten 1-0 the last time these sides met, at the SheBelieves Cup in March 2020.

Spain dominated the early possession, rarely letting England string passes together, although it was the home side who had the first shot, when Jill Scott tried her luck from distance but it was always going wide of the target.

It was a game of few chances in the opening exchanges, with Spain dominating 66 percent of the possession inside the opening 25 minutes, but there were no shots on target from either side.

England’s highest goalscorer Ellen White had a chance to add to her tally of 48, but her glancing header was wide of the target.

The first attempt on target came in the 41st minute, when Mapi Leon drove down the pitch before feeding in Ivana Andres, but her curled strike was straight at goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.

Norfolk-born Lauren Hemp had a shot rebound out off the post just moments after being brought on at the break.

England continued their bright start to the second half when Jordan Nobbs was played in behind the Spain backline, she was first to the ball and only had the keeper to beat but dragged her attempt wide.

In the 58th minute Spain also had a chance to break the deadlock, when Athenea del Castillo’s effort was blocked, but fell to Lucia Garcia whose shot was wide of Hampton’s goal.

Spain goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez had to be alert in the final 10 minutes to punch the ball away after it went over White’s head, as England continued to press for the opener, but it remained goalless in wet and windy conditions.

Hampton also had to be alert to hold onto a sharp strike from Del Castillo in added time.