The 4-0 defeat by Spain was England's biggest under Sarina Wiegman – and heaviest since 2009
England just needed to avoid defeat against Spain – instead they suffered their heaviest loss in 17 years.
A win or a draw would have sealed the Lionesses' place at the 2027 Women's World Cup but a 4-0 drubbing in Majorca means they will likely have to navigate two rounds of play-offs in the autumn instead.
As nights go, this was one to forget for manager Sarina Wiegman, who admitted it "hurt" to lose so heavily against their rivals.
Now England return home knowing victory against Ukraine in their final qualifying match on Tuesday (20:00 BST) will only matter if Spain drop points in Iceland at the same time.
"I expected a very tight game. There was a difference tonight because we were disappointing – and it hurts," said Wiegman.
"We just didn't play good enough, and we couldn't step up anymore. They became more dangerous but we couldn't get to another gear.
"First of all, what I'm trying to do now is think 'what caused this?' We have to see what went really wrong.
"Of course I'm frustrated and disappointed but so are the players. This hurts because we have lost a couple of times but not with such a big score."
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With a year to go until the World Cup starts in Brazil, this was a concerning scoreline that gives Wiegman plenty to ponder.
Facing world champions Spain away is arguably the toughest test in football, but to lose so comfortably was not an easy watch.
Former England midfielder Fran Kirby said Wiegman's players looked "deflated" at full-time and she "hurt just watching it".
"They will learn from it, and they have to rise up to put in a good performance against Ukraine," Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Just the top team from their group automatically qualifies for the World Cup and even if England beat Ukraine on Tuesday they will likely miss out, with this defeat by Spain the only blotch on their otherwise solid campaign.
So what damage did the 4-0 defeat have on England?
"Of course, it's not a great scoreline. It's hard, it's disappointing, and I think there was a difference – a big difference – between ourselves and Spain," added Wiegman.
"We review this, recover, stick together, play a good game and then move forward.
"We know if we qualify [automatically] that there's a different preparation than if we don't qualify. Let's first see what happens on Tuesday."
England midfielder Keira Walsh, who captained the side in the absence of injured centre-back Leah Williamson, conceded they "just weren't good enough".
"Spain played incredibly well but I think there are a lot of things we could have done better. It felt like they had bodies everywhere," said Walsh.
"It was very difficult to get out of our own box. I don't have solutions right now. Obviously we'll look back but right now the emotions are very high.
"It was a disappointing game. We've still got a small chance to qualify automatically. It's out of our hands. We can hope Iceland do us a favour."
Having lost 1-0 at Wembley in April, the world champions needed to respond to erode England's three-point advantage at the top of Group A3.
This 4-0 victory ensures they lead the way on head-to-head and just need to match England's result against Ukraine on Tuesday.
On top throughout, Spain led through Patri Guijarro, who nutmegged Georgia Stanway before firing past goalkeeper Hannah Hampton via a deflection.
England were carved open for two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas to strike past Hampton before half-time, and she reacted first to stab home later on when Lucy Bronze had initially cleared the ball off the line.
Sloppy in possession, devoid of ideas and no shots on target, England were overrun by a relentlessness from Spain that created a chasm between the teams on the night.
The difference in class was underlined when Putellas was replaced by three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who set up fellow substitute Claudia Pina to seal England's nightmare evening.
"It was a night to forget – we were second best at everything," ex-England midfielder Karen Carney told ITV.
"Spain were really superior in every area of the pitch and we have to swallow that.
"Sometimes in football matches, you're just desperate for the whistle to go as you don't know how to fix it. We looked miles off it."
The Lionesses lacked energy, perhaps impacted by the WSL season ending on 16 May, and several Spanish stars were fresh from winning the Women's Champions League with Barcelona two weeks ago.
England were also without captain Williamson, a dent in an overrun backline, while Wiegman opted for Ella Toone over Lucia Kendall, despite the Manchester United midfielder only just returning from a four-month injury lay-off.
But in truth, the gap is easily explained. Spain were at their sensational best and England didn't really turn up. They cannot afford to do that against such quality.
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