It was, in the words of Millie Bright, "a proper English performance". On that, she did not need to expand. Spain passed and passed and passed. England defended, battled, broke quickly, and bundled home a scrappy goal. 1-0. Job done.
"We showed fight," Sarina Wiegman said. "We can do different things. We can try to play a possession game, but when necessary we can get in behind quicker. Most of the time we got out of the press and kept the ball. We were a little bit deeper on the pitch today, close together... against Spain, it (their style) is so very specific. Us, we can play a possession game, but if necessary, we can go in behind quicker."
In that respect, the style of the two sides has not changed much since Spain's 1-0 World Cup final win 18 months ago. Put these 22 players in the same colour shirts and you could easily have picked out the nationalities. Spain sometimes held the ball for too long, while England were more about individual running. Lauren James started the game tremendously and Alessia Russo got England up the pitch with her physicality and power. Jess Park held off opponents and bundled home the only goal after Russo had raced into the channel.
But the turning point was something simpler: when Lucy Bronze harried Aitana Bonmati deep inside the opposition half, eventually forcing her over her own byline to win a corner. Nothing came of it. But suddenly England were lifted. After being under the cosh for the opening 15 minutes, suddenly they were on top.
But are England actually in better shape than 18 months ago?
It is worth remembering that England were something of a ramshackle bunch in Australia, with so many major injury absences and the mid-tournament change of system that broadly did the job but evidently was not Wiegman's long-term plan.
Now, England have Leah Williamson and Bright fully fit and playing well together as a centre-back partnership -- and on the opposite sides to previously. Bright now plays on the left of her centre-back pairing for Chelsea, so it has made sense for Williamson to move to her favoured position to the right.
Bronze, enjoying a fine first Chelsea campaign, continues to exert huge influence down the right flank and England's poor second-half performance in the 1-1 draw in Portugal on Friday notably came after she had been substituted. On the left, Niamh Charles provides a natural attacking option. Behind them, Hannah Hampton might now be England's first-choice goalkeeper and produced some fine saves -- and one dribble inside her own six-yard box.
Wiegman's squad still looks short in midfield, particularly in the absence of Georgia Stanway. Grace Clinton largely performed well in the two games this week, shielding the ball well in deep positions, although she still needs to improve defensively. Spain tried marking Keira Walsh out of the game, but with good distribution from the centre-backs and good rotations in the centre, this wasn't a problem.
Ella Toone was relatively quiet, as often happens in matches where England are on the back foot. But the real positive is the number of options in the final third. Wiegman's generally preferred wing duo, Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp, were both absent. James and Park are different types of footballer, more liable to narrow their position and get involved in the centre. But they caused serious problems with their dribbling and both have an eye for goal.
In the centre-forward role, the situation is different because England don't have serious depth and their lack of options up front is underlined by Nikita Parris' surprise return to the squad.
But in Russo, Wiegman has a more complete forward than at any previous point. Russo is better than Ellen White was in 2022, better than Rachel Daly throughout the following year, and, more pertinently, better than she's ever been herself. The Arsenal striker's ability to protect the ball when England need to bypass midfield and play directly into her is invaluable. She can run the channels well, as she did in the build-up to the only goal. She can pounce in the six-yard box, as she did for the opener in Portugal.
Indeed, a good demonstration of her value was provided by Spain's struggles at the opposite end. When Garcia had a fine second-half chance from Bonmati's cutback, she seemed to trip over her own feet. When Salma Paralluelo seemingly had a clear run at goal, she could not get a shot away. Combine Spain's midfield creativity with England's directness out wide and their in-form centre-forward and you have a complete attack. The different strengths and weaknesses are precisely what makes England against Spain so consistently intriguing.
Not everything went perfectly for England at Wembley and had Lucia Garcia's shot, which struck the bar, been a foot lower -- just like Hemp's in the World Cup Final -- it might have been a different result this time. Besides, Spain rallied in the second half and got into excellent situations. England defended crosses well, but they allowed too many balls in behind and were fortunate that Spain wasted chances.
At full time, the England players looked for their team-mates. They growled at one another, clenched fists and then high-fived. It was three Nations League points, but it was more; not just a small measure of revenge for 18 months ago, but evidence that England can defeat one of their fellow favourites for the European Championship this summer.