Spain 1-0 Canada: Alexia Putellas gives Spain victory over Canada to go top

Alexia Putellas scored the winner for Spain as they edged Olympic champions Canada in the Arnold Clark Cup.

Ballon d'Or winner Putellas slotted in the only goal in the 21st minute following a nice passing move down the left by Spain.

She later hit the crossbar with a header after Canada's Jordyn Huitema had done the same before the break.

Spain currently top the table ahead of England v Germany (19:30 GMT kick-off).

Jorge Vilda's side, who had drawn their opening two matches, will have to wait for the outcome of Wednesday's later match as victory for England could mean the hosts win the four-team tournament.

Canada came into the game at Molineux knowing a victory would see them win the competition, having been the only side to win one of their first two games when they beat Germany 1-0 on Sunday.

They started well with Huitema having a shot blocked inside the box within the first two minutes, before a swift break almost saw Reading's Deanne Rose get in behind on the left.

Spain took some time to settle but it finally clicked when Leila Ouahabi's low cross from the left rolled through Jenni Hermoso's legs and was put away by Putellas.

From that point on, Spain dominated and produced some of the free-flowing football many had expected to see throughout the tournament — and the style that has made them one of the favourites for this summer's European Championship.

Canada's defence, described by Vilda as «possibly the best in the world» before the game, struggled to contain the movement of Putellas and Athenea del Castillo in particular.

Defender Kadeisha Buchanan was called into action on several occasions, making crucial blocks for Canada, having also almost poked in the rebound from Huitema's header which had come back off the