Spain come from behind to beat England 3-2 at Wembley
Spain recovered from 2-1 down to win 3-2 at Wembley on 26 September, extending their unbeaten run to 39 matches as Harry Kane missed a penalty with England ahead.
Spain beat England 3-2 at Wembley Stadium on 26 September in UEFA Nations League Group A3, per ESPN, coming from 2-1 down in front of a crowd of 84,525. The result extended Spain's unbeaten run to 39 consecutive official matches, passing Italy's previous record of 37, per beIN Sports. It was also Spain's third ever win at Wembley, per beIN Sports.
How the first half went
Spain scored in the second minute. Lamine Yamal finished with his left foot from the centre of the box after a Marc Guehi error, per beIN Sports. England drew level in the 36th minute: Anthony Gordon struck a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner after a fast break, with Jude Bellingham providing the assist. Four minutes later Harry Kane headed England in front from a Nico O'Reilly cross, and England led 2-1 at half-time.
England manager Thomas Tuchel was blunt about the opening: "Terrible start, the worst start possible. Makes it so, so difficult to be behind against this kind of team," per The National News.
The penalty and the Spain comeback
In the 54th minute, with England still 2-1 up, Kane missed a penalty, per The National News. Tuchel called it "the decisive moment because Spain would have, maybe for the first time, believed that their long run of unbeaten games ends here," per Yardbarker.
A minute after the miss, Spain made a double change, sending on Mikel Oyarzabal for Ferran Torres and Alex Baena for Nico Williams. Baena equalised in the 60th minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner, set up by Dani Olmo. In the 74th minute Baena turned provider, and Oyarzabal finished with his left foot from the centre of the box to make it 3-2.
England sent on James Garner and Morgan Rogers in the 70th minute, and later Morgan Gibbs-White, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jarrad Branthwaite, but did not score again. England collected three yellow cards, for O'Reilly, Guehi and Bellingham, all in the final 25 minutes; Spain had none.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said "the game was under control most of the time, apart from the six or seven minutes" when his side lost focus, and praised their "capacity to come back", per Goal.com.
The numbers
The game was close on the stat sheet. Spain had 52.6 per cent of the ball and 15 shots to England's 13, and each side put five on target. England completed 405 of 446 passes, about 91 per cent; Spain completed 457 of 512, about 89 per cent. England won six corners to Spain's three.
| Stat | England | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Possession (%) | 47.4 | 52.6 |
| Shots | 13 | 15 |
| On target | 5 | 5 |
| Passes completed | 405 of 446 | 457 of 512 |
| Corners | 6 | 3 |
| Fouls | 11 | 16 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 0 |
| Saves | 2 | 3 |
Yamal took seven shots, more than any other player, and Rodri completed 69 passes for Spain. For England, Elliot Anderson completed 67 passes and Bukayo Saka had three shots before being replaced in the 83rd minute. Unai Simon made three saves for Spain and James Trafford two for England.
What comes next
After one round, Spain top Group A3 with three points, level with Croatia on points and goal difference, while England have none. Spain face Croatia on 29 September, and England visit Czechia on the same date, per Goal.com.