Perhaps this will be the blueprint going forward?
England may have ultimately lost out to Spain in this Nations League opener – no shame in that, given the Spaniards are both reigning World and European champions, and haven’t tasted defeat for 39 matches.
But their approach to a game against such a high level of opposition was a refreshing change given how they bowed out of the World Cup in the summer. That semi-final loss to Argentina hung heavy in the air above Wembley on Saturday night. No matter how many bold declarations there were about this being a fresh start, plenty of England fans still harbour anger at the way it all unfolded in Atlanta just over two months ago.
But if Thomas Tuchel continues to employ this kind of approach and boldness going forward then it can hopefully pave the way for a reconciliation between the manager and the fanbase.
Overall, it was a strange, fascinating and absorbing contest. Spain took an early lead – entirely self-inflicted from the hosts’ point of view – and then really should have been out of sight. But England showed courage to get back in it thanks to a brilliant counter-attacking goal before their own slice of fortune had them ahead at the break.
The key moment came when Harry Kane botched a penalty. Had that gone in, at 3-1 the Spanish may well have given up hope of extending their outstanding sequence of unbeaten games. But after Kane lost his footing in the run-up, he sent an effort crashing off the crossbar.
Five minutes later Spain were level and then 15 minutes after that they led again before seeing out the win.
There was a spectacular fireworks display pre-match inside the national stadium, and safe to say the action on the pitch followed suit in what was an enthralling match.
Marc Guehi’s unforced error let in Lamine Yamal and he pounced on the defender, before firing past James Trafford with barely two minutes on the clock.
Spain then scored through Ferran Torres, who thought he had made it 2-0 only for the offside flag to be raised.
Torres then raced through and latched on to a glorious Rodri pass before inexplicably placing the shot the wrong side of the post. England were living dangerously and Dani Olmo, just like Torres, fired wide from a few yards out after a clever backheeled assist from Yamal.
The Three Lions then got on level terms thanks to a brilliant, counter-attacking goal. An unfortunate slip from Nico Williams on the edge of England’s box allowed Elliot Anderson to get the ball forward. He fed Anthony Gordon who produced a sumptuous lay-off to Jude Bellingham. The Real Madrid man then motored forward and fed the onrushing Gordon who made no mistake to make it 1-1.
And England were soon in front just before half-time, when Kane’s header from close range went in off the thigh of Marc Cucurella.
A glorious chance to extend the buffer further arrived just after the break, when Bellingham was felled in the box by Rodri – a decision awarded after VAR intervention.
Kane stepped up but his unfortunate slip saw the ball crash off the bar of a relieved Unai Simon. Spain then, perhaps predictably, levelled up on the hour when sub Alex Baena finished smartly after Nico O’Reilly followed Guehi in making an unforced error in his own half that was duly punished.
Baena then turned provider with a clever, round-the-corner pass into Mikel Oyarzabal – another sub – and he executed a cute chip over Trafford to seal the win for the Spaniards.
Tuchel said afterwards: “I think we had the worst possible start against a team like Spain, who loves to control the game and loves to play with confidence and on the ball. The reaction was OK. It cost us a little bit in confidence. It’s normal.
“I think we had another two big mistakes in the build-up situations and conceded two big chances, survived the chances, and then we grew into the game.
“We got the momentum, the belief back, scored the equalizer, scored the second goal, could have scored a third one in the first half. Should absolutely score the third one in the second half.
“One of the best 15-20 minutes so far of us, a total complete performance. We were clearly the better team, but couldn’t score the third.
“The result is not what we wanted. I think we could have won it, so we have to live with it, recover from it, learn from it, do what we did good on the same level, and reduce and improve our own mistakes.”
England now travel to Czechia on Tuesday.
