Thomas Tuchel still hasn’t been forgiven by a large swath of the England support who remember how the German’s game management contributed to the Three Lions’ collapse against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final this summer.
The England manager has a point to prove, making Saturday’s Nations League opener something of a referendum on his continued employment. A defeat and a poor performance would add to the noise around Tuchel.
Spain have no such problems. Indeed, Luis de la Fuente and his players are still basking in the glow of World Cup glory and have another opportunity to demonstrate why they’re the team to beat in international soccer.
Here is your complete guide on how to watch today’s Uefa Nations League fixture, including kick-off times, broadcast networks and online streaming options.
England v Spain
Time: 7.45pm BST/2.45pm ET
Stadium: Wembley Stadium (London)
How to watch
United States: FS2 (Stream on Fubo)
Canada: Stream on Fubo
United Kingdom: Watch on ITV1
What to watch for
Tuchel must show he can evolve England’s playing style. At the World Cup, his team played a generally conservative game that cost them in the semi-finals, when Argentina fought back to get the better of their historic rivals. Tuchel bore the brunt of the criticism for his tactical choices.
The selection of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Morgan Gibbs-White suggests Tuchel is willing to release the handbrake, although the withdrawals of Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento due to injury limited his options.
Spain’s squad is stacked with talent in all areas with Pedro Porro the only member of the team that started the World Cup final unavailable for the trip to Wembley. The world champions will control the majority of the match, limiting England to quick transition moments.
Player to watch: Ferran Torres, Spain – The forward who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final has started the season in exceptional form. Torres has found the net seven times in six games for Paris Saint-Germain and could carry that form into Saturday’s international outing.
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