It was another high-profile game when Thomas Tuchel’s England let a lead slip in the second half and went on to lose. But unlike the last time, it was not one for recriminations. The England support can accept losing when their team plays with cut and thrust. More to the point, they can accept losing to Spain who, at times, played football from a different stratosphere.
England were game. They were driven by Jude Bellingham, who ran on adrenaline and played to the point of maximum expression. They had positive surges either side of the interval, especially the one towards the end of the first half when goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane put them in charge, hauling them back after Lamine Yamal’s second-minute goal.
The biggest takeaway was Spain’s slickness. There is a reason why they won the World Cup in the summer. Why they won the European Championship before that. They are the best team in the international game by a distance. Nobody can live with them. England did well to stay within a puncher’s chance of a result in this Nations League opener; Bellingham was still throwing them in stoppage time. Crucially, as Tuchel and England try to look forward after the heartbreak of the World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina, there was no negativity from the Wembley crowd. Even in the face of England’s defending, which was dreadfully loose.
We were denied the chance to see how the fans would react to the announcement of Tuchel’s name when the teams were read out in the countdown to kick-off. Because, after going through the starting XI and the 12 substitutes, Tuchel’s name was not read out. But there were none of the dreaded boos at the full-time whistle.
The match turned on a Kane penalty miss in the 54th minute. Had the captain scored rather than hitting the crossbar after his standing foot gave way in the turf, England would have been 3-1 up. Shortly afterwards, they were pegged back to 2-2 by the Spain substitute Álex Baena and there was a degree of inevitability about the winner from another replacement. Mikel Oyarzabal’s dinked finish was impudently brilliant. Spain had been fantastic for the opening 30 minutes and when they went again after the Kane penalty, they had too much. It was a statement of intent from them, an illustration of their remorseless desire.
“Campeones” was the chant from the enclosure housing the travelling fans before kick-off and it is fair to say the visiting radio commentators were excited about seeing Spain for the first time since the second star was stitched on to their shirt. Their fervour went up a few notches in the early running when Lamine Yamal opened the scoring.
The goal was a personal disaster for Marc Guéhi; it was almost as if the Manchester City defender had other things on his mind. It was of a piece with England’s struggles against the Spanish press. Guéhi was facing upfield as he tried to build a move from deep but his passing lanes were blocked. So he checked back and walked straight into Lamine Yamal, who robbed him and was clean through. He made the finish past James Trafford look easy.
Tuchel had started Trafford ahead of Jordan Pickford, a major deviation from his stated intention for continuity from the World Cup. Pickford was erratic in the summer and was punished for some of his mistakes. Trafford has been outstanding for Leeds since joining them over the summer. Tuchel’s idea is to share the minutes between Trafford and Pickford during this window. Trafford could hear the knock of opportunity and he helped to keep England in the game as Spain pushed to add to Lamine Yamal’s goal.
How Spain pushed. They shimmered with menace. It was the movements, the speed of them – plus the breathtaking assurance on the ball. They had so many options in possession that it felt at times as if they had more men on the pitch.
Ferran Torres had the ball in the net only to be pulled back for offside while Trafford stood up to make a big one-on-one block against the Spain striker after Lamine Yamal had played the through-ball. England’s backline was all over the place. Torres blew another one-on-one on 28 minutes, with Trafford making himself big while Dani Olmo rifled just wide after a sumptuous Lamine Yamal flick.
England tried to throw counterpunches as they hung on. The resistance was impressive. Gordon was to the fore and so was Bellingham. They showed their personality when the chips were down. When the two combined for an equaliser that had not really been advertised, it was the prompt for a wild turnaround.
It was Spain pushing only for Nico Williams to lose his footing and then the ball to Elliot Anderson. England swept forward in thrilling style, Gordon flicking to Bellingham, getting it back and surging in on goal. The low finish was nerveless.
after newsletter promotion
Enter Kane. He was unlucky when he banged inches wide from the edge of the area after a Bukayo Saka burst. He was lucky when his header from a Nico O’Reilly cross, which Unai Simón looked to have covered, drew a panicked reaction from Marc Cucurella. The left-back jutted out his thigh to turn the ball past his goalkeeper. The fates were against Cucurella. When his mishit cross on 45 minutes sailed over Trafford, the ball came back off the far post.
Bellingham appeared particularly determined to leave his imprint. The Real Madrid midfielder was in the mood for bragging rights back in La Liga. It was the power and directness of his running; the smoothness of it, the quickness of his moves. Spain could not contain him. It was his persistence after yet another surge that led to the penalty.
Gordon played the pass back inside from the left and Bellingham got there before Rodri, who invited trouble when he hung out a leg. Down went Bellingham and after a review, it was decided that the contact trumped the feeling that the England player had tried to engineer it. Kane could not convert.
Back came Spain. Lamine Yamal pushed a shot wide after a give and go with Baena, whose backheel was beautiful. Then Baena equalised after O’Reilly gave away the ball and Olmo quickly shifted it to the edge of the area. Baena bought himself the space for the shot with an expert drop of the shoulder.
Saka curled just wide at the other end after more good work by Bellingham but the tide had turned. You could not take your eyes off Lamine Yamal while Luis de la Fuente’s attack-minded changes worked. It was Oyarzabal who made the difference from a Baena pass. England could have no complaints.
Leave a Reply