Mikel Oyarzabal’s 74th-minute chipped winner saw Spain defeat England 3-2 at Wembley Stadium in an UEFA Nations League thriller.
Oyarzabal chipped in a 74th-minute winner over James Trafford from Alex Baena’s through-ball pass to complete Spain’s comeback after Lamine Yamal initially fired the world champions into a second-minute lead.
Anthony Gordon’s strike and Harry Kane’s header however put England in front at half time, yet Kane smashed a 54th-minute penalty onto the crossbar which swung the momentum to Spain as Baena equalised with a 60th-minute finish.
Spain sit top of League A3 ahead of Croatia after the 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up beat Czech Republic 2-1 in Prague, with England sat third ahead of the Czechs by virtue of one more goal scored.
Fresh off the back of their third-placed finish at this summer’s World Cup, England got a rude awakening barely 110 seconds in as Marc Guehi gave a backpass away to Yamal, which allowed the 19-year-old to calmly slot in off the left post to put the world champions in front.
Spain almost doubled their lead in the eighth minute as Ferran Torres nodded in from a cross but the goal was swiftly disallowed due to an offside in the build-up to the cross.
Trafford then blocked a low shot from Torres in the 16th minute after the latter latched onto Yamal’s through-ball pass, as Spain continued to create opportunities to score but lacked the accuracy as Torres dragged a 27th-minute shot wide.
England though kept meeting Spain’s resilient defence whenever they attempted to trouble their opposition, whilst Bukayo Saka fired a 29th-minute rebound shot over the bar.
Pau Cubarsi was lucky that referee, Davide Massa opted against giving England a 30th-minute penalty after he clattered into Myles Lewis-Skelly as the youngster burst forward into the box.
England eventually caught Spain high up the pitch in the 36th minute and launched a quick counter-attack, which saw Gordon play a flicked pass sideway to Jude Bellingham who opted to return the ball to the winger who slotted in past Unai Simon to restore parity.
Tuchel’s Three Lions almost completed their comeback three minutes later as Saka teed up Kane just inside the box, yet the captain greedily opted against slipping Gordon in on the left and instead curled wide of the right corner.
Kane however atoned for his greed a minute later after Nico O’Reilly played an one-two move with Gordon up the left, before the left-back cut a cross back across the box where Kane nodded in to give the hosts the lead.
Spain almost restored parity in the 44th minute after Yamal broke forward but the ball eventually fell to Fabian Ruiz but the midfielder curled wide of the left corner, as the world champions found themselves behind at half time.
England nearly punished Spain further twice early in the second half as Jarell Quansah nodded over in the 49th minute, before Rodri fouled Bellingham two minutes later.
Massa initially refused to award a penalty until VAR intervened and overturned his decision, yet Kane struck the penalty onto the crossbar after his right-footed shot took a touch off his left boot.
Spain almost restored parity early in the 60th minute as Yamal played an one-two move with substitute – Baena but fired the return pass wide of the left corner.
The pair moments later within the same minute combined again as Yamal intercepted O’Reilly and found Dani Olmo to cut back for Baena, who calmly curled his shot into the bottom right corner to restore parity.
Saka curled a 66th-minute shot wide before Lewis-Skelly’s shot three minutes later was saved by Simon as England attempted to restore their lead.
Spain however punished a sloppy defensive switch off in the 74th minute as Baena slipped Oyarzabal in to chip over Trafford to seal their comeback, despite England’s valiant attempts to try and salvage a late draw.
What’s Next?
England visit Czech Republic at Fortuna Arena, Prague, in their second group match on Tuesday 29 September at 8:45pm CEST (7:45pm BST).
Spain face another difficult test in this group as they host Croatia at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, Seville, simultaneously on 29 September.
Teams
England: James Trafford, Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi (Branthwaite 89′), Nico O’Reilly, Elliot Anderson, Myles Lewis-Skelly (Garner 70′), Bukayo Saka (Gibbs-White 83′), Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon (Rogers 70′), Harry Kane (Calvert-Lewin 83′)
Substitutes: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Trevoh Chalobah, Eberechi Eze, James Garner, Morgan Gibbs-White, Lewis Hall, Jordan Pickford, Morgan Rogers, Alex Scott, Jason Steele
Spain: Unai Simons, Marc Pubill, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz (Pedri 70′), Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (Merino 82′), Nico Williams (Baena 55′), Ferran Torres (Oyarzabal 55′)
Substitutes: Alex Baena, Pedri, Alejandro Grimaldo, Dean Huijsen, Fermin Lopez, Josep Martinez, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Yeremy Pino, Eric Garcia, David Raya, Martin Zubimendi,
Referee – Davide Massa (Italy)