Quick digest: England lose out to World Champions Spain
Nations League
England (2) 2 Gordon 36, Kane 40
Spain (1) 3 Yamal 2, Baena 60, Oyarzabal 74
In a nutshell: A dithering Marc Guehi paid the price for turning back towards goal with Lamine Yamal at his heels. The teenager robbed him and raced in to beat James Trafford with a shot that went in off a post.
But two goals in four minutes gave England a half-time lead. A lightning breakaway saw Jude Bellingham feed his La Liga counterpart Anthony Gordon for a cool finish and soon after, Harry Kane headed a Nico O'Reilly cross past Unai Simon with the help of a deflection off Marc Cucurella.
A bright start to the second half by England saw them rewarded with a penalty after a foul by Rodri on Bellingham following a VAR check but Kane thudded the shot against the crossbar. It proved costly.
Alex Baena punished the Three Lions for that missed opportunity when sub Alex Baena whipped in a shot past Trafford's left hand from outside the area and another one off the bench, Mikel Oyarzabal, clipped the ball home after being set up by Baena.
A fair outcome? Spain arguably had the better chances overall. Ferran Torres missed a sitter and Danny Olmo fired narrowly wide as Spain broke menacingly during the first half, and Yamal also missed badly with the goal at his mercy just before Spain's equaliser. England made way too many defensive errors to expect to get away with it against such ruthless opposition, who are now unbeaten in 39 competitive matches.
The context: This was England's first meeting since the 2-1 defeat to the Spaniards in Berlin two years ago in the European Championship final - when Oyarzabal was again the match winner - and Spain's first game since the 1-0 win over Argentina in New Jersey which saw them crowned World champions for a second time. With England having finished with the bronze, this was therefore first v third from the USA.
Was it entertaining: Just a bit. With so many outstanding players on show, there was no end of fascination to be had in individual duels and combinations. The pace never dropped as both teams sought a prestigious win to kick-start their respective Nations League campaigns. After the cynicism of Argentina, the full-blooded but sporting nature of this match felt like a much-needed antidote.
Who did well for England: James Trafford had no chance with the opener but did excellently to thwart Ferran Torres in a one v one set up by Yamal. Anthony Gordon and Bellingham both looked up for it and Jarrel Quansah was surprisingly good at right-back even if that is not his natural position. He got forward into really dangerous positions which pushed Cucurella back. Elliot Anderson was good until it began to feel like the midfield was being overrun.
Who left question marks: Myles Lewis-Skelly's dodgy pass was intercepted to almost gift Spain a second goal following Guehi's earlier calamity. At times, he seemed the one player being bypassed and he was withdrawn after 70 minutes. There were some nice moments from Bukayo Saka, with one shot just wide, and good link-ups with Quansah but maybe didn't get into the game as much s he'd have liked.
Wembley atmosphere: Not your usual paper-plane fest. This match at a packed Wembley felt like the real deal. That solid away section in red and blue contributed to the sense of a serious occasion.
Line ups:
England (4-2-3-1): Trafford - Quansah, Konsa, Guehi (Branthwaite 89), O'Reilly - Anderson, Lewis-Skelly (Garner 70) - Saka (Gibbs-White 83), Bellingham, Gordon (Rogers 70) - Kane (Calvert-Lewin 83)
Spain (4-2-3-1): Simon - Pubill, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella - Rodri, Fabian Ruiz (Pedri 70) - Yamal, Olmo (Merino 82), Williams (Baena 55) - Ferran Torres (Oyarabal 55)
Attendance: 84,525
What comes next: This is the start of a flurry of fixtures during an extended international break. A trip to Prague to face Czechia on Tuesday is followed by a visit to Croatia next Saturday and the return home game against the Czechs on October 6.
In the November internationals, Thomas Tuchel's team will conclude their group with a home game against Croatia on Thursday 12th and a visit to Spain three days later.
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