Oyarzabal's impudent dink sinks England after Kane penalty miss in Wembley thriller
Mikel Oyarzabal's impudently brilliant dinked finish earned Spain a 3-2 Nations League win over England at Wembley, settling a captivating contest that turned on Harry Kane's 54th-minute penalty miss.
Kane, the England captain, struck the crossbar after his standing foot gave way in the turf at a moment when a goal would have put Thomas Tuchel's side 3-1 ahead. Shortly afterwards Spain substitute Álex Baena hauled the visitors level and there was a degree of inevitability about the winner from another replacement, Oyarzabal applying the finishing touch to a Baena pass. England could have no complaints.
Yamal pounces on Guéhi error inside two minutes
Spain had been fantastic for the opening 30 minutes and the pattern was set almost immediately. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the second minute, and it was a personal disaster for Marc Guéhi. The Manchester City defender was facing upfield as he tried to build a move from deep, but his passing lanes were blocked by Spain's press. So he checked back and walked straight into Yamal, who robbed him and was clean through. He made the finish past James Trafford look easy.
The goal was of a piece with England's struggles against the Spanish press, and the European and world champions 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 striker after Yamal had played the through-ball. Torres blew another one-on-one on 28 minutes, with Trafford making himself big, and Dani Olmo rifled just wide after a sumptuous Yamal flick.
Trafford's audition as Tuchel makes his big call
Tuchel had sprung a surprise before kick-off by starting Trafford ahead of Jordan Pickford, a major deviation from his stated intention for continuity after 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 the two goalkeepers during this window, and Trafford — who could hear the knock of opportunity — helped keep England in the game as Spain pushed to add to Yamal's goal.
Gordon and Kane turn the game around
England tried to throw counterpunches as they hung on, and their positive surge towards the end of the first half hauled them back into the contest. Anthony Gordon was to the fore, as was Jude Bellingham, and the pair showed their personality when the chips were down. When Spain pushed only for Nico Williams to lose his footing and the ball to fall to Elliot Anderson, England swept forward in thrilling style. Gordon flicked to Bellingham, got it back and surged in on goal; the low finish was nerveless.
Kane was unlucky when he banged inches wide from the edge of the area after a Bukayo Saka burst, and 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 jutting out his thigh to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper. The fates were against Cucurella: when his mishit cross on 45 minutes sailed over Trafford, the ball came back off the far post.
The penalty that changed everything
Bellingham appeared particularly determined to leave his imprint. The Real Madrid midfielder was in the mood for bragging rights back in La Liga, playing to the point of maximum expression with the power and directness of his running and the quickness of his moves. Spain could not contain him, and 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, though, could not convert. His standing foot gave way in the turf and he hit the crossbar, leaving England 2-1 up rather than 3-1 ahead. Back came Spain. Yamal pushed a shot wide after a give-and-go with Baena, whose backheel was beautiful, and 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.
De la Fuente's substitutes settle it
You could not take your eyes off Yamal while Luis de la Fuente's attack-minded changes worked. It was Oyarzabal who made the difference from a Baena pass, the substitute's dinked finish impudently brilliant. Bellingham was still throwing England forward in stoppage time, but Spain had too much.
Spain from a different stratosphere
The biggest takeaway was Spain's slickness. There is a reason why they won the World Cup in the summer and the European Championship before that — they are the best team in the international game by a distance, and nobody can live with them. England did well to stay within a puncher's chance of a result in this Nations League opener.
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. The home support were denied the chance to react to the announcement of Tuchel's name when the teams were read out — after the starting XI and the 12 substitutes, his name was not read out — but there were none of the dreaded boos at the full-time whistle. "Campeones" was the chant from the enclosure housing the travelling fans before kick-off, and the visiting radio commentators were understandably excited about seeing Spain for the first time since the second star was stitched on to their shirt.
It was another high-profile game when 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 — and when they lose to opponents who, at times, played football from a different stratosphere.