England’s chaos falls short as Spain expose the control gap at Wembley
England’s bold response still ends in familiar defeat
England’s first major test since their World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina ended in another painful loss as Spain came from behind to win 3-2 at Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel had urged his side to “embrace the chaos”, and England certainly produced an enthralling, high-risk contest. But the match also underlined the difference between energy and control: Spain’s calm possession and superior execution allowed the world and European champions to punish England when the decisive moments arrived.
Spain take advantage of England’s mistakes
Spain struck inside two minutes after Marc Guehi turned into trouble and gifted Lamine Yamal an opening. Ferran Torres also had a goal disallowed for offside, went close again and missed a clear opportunity, while England goalkeeper James Trafford made an important save to keep the deficit manageable.
England recovered to lead before half-time. Anthony Gordon produced a composed finish to level the contest, before Harry Kane’s deflected header completed a remarkable turnaround. Gordon was England’s outstanding attacker, while Jude Bellingham drove the team forward with relentless energy.
However, Kane missed a second-half penalty after slipping and touching the ball twice as his effort struck the bar. The miss proved costly. Nico O’Reilly then lost possession in the build-up to Alex Baena’s equaliser, before Mikel Oyarzabal — the scorer of the winning goal against England in the Euro 2024 final — settled the match in the 74th minute.
Control remains the missing ingredient
England’s defensive problems were clear throughout. Jarell Quansah struggled in an unfamiliar right-back role, while Guehi and O’Reilly were involved in errors Spain were happy to exploit. England have now conceded 13 goals in their last six matches in all competitions, compared with seven in their first 17 games under Tuchel.
Tuchel rejected the idea that England had been overwhelmed by chaos, pointing instead to their aggressive work without the ball. “We had an incredible amount of high-ball recoveries in the opponent’s half,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. He argued that England had shown bravery and a clear attacking structure, but conceded that Spain were superior “in the last 20 metres”.
Trafford was one of the positives and did little wrong while deputising for Jordan Pickford. Gordon and Bellingham also demonstrated that England can trouble the best sides when they play with conviction rather than retreating into caution.
“On another day we could have won,” Kane said. England captain also insisted that his team had gone “toe-to-toe” with the world champions and European champions. Yet this was not another day. Spain’s unbeaten run has now reached 39 matches, while England’s latest defeat showed that courage and attacking intent will not be enough without the control needed to win major prizes.