Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner as Spain came from behind to deny England a lionhearted Wembley win. The Three Lions trailed after two minutes as Lamine Yamal punished Marc Guehi’s slack possession, but roared back to lead 2-1 at half-time after quickfire goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane.
It all came apart after the break, though, as Kane had a chance to double the England advantage from the penalty spot but slipped and rattled the crossbar. It was his first missed spot-kick since the Qatar World Cup. The momentum turned on a sixpence as Alex Baena equalised moments thereafter, before Oyarzabal dinked an onrushing James Trafford to restore the world champions’ lead at 3-2.
It was a frustrating outing for England, who matched Spain blow-for-blow for much of the match but ultimately fell to a narrow defeat. They return to action in the week, visiting Czechia on Tuesday. Catch up with the action as it happened below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, complete with expert insight and analysis from Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium.
England vs Spain latest news
- GOAL! Oyarzabal restores lead for Spain
- GOAL! Baena equalises from range
- Kane slips and misses from the spot
- GOAL! Kane completes England turnaround
- GOAL! Gordon caps counter-attack with tidy finish
- GOAL! Guehi howler ruthlessly punished by Yamal
England player ratings
21:58 , Arthur Ferridge
Ezri Konsa 4
Part of an England backline that shipped three goals, and didn’t cover himself in glory.
Marc Guehi 3
Not a good night from the Manchester City man, whose terrible backpass gifted Yamal the opener in the second minute. Booked.
Anthony Gordon 7
A constant thorn in Spain’s side, the Barcelona winger ran them ragged and scored England’s fantastic equaliser when he ran through and calmly converted.
Harry Kane 5
Scored his first career goal against Spain to put England ahead with a heavily deflected header but was unable to make it 3-1, slipping at the crucial moment and hitting a penalty against the bar, uncharacteristically.
Click here to read Dom Smith’s ratings in full!
FULL-TIME: England 2-3 Spain
21:41 , Arthur Ferridge
The corner is cleared and the full-time whistle blows. That does it.
England 2-3 Spain
21:41 , Arthur Ferridge
90+5mins: Scratch that - Bellingham stings Simon’s palms, and England have one last corner!
England 2-3 Spain
21:41 , Arthur Ferridge
90+5mins: Gibbs-White is dispossessed in the box, and time seems to have run out.
England 2-3 Spain
21:40 , Arthur Ferridge
90+4mins: Anderson’s delivery is much too close to Unai Simon, who claims unchallenged.
England 2-3 Spain
21:39 , Arthur Ferridge
90+3mins: Baena’s needless foul on Rogers sets England up with a last-gasp set-piece in a dangerous area - just to the right of the 18-yard box.
England 2-3 Spain
21:38 , Arthur Ferridge
90+2mins: Anderson puts in a fine tackle to deny Yamal the chance to put this game to bed. Rogers’ heavy looping cross then balloons behind.
England 2-3 Spain
21:36 , Arthur Ferridge
As England continue to chase the game, they are handed five added minutes.
England 2-3 Spain
21:35 , Arthur Ferridge
89mins: One last England change as Marc Guehi is hooked in favour of Jarrad Braithwaite.
England 2-3 Spain
21:34 , Arthur Ferridge
88mins: Anderson’s corner is not the best, but England recover the ball and will come again.
England 2-3 Spain
21:34 , Arthur Ferridge
88mins: Rogers puts a superb ball into the box which Spain are far from convincing in clearing, and it is bundled behind for a corner.
England 2-3 Spain
21:32 , Arthur Ferridge
86mins: Garner breaks to the byline and crosses for Calvert-Lewin, but just slightly overcooks it and the chance goes begging.
England 2-3 Spain
21:30 , Arthur Ferridge
84mins: Bellingham runs at goal, forces the issue and gets a shot away, but it is right down Simon’s throat and causes him little issue.
England 2-3 Spain
21:28 , Arthur Ferridge
81mins: Cucurella barges Saka off the ball in the box but the challenge is once again deemed unproblematic by the referee. Bellingham is then booked for a foul as Spain attempted to play out.
Dani Olmo is replaced by Mikel Merino.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Dominic Calvert-Lewin then come in for Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.
England 2-3 Spain
21:26 , Arthur Ferridge
80mins: Spain are in total control now, as Dom said. England look bereft and out of ideas.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
21:24 , Arthur Ferridge
England absolute passengers at the moment. Never mind the only team playing football, Spain the only team touching the ball.
England 2-3 Spain
21:22 , Arthur Ferridge
76mins: It is now Spain very much in the ascendancy and looking to kill this game off, as England were about half an hour ago. How quickly things change.
GOAL! England 2-3 Spain | Oyarzabal '74
21:21 , Arthur Ferridge
Oyarzabal haunts England again. He is slipped in behind by Baena and dinks the onrushing Trafford to restore Spain’s advantage.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
21:18 , Arthur Ferridge
England needing some inspiration. It has been some time now since they last burst forward. Spain in control now, which they hadn't been before getting back level at 2-2.
England 2-2 Spain
21:17 , Arthur Ferridge
71mins: For the record, there is no prospect of extra-time or penalties tonight, given we are still in the group phase of this competition.
England 2-2 Spain
21:17 , Arthur Ferridge
Changes for Spain, too, as Pedri replaces Fabian Ruiz.
England 2-2 Spain
21:16 , Arthur Ferridge
70mins: Here come the changes. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Anthony Gordon are withdrawn in favour of James Garner and Morgan Rogers.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
21:14 , Arthur Ferridge
Morgan Rogers is about to come on for England, as is James Garner.
England 2-2 Spain
21:14 , Arthur Ferridge
68mins: Baena has another try from range, but this one is not quite as close to the corner as the first and Trafford has no problem.
England 2-2 Spain
21:13 , Arthur Ferridge
67mins: CLOSE! Saka cuts in from the right flank after a nice England move and bends his shot just past the far post.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
21:08 , Arthur Ferridge
Well there is something of the Enzo Fernandez about that long-range leveller from Spain, England too slow to get across and unable to ever get into a position to block the shot. That missed penalty hurts all the more now.
GOAL! England 2-2 Spain | Baena '60
21:07 , Arthur Ferridge
Baena pulls Spain level, and again it is the product of an England error. O’Reilly misses a pass in the defensive third and La Roja are ruthless. It is a great finish from the edge of the area, but England will be kicking themselves.
England 2-1 Spain
21:06 , Arthur Ferridge
60mins: CLOSE! A wonderful move from Spain crumbles with a wayward finish from Yamal. He has his head in his hands.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
21:02 , Arthur Ferridge
They'd have told Kane to retake that if it had gone in. The slip meant a double-kick. Desperately unlucky for Kane and England.
England 2-1 Spain
21:01 , Arthur Ferridge
Looks as if Kane slipped on his standing foot, which popped the ball up before he took it. That’s why he got so much elevation on it.
England 2-1 Spain
21:00 , Arthur Ferridge
KANE HITS THE CROSSBAR!
England 2-1 Spain
20:59 , Arthur Ferridge
Harry Kane steps up. Who else?
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:59 , Arthur Ferridge
They've got David Raya on the bench. Tempting?
PENALTY! England 2-1 Spain
20:58 , Arthur Ferridge
The referee comes away from the monitor, draws a box and points to the spot!
England 2-1 Spain
20:58 , Arthur Ferridge
The referee is heading to the monitor!
England 2-1 Spain
20:57 , Arthur Ferridge
51mins: Bellingham is the latest to go down in Spain’s box, but a wag of the finger from our referee says everything.
Rodri may well have gotten away with one there. He definitely tripped Bellingham.
VAR is checking!
England 2-1 Spain
20:56 , Arthur Ferridge
49mins: Saka goes down in the box after a clumsy tackle, but the referee is uninterested in what appeared to be a very credible penalty shout. Let’s wait for a replay and see what really happened.
England 2-1 Spain
20:55 , Arthur Ferridge
49mins: Quansah heads over! The initial cross from Saka was poor but England rework it and Bellingham’s cross to Quansah is headed just over.
England 2-1 Spain
20:54 , Arthur Ferridge
48mins: Lewis-Skelly wins a corner.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:53 , Arthur Ferridge
Now to hold on for victory. Oh, wait. Actually, maybe not.
England 2-1 Spain
20:53 , Arthur Ferridge
47mins: An aggressive start to the half from England, this. Gordon whips a cross in search of Kane, but Laporte gets a forehead to it first.
2ND HALF: England 2-1 Spain
20:51 , Arthur Ferridge
We are back underway!
England seem well-placed to break Spain’s extended unbeaten run. Can they hang on?
First half pictures
20:48 , Arthur Ferridge
Adjudication panel...
20:41 , Arthur Ferridge
It seems Kane’s goal has in fact been awarded to Kane.
It took a heavy deflection from Spain’s Cucurella, but as it stands, it seems the shot had been on target anyway and thus is awarded to the Bayern Munich striker.
HALF-TIME: England 2-1 Spain
20:36 , Arthur Ferridge
There’s the half-time whistle! 15 minutes for you all to catch your breath.
England 2-1 Spain
20:35 , Arthur Ferridge
Just the one minute of added time.
England 2-1 Spain
20:34 , Arthur Ferridge
Cucurella’s cross comes off the post and appears to have hit Lewis-Skelly’s arm in the penalty area, but the referee waves away Yamal’s protestations.
England 2-1 Spain
20:33 , Arthur Ferridge
43mins: Fabian Ruiz takes his turn to see a shot deflected wide. England defending frantically as they look to preserve their lead in the final moments of this half.
England 2-1 Spain
20:31 , Arthur Ferridge
42mins: This is breathless stuff. Spain want to get back level before the break, and Yamal shoots just over!
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:31 , Arthur Ferridge
Kane had blanked in all four previous meetings against Spain. He’s finally scored against them, at fifth time of asking.
GOAL! England 2-1 Spain | Kane '39
20:29 , Arthur Ferridge
England complete their turnaround with a quickfire double! Remarkable! O’Reilly crosses to Kane and his header to the back-post confounds Simon before deflecting in off the thigh of Cucurella.
Will it go down as an own-goal? Perhaps. We will see. For now, it is Kane’s.
Most importantly, it’s England’s!
England 1-1 Spain
20:28 , Arthur Ferridge
39mins: CLOSE! Kane has it on the edge of the box, beats Rodri with a drop of the shoulder, but curls his shot just wide.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:27 , Arthur Ferridge
A stellar equaliser from England, and with their first shot on target of the game. Williams cedes possession, and from there England are off.
GOAL! England 1-1 Spain | Gordon '36
20:26 , Arthur Ferridge
England are back on level terms - what a goal it is! Spain flub a corner and the hosts counter at unrelenting pace - Bellingham feeds Gordon into space and the Barcelona man makes no mistake.
England 0-1 Spain
20:23 , Arthur Ferridge
34mins: CLOSE! A tidy flick from Yamal sends Olmo into a shooting position, but his effort flashes just wide!
England 0-1 Spain
20:22 , Arthur Ferridge
33mins: Unai Simon makes a convincing claim from Saka’s corner.
England 0-1 Spain
20:22 , Arthur Ferridge
32mins: Saka gets in behind and has men in the middle, but his cross is not as good as one might have hoped. England just struggling with the final pass at the moment.
After the ball is recycled, Saka comes onto it again and cuts inside before his shot deflects behind for another corner. Can England make one of these count?
England 0-1 Spain
20:20 , Arthur Ferridge
31mins: Olmo does well to track back and block Kane’s shot.
England 0-1 Spain
20:19 , Arthur Ferridge
30mins: Lewis-Skelly goes to ground in the box under pressure from Cubarsi, but the referee is thoroughly uninterested in his appeals.
England 0-1 Spain
20:19 , Arthur Ferridge
29mins: Anderson’s cross is long and finds Konsa, who says ‘return to sender’ and gives it right back. Anderson’s volley at goal is shanked badly, but deflects to Saka, who hits it high and wide.
England 0-1 Spain
20:18 , Arthur Ferridge
29mins: Corner for England now...
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:17 , Arthur Ferridge
Anderson's pass is poor, cut out by Yamal, and what a let-off for England, who have dominated possession but been sloppy throughout.
England 0-1 Spain
20:16 , Arthur Ferridge
27mins: Torres streaks through the England line and is one-on-one with Trafford, but drags his shot wide!
England 0-1 Spain
20:15 , Arthur Ferridge
26mins: Quansah picks Bellingham out on the edge of the box, but he can’t quite get the ball out of his feet to shoot. He goes down, expecting a foul, but does not win it.
England 0-1 Spain
20:13 , Arthur Ferridge
24mins: O’Reilly looks to pick out Gordon, but the former Everton and Newcastle man runs into the back of Pugill and does not get the foul he is looking for.
England 0-1 Spain
20:12 , Arthur Ferridge
23mins: Remarkably, England have had the majority of possession so far - almost two thirds!
Their xG, though, sits at a nice round zero.
England 0-1 Spain
20:10 , Arthur Ferridge
21mins: Saka’s low cross is cut out and Spain counter apace, but England track back in time to nix the threat.
England 0-1 Spain
20:09 , Arthur Ferridge
10mins: Saka does well to win a free-kick for England, high on the right flank. It is a superb position - will he shoot or cross?
England 0-1 Spain
20:08 , Arthur Ferridge
19mins: Saka’s corner is caught by Simon and Spain counter, but O’Reilly cuts out the latest Yamal Hollywood pass for Torres.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
20:05 , Arthur Ferridge
Really brave stop from Trafford who was out of his goal decisively. What a pass it was from Yamal.
England 0-1 Spain
20:05 , Arthur Ferridge
16mins: Yamal threads a superb through-ball to Torres, but Trafford is lightning-quick off his line to snuff out the danger.
England 0-1 Spain
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge
Scratch that. Referee gave a goal kick, despite that ball clearly coming off Cucurella.
England 0-1 Spain
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge
14mins: Gordon whips a lovely cross to the back post, but Cucurella just tips it beyond Saka. England corner.
England 0-1 Spain
20:03 , Arthur Ferridge
13mins: England are starting to grow into this. They are having some joy with the ball at their feet, and while they are yet to affect the Spain back line, they do seem to be picking up some confidence.
England 0-1 Spain
20:01 , Arthur Ferridge
12mins: Anderson’s cross is cleared before it reaches its intended target. England win the ball back, though, and will come again.
England 0-1 Spain
20:01 , Arthur Ferridge
11mins: England do get a chance to knock the ball around, and Lewis-Skelly positions himself well to win a foul from Olmo. That sets the hosts up with a free-kick about 35 yards from goal, which Anderson and Saka are sizing up.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
19:59 , Arthur Ferridge
England looking rattled and need to play their way out of this dreadful start. A spot of possession against a team who know all about that won't hurt.
England 0-1 Spain
19:58 , Arthur Ferridge
8mins: Another ropey moment as Lewis-Skelly’s loose pass is cut out by Cucurella, who dashes into the box and wins a corner.
It is a training-ground move from Spain. The ball is crossed out to Lamine Yamal, who moves it on and Dani Olmo sends it in search of Ferran Torres, who heads home.
The offside flag spares England’s blushes.
This has been a dreadful start from the Three Lions. Dreams of Nations League glory fast fading.
England 0-1 Spain
19:55 , Arthur Ferridge
6mins: Gordon puts in a stiff tackle on Yamal and gets in behind after a nice combination with Kane. The Barcelona man breaks to the byline but Simon does well to get a foot to his cross.
England 0-1 Spain
19:53 , Arthur Ferridge
4mins: That error is totally unbecoming of the usually assured Guehi. And now England have a mountain to climb.
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
19:52 , Arthur Ferridge
What a horrific error from Guehi, who didn't check his shoulders and he and England are punished cruelly for it. England behind after one minute and 45 seconds to the world champions.
GOAL! England 0-1 Spain | Yamal '2
19:51 , Arthur Ferridge
And Spain lead immediately! Yamal catches Guehi in the press and he makes no mistake!
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 Spain
19:49 , Arthur Ferridge
And following a minute’s applause for the departed Bobby Tambling, Mike Bailey and Kevin Keegan, we are UNDERWAY at Wembley Stadium!
19:46 , Arthur Ferridge
Anthems are out of the way.
Kick-off up next!
Kick-off close
19:40 , Arthur Ferridge
After a huge light show and pyrotechnic display, all set to Wonderwall of course, there is only one thing left to do. The small matter of the football match.
Team news reminder
19:35 , Arthur Ferridge
Ten minutes to kick-off. Here’s a reminder of tonight’s XIs.
England XI: Trafford, O’Reilly, Konsa, Guehi, Quansah, Lewis-Skelly, Anderson, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane, Saka
Spain XI: Simon, Cubarsi, Garcia, Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian, Olmo, Yamal, Williams, Torres
Kane's career plans
19:28 , Arthur Ferridge
Harry Kane has again been discussing a shift into American football this week...
“That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously.
“It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation, and what I want to do. The NFL is a lot more realistic than the golf one, let’s put it that way.
“I see that one. I take penalties and it is a very similar pressure and technique. If I did that, in terms of training, I would be closer to that more than any other sport.
“But as I know, with all elite sports, when you watch it on TV, people make it look easy and you think it is possible but that is not always the case. If I was to do it, it is something I would take seriously. I would take six months to a year to try and practice before.”
Tuchel explains plan for Trafford
19:21 , Arthur Ferridge
“He gets two matches, consecutive matches, because he deserves, then Pickers (Pickford) gets the same. It is incredible to see how Pickford received the message and his reaction.
“We told him we want to use this competition, because Trafford had a good start for Leeds, different to last season, so we want to see what is behind Pickers.
“We know what he can give us, he did nothing wrong. The decision is half-half."
Inside the dressing room...
19:19 , Arthur Ferridge
One to watch
19:10 , Arthur Ferridge
Lamine Yamal has made an incredible start to the season and starts for Spain today.
He is back in the running for the Ballon d’Or, and his form has not skipped a beat.
The opening days of the La Liga season have seen him pick up seven goals and four assists... in just seven appearances.
He will give Nico O’Reilly a run for his money today.
Tuchel on Palmer's absence
19:01 , Arthur Ferridge
"My understanding is that he cannot compete at the highest level with discomfort and pain. So he withdrew and informed us, and Chelsea informed us.
"For sure. It is a missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities. I don't blame him for it. It is just a fact.
"He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness and see within in my team, and for that you have to be in camp.
"And if you're not in camp, there is a next level to impress that you cannot achieve because you can only do it when you are actually on the pitch with me. So yes, it is a missed opportunity."
Dom Smith at Wembley Stadium
18:54 , Arthur Ferridge
Real opportunity for Lewis-Skelly to impress in midfield tonight. Handed an opportunity as Anderson’s partner after drop-outs and injuries. He must make good on it.
Mix and mingle...
18:52 , Arthur Ferridge
England and Spain meet and greet ahead of kick-off...
England team news
18:43 , Arthur Ferridge
As was widely reported ahead of kick-off, James Trafford does indeed take Jordan Pickford’s place between the sticks. Thomas Tuchel may well be looking at a contingency plan there, with Pickford now 32.
And in midfield, it is indeed a pivot of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Elliott Anderson behind the No10 Jude Bellingham.
Beyond that it is effectively a full-strength squad, though there are some strong options on the bench in Lewis Hall, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Eberechi Eze.
CONFIRMED SPAIN TEAM NEWS
18:34 , Arthur Ferridge
Spain XI vs England: Simon, Cubarsi, Garcia, Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian, Olmo, Yamal, Williams, Torres
CONFIRMED ENGLAND TEAM NEWS
18:32 , Arthur Ferridge
England XI vs Spain: Trafford, O’Reilly, Konsa, Guehi, Quansah, Lewis-Skelly, Anderson, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane, Saka
Subs: Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Scott, Chalobah, Hall, Branthwaite, Rogers, Garner, Calvert-Lewin, Gibbs-White, Eze, Steele
Opta match facts
18:27 , Arthur Ferridge
England have won just two of their last 13 games against the reigning FIFA World Cup holders, losing nine times (D2); those wins came at home to Spain in November 2011 (1-0) and away to Germany in March 2016 (3-2).
Spain have won six of their last nine meetings with England across all competitions (D1 L2), most recently winning 2-1 in the final of the 2024 UEFA European Championship. Their last away game vs the Three Lions also ended 2-1, at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League in September 2018.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (8) scored more goals in League A of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League than Spain’s Mikey Oyarzabal (4), who has 26 goals involvements across his last 25 international appearances (19 goals, 7 assists) – that run started with the winning goal against England in the 2024 UEFA EURO final.
Thomas Tuchel has the best win rate of any England manager in history to take charge of 10+ games (77% - P22 W17 D2 L3), while the Three Lions only average more goals under Walter Winterbottom (2.8) than Tuchel (2.3).
Stats provided by Boyle Sports
Atmosphere building at Wembley...
18:19 , Arthur Ferridge
In the news
18:11 , Arthur Ferridge
Today’s match may well be overshadowed by reports Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges of financial misconduct levelled against them.
There will be a number of Man City players past and present on the pitch today, some of whom have already been quizzed on the news.
Here’s what Rodri had to say last night...
"I believe in the justice system and I believe in the innocence of the club.
"No, they always tell us the confidence they have on the innocence. When you look into someone's eyes and talking that way, and we had the example in 2020 and the process was the same, and in the end, nothing happened.
“We were very calm in this way. You never saw the team nervous about these kinds of things. Nowadays, I'm not going to say it's going to stay normal, but many teams - or some teams - go through these kind of situations and it's part of football today.
"And everyone has to follow the rules, and for me, that's great. I always praise the confidence that they never did something wrong, and we believe in that.
"The moment they prove wrong, we will believe the club. I've been there and I know how they work and how they co-operate, so that's what I can tell you."
Predicted England XI
18:08 , Arthur Ferridge
Seems a good time to share Dom Smith’s predicted England XI for tonight, then.
Predicted England XI: (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Bellingham; Saka, Rogers, Gordon; Kane
Withdrawn: Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo, Livramento
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