Spain dramatically came from behind after Harry Kane penalty miss to beat England 3-2 in a thrilling UEFA Nations League match which took place at the Wembley Stadium in London.
Lamine Yamal gave the visitors an early lead, but the three lions fought back through Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane before Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal turned the game around in the second half.
Spain needed only two minutes to open the scoring after the encounter kicked off. Marc Guehi was caught in possession while trying to play the ball out from the back, allowing Yamal to steal possession and move towards goal.
The Barcelona youngster forward kept his cool and fired into the far corner to put Spain 1-0 ahead with a well taken finish which James Trafford stood no chance against.
The visitors almost doubled their lead soon after. Ferran Torres thought he had scored, but his diving header from Fabian Ruiz’s cross was ruled out for offside.
Torres then missed two good chances, with James Trafford making an important save from the first one before the away side forward sent another effort wide.
Dani Olmo also came close after a clever backheel from Yamal, but his shot went wide. England grew into the match and found an equaliser in the 36th minute of play.
Nico Williams lost the ball, allowing the home team to launch a quick attack. Jude Bellingham combined with Anthony Gordon, who finished from the edge of the box to make it 1-1.
Four minutes later, the three lions completed their comeback in the encounter. Nico O’Reilly delivered a chipped cross into the box and Harry Kane got in front of Aymeric Laporte to meet it.
His header was helped into the net by Marc Cucurella, giving them a 2-1 lead before half-time break. O’Reilly was credited with the assist for Kane’s goal as the encounter carried on.
England started the second half well and were awarded a penalty after Jude Bellingham went down following a challenge from Rodri. Kane stepped up to take the spot-kick, but he missed a huge chance to put England two goals ahead.
His standing foot slipped as he took the penalty and the ball crashed against the crossbar. It was one of the biggest moments of the match which also decided how it would go on to end.
Spain punished the home side failure to take that chance in the 60th minute. O’Reilly’s loose pass gave the visitors possession, and Dani Olmo quickly picked out substitute Alex Baena.
Baena made no mistake as he fired past Trafford to level the match at 2-2. The World Champions then completed the comeback in the 74th minute with a wonderful finish.
Baena produced another important contribution by sending a through ball into the home side defence. Oyarzabal ran onto it and lifted a clever finish over Trafford, who had rushed off his line.
The goal made it 3-2 to the current World Cup winners and proved to be the winner. The Three Lions pushed for another equaliser during the closing stages, but their opponent defended their lead.
The match came to an end with Spain going on to claim all three points and the winner 3-2 against England after 90 minutes of action played at the Wembley Stadium for the UEFA Nations League.
There were three yellow cards during the match, all shown to the home side players. Nico O’Reilly was booked in the 67th minute, Marc Guehi received a yellow card in the 69th minute, and Jude Bellingham was booked in the 82nd minute.
The visiting team finished the match without a yellow or red card. The result gives the World Champions three points from their opening UEFA Nations League Group A3 match.
For Thomas Tuchel, the 3-2 defeat will be remembered for the missed chances and defensive mistakes that helped their opponent complete a comeback at Wembley.
Oyarzabal once again proved to be a difficult opponent for England, having also scored the winning goal against them in the Euro 2024 final with Spain going on to lift the title at the end.
