Arabic version: إسبانيا تهزم إنجلترا 3-2 بعد إهدار كين ركلة جزاء

According to BBC News, England lost 3-2 to reigning world and European champions Spain in a Nations League match at Wembley, their first fixture since their World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina. Spain, described as this summer’s World Cup winners, extended their unbeaten run to 39 games.

England fell behind inside two minutes when Marc Guehi’s turn into trouble allowed Lamine Yamal to score. Spain then had a Ferran Torres goal ruled out for offside, while James Trafford saved from Torres before the forward later rolled an effort wide when clean through.

Anthony Gordon levelled with a composed finish before Harry Kane put England ahead with a deflected header. Kane had the chance to alter the match just after half-time but hit the bar from a penalty after slipping and touching the ball twice.

Spain capitalised on further England errors to recover. Nico O’Reilly lost possession in the build-up to Alex Baena’s equaliser, then substitute Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner after 74 minutes. Oyarzabal had also scored the decisive goal when Spain beat England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said his side had been brave and noted their high-ball recoveries in Spain’s half. He said Spain were superior in technical execution in the final 20 metres. Captain Kane said England had produced a period “as good as we’ve played in a long, long time”, but also acknowledged the team had not put together a full 90 minutes. England have conceded 13 goals in their past six matches in all competitions, after letting in seven in Tuchel’s first 17 games.