SoccerSep 26
Spain rally past England as Oyarzabal settles Wembley thriller
Harry Kane’s missed penalty proved costly as Spain overturned England’s lead to win 3-2, exposing familiar defensive concerns for the hosts.
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England’s turnaround unravels
Spain left Wembley with a Nations League victory on Saturday after Mikel Oyarzabal’s 74th-minute finish completed a comeback against England. The visitors struck in the second minute when Lamine Yamal punished a mistake from Marc Guéhi. Spain’s sharp attacking play produced further opportunities, but England recovered through a counterattack on 36 minutes. Anthony Gordon exchanged passes with Jude Bellingham before beating Unai Simón. Harry Kane then headed Nico O’Reilly’s cross towards goal, with a deflection off Marc Cucurella helping England take the lead before the interval.
Penalty miss opens the door
England had an opportunity to strengthen their grip after Rodri brought down Bellingham inside the area. A VAR review prompted referee Davide Massa to award a penalty, but Kane struck the crossbar on 54 minutes. Spain seized the reprieve. Substitute Álex Baena curled home an equalizer on the hour, then supplied the pass that allowed fellow substitute Oyarzabal to beat James Trafford for the winner. Rodri helped dictate the rhythm in midfield, while Yamal continued to threaten an England defense that struggled to contain Spain’s movement and passing.
Familiar questions for England
The defeat highlighted the tension in England’s developing approach under Tuchel. Their pace and direct running created dangerous moments, particularly for Gordon’s equalizer, but those attacking strengths were undermined by errors and uncertainty at the back. England now have six wins from their previous 16 matches against opponents ranked inside the top 10. Spain, meanwhile, stretched their unbeaten sequence excluding penalty shootouts to 39 matches. England travel to Prague to face Czechia on Tuesday, while Spain return home to play Croatia.
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