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A Harry Kane penalty miss cost England dearly as they lost to the world champions Spain 3-2 in one of the hottest matches at the ongoing UEFA Nations League at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Despite England's exciting gameplay, which saw them take a lead at one point, England's flaws, which could not take them all the way in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, were seen once again. A blunder from Marc Guehi allowed the teenage sensation Lamine Yamal to fire an early goal in the second minute. As per Sky Sports, Yamal scored the third-fastest goal conceded by England at this venue, behind first-minute strikes from Scotland in 1957 and Hungary in 1953. Ferran Torres, Spain's World Cup final hero against Argentina, also had his chances in the first half, with one of them flagged for offside. In the 36th minute, England levelled the scores as Anthony Gordon struck, combining with Jude Bellingham for some commendable counter-attack. After his first attempt went wide, Harry put England in lead in the 40th minute, heading in a cross from Nico O'Reilly's despite attempts from Marc Cucurella to block. At half-time, the scoreline stood 2-1 in favour of England as a Cucurella mishit hit the woodwork. In the 54th minute, Kane took the penalty after Rodri was punished for his challenge on Bellingham inside the box, but Kane fired it against the bar, costing England a huge chance of making it three goals to one. In the 60th minute, Spain made England pay for the Kane penalty miss as a blunder from O'Reilly let the substitute Alex Baena fire an equaliser from the edge of the box. Finally, in the 74th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal produced the winner for Spain, latching onto a pass from Baena. Speaking after the game, England boss Thomas Tuchel said, as quoted by Sky Sports, "We did everything today to beat Spain. Details matter on this level. Clear-cut mistakes were too high on our side. In the last 20 metres, they were more clinical and composed to convert our ball losses into clear-cut chances." "We had them, we had our chance to beat them. We will keep on pushing. But I think the way we played was enough to beat them." "We had the worst possible start against a team like Spain, who love to control the game. We could have won it. We have to recover from it, learn from it. Do what we did well and reduce and improve on our mistakes," he signed off. On the other hand, Spain's manager Luis de la Fuente said, "The game was under control most of the time, except for six to seven minutes, when England dominated us. We got disconnected. Against a rival like England, a superpower, this can happen." "I respect the Spain squad's ambition; they want to grow. There is still room for improvement, and new players are coming on. This generation of players is exceptional. They are still hungry, they want to keep growing and playing," he signed off. (ANI)
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