England 1-2 Spain: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

Spain defeated England 2-1 at Wembley, in their first UEFA Nations League encounter of the season. An early goal from Marcus Rashford was neutralized by Saul's equalizer within a span of two minutes.

Luis Enrique's side later notched a lead through Rodrigo's clever finish from the right post, and managed to hold on to their advantage despite some late drama about which I talk further into this article.

Here are the talking points and tactical analysis from an entertaining encounter between the two teams.

#5 Spain control the proceedings, but England score against the momentum

Rashford opened the scoring through Shaw's assist

Spain were quite dominant from the beginning, as they pressed in packs of two or three players to dispossess the English players and then circulated the ball safely around the midfield area. They exerted pressure on England and quite easily were the better team for the first ten minutes or so.

Meanwhile, England dropped further and further back on the field, with even the likes of Harry Kane coming behind the halfway line to recover the ball from the Spaniards.

Though Gareth Southgate did not set his team up to play on the counter, a quick recovery from the right flank meant that Kane received it and set up Luke Shaw who was chagrining ahead from the left wing.

Spain were unable to track back on time, and Shaw delivered a well-timed pass to Marcus Rashford, who scored with a composed finish.

To be fair, England did not look to being on the attacking front at that point of time, but Shaw’s run from the left side ensured that they struck well against the momentum of the game.

Dani Carvajal did not have the best of games from a defensive perspective, as he often allowed Shaw and later Danny Rose to run behind him. Hence, England’s first goal, though might have been unexpected, it was a result of Spain’s defensive drawback on the right-hand side.

#4 England’s defensive rigidity and lack of concentration exposed

The English defence was caught napping for Rodrigo's goal

Gareth Southgate employed a three-man backline that is adept in making forward passes and hence capable of building the play neatly from the back.

England’s defensive trio are comfortable in possession of the ball and are always keen to move ahead and make some incisive passes by breaking the opposition’s midfield lines.

However, as Spain scored two goals to restore lead from being down in the contest, the Three Lions’ defensive fragilities were quite clear. Luis Enrique’s men scored a sumptuous first goal, as Dele Alli firstly failed to close down Carvajal who crossed the ball low into the box.

Secondly, Harry Maguire lost track of Rodrigo, who smartly turned and passed the ball to Saul, whose clinical finish meant that Spain drew levels with the home side. Jesse Lingard had failed to keep pace with the Atletico Madrid midfielder too, and accordingly, three individual shortcomings led to Spain’s first goal.

For the second goal, Thiago crossed the ball into the box from the left flank. Here, Maguire played the Spanish players onside by his lack of movement, and Rodrigo’s smart run from the front of Kane was pivotal in this goal.

The English captain was supposed to be marking Rodrigo, but instead let him run inside from his front, as the Valencia forward scored with good footwork.

Kane should have followed Rodrigo and cramped him for space, but the Spurs’ forward remained unmoved and accordingly Enrique’s side restored the lead.

#3 Spain had more variety and fluidity in the middle of the park

Saul ran the game from the midfield for Spain

Andres Iniesta’s retirement from the international stage has left a huge void in Spain’s current squad, and the new manager would be tasked with finding the appropriate midfield trio to suit Spain’s style of play.

While on paper Isco started from the left wing, the Real Madrid man’s first instinct was to peg deeper on the field and then carry the ball ahead by forming a combination of passes with Thiago and Saul.

Sergio Busquets did not exactly shield the defence but was rather the first person to initiate attacks with some well-timed, crisp passes from deeper areas of the midfield.

With Isco somewhat shifting inwards, the whole dynamic of the team reversed and that allowed Rodrigo and Iago Aspas more space in and around the box.

Moreover, there was more fluidity in Spain’s midfield movements, as they tended to recover possession quickly and then move it ahead after a series of sideway passes.

The fact that England lacked a proper holding midfielder meant that Spain’s dominance on the ball restricted the creative movements that Dele Alli and Lingard were supposed to make.

Jordan Henderson endured an indifferent outing too, as the England international could not decipher Spain’s movements at the centre of the park and was sort of left isolated whilst screening the backline. He couldn’t offer defensive solidity and was rather wasteful with the ball too.

Accordingly, after having registered a quick lead, Spain managed to stamp their dominance over the game with their versatility in the midfield, with each player swapping roles according to the demands of the situation and thus pushing the English line of defence further back on the field.

#2 Jesse Lingard should play between the lines; Eric Dier’s arrival turns things around

Lingard was more influential when Dier was introduced on the field

England’s primary creative outlet in this setup is Jesse Lingard, whose decoy runs from the inner right channels and the ability to quickly interlink the passes, whilst playing one touch on the move bring a new dimension to England’s gameplay.

However, when Spain exposed the lack of solidarity in England’s midfield owing to the ineffectiveness of Henderson, Lingard was way too deeper than his desired position to have an impact over the proceedings.

His strengths are when he plays ahead of the halfway line, making himself ready for the final pass and then charging up ahead whilst looking for openings in the opposition’s backline on either side.

For having to break Spain’s authority over the possession, Lingard was forced to drop into the defensive midfield area, and thus consequently he was expected to make the final pass, rather than receive one as such.

This significantly reduced his impact in the final third and England seemed to lack the creative edge in attack.

However, once Eric Dier replaced Henderson on the field, the entire system changed and suddenly England pushed higher up on the pitch and moved the ball around faster with more intent as such.

Dier did everything that Henderson couldn’t as the Spurs’ man looked to be more composed when caught in possession and always looked at different outlets to ensure that England were in the attacking front during the last half hour or so.

He played a couple of long balls to the flanks, and as Spain shifted narrower to defend the perceived incoming cross, Lingard sensed and capitalized on the opportunity to move up ahead unmarked and made himself ready to receive the pass.

He offered much more movement and the ability to create space with his runs after Dier’s introduction on the field. Lingard looked livelier in the final third, often picking out passes either to the flanks or to Rashford on the inner channels.

This clearly indicates that he should have played between the lines for a better duration of the game. However, that could have been possible only through the arrival of a more reliable defensive enforcer, like Dier.

#1 Was it a fair result in the end?

Welbeck's goal was disallowed

After a flurry of late movements in the end, Danny Welbeck finally managed to grab a goal back when he pounced on De Gea’s spilled claim. Sergio Ramos primarily messed up a clearance, and de Gea looked to have been fouled on by Welbeck, and hence England’s late equalizer was ruled out by the referee.

The English players did not take well to this, and there were contrasting statements regarding the same from both the camps.

Kane said that the referee bottled it in the end, whilst Enrique claims to have not seen the footage clearly but trusted his custodian who said he was indeed fouled by the Arsenal forward.

Though England could have had an equalizer, they were unable to finish off many chances both in the first and second half owing to de Gea himself. Marcus Rashford’s header was saved by the Manchester United goalkeeper who demonstrated good awareness and reflexes to deny the 20-year-old a brace.

The former Atletico Madrid man then made two 1v1 saves against his club-mate, by using his feet to keep Spain in the game.

He made five saves, and had a better command over the box, coming out of his line to sense and clear danger, something that he was criticized for during the World Cup.

As for the fairness of the eventual outcome, Spain were undoubtedly the better side throughout the course of the ninety minutes, but England’s inability to pounce on the presented chances should not be forgotten either.

Kane certainly seemed to be carrying a niggle or a knock, as the Spurs’ man lacked sharpness and the required energy and movement on the field.

Though Rashford was like a livewire, as he troubled Spain’s centre-backs by cutting in with ferocious pace, but he should have been more clinical to score on the chances that he came across.

De Gea was brilliant in that respect, often judging Rashford’s movements and accordingly saving Spain the blushes, but the English forward surely needs to instil more composure and improve his overall decision-making in front of the goal.

Hence, it is difficult to judge whether the result was fair with respect to both the teams, as England’s lack of prolificacy did backfire, but they could have garnered at least a single point from this outing.