UEFA Nations League: Four talking points from Spain v England

New Spain manager, Luis Enrique has enjoyed a stellar start in his new job, winning all three of his matches so far, scoring 12 and only conceding twice in the process.

This evening (Monday 15th October) saw Enrique's Spain take on World-Cup semi-finalists, England in the UEFA Nations League group A4.

There were a couple of suspensions in the England team which saw Gomez and Winks slot into the starting 11. Some had expected England to go back to three in central defence which proved successful in the World Cup. However, Southgate once again opted for two central defenders with Ben Chilwell and Kieran Trippier playing as left and right backs, respectively.

In a game that could not have been more different than the 0-0 draw on Friday between Croatia and England, there was plenty to talk about. For starters, there was a real-life crowd turning out at the Estadio Benito Villamarin (home of Real Betis) in Spain.

Let's take a look at the four main talking points from an entertaining match that was overflowing with exciting, attacking football.

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1 - It's not just goals that Harry Kane offers England

Harry Kane led by example

If you had been told the final score without watching the game, chances are you might have thought that Harry Kane would have been on the scoresheet. However, the World Cup golden boot winner was in great form without finding the back of the net.

England were fantastic on the counter-attack and it was Kane who brought others into play by assisting Rashford and Sterling's second. It was for Rashford's goal that Kane (somewhat fortuitously) took the ball out of the air after a quick kick from keeper Jordan Pickford and provided the perfect through ball where Rashford took a touch with one foot and finished with the other.

Kane has shown that he is one of the best forwards in world football and he has to be the best at playing the lone striker role.

2 - THAT moment of madness from Pickford

Pickford was lucky not to concede a penalty

Jordan Pickford has had an unbelievable 24 months both for club and country, putting in a string of excellent performances for Everton and establishing himself as England's clear number one.

He is a great shot stopper and he comes across as likeable and a leader in the dressing room. However, tonight's game was one where Pickford never looked comfortable, especially that moment in the second half where he dwindled on the ball after a back pass from Dier.

With plenty of time on the ball, Pickford's second touch saw the ball get stuck under his feet and Rodrigo won the ball and looked certain to score Spain's second goal of the night. To be fair to Pickford, he made a great sliding tackle, but only after he tugged Rodrigo's shirt and was fortunate not to give away a penalty.

3 - A mature performance from Rashford

Rashford grabbed England's second goal of the night

Marcus Rashford came under a lot of criticism after his failure to score against Croatia on Friday. I wrote last week that I felt Rashford could use the Croatia game as a learning exercise and the more times he gets into goal scoring opportunities, the better his decision making will get.

The performance from Rashford against Spain was much improved and one of his most complete games in an England shirt. He excellently set up Raheem Sterling for England's first goal and the finish for his goal sailed past his Manchester teammate, David De Gea.

Not only was he good in the final third, but there were also a handful of occasions where he managed to dribble the ball out of dangerous situations and drew a foul from the Spanish defence which gave some much-needed rest bite for England and allowed them to regain their shape.

4 - The UEFA Nations League is being taken seriously

Raheem Sterling excelled in a thrilling encounter

The new format of the UEFA Nations League took a lot of time to get our heads around and many people were sceptical of how competitive the games would be (especially after the 0-0 draw against Croatia). Tonight's game, however, put any doubt to one side as both teams went full throttle and put on an entertaining and committed performance.

Both sides were pretty much at full strength and the tactical change by Southgate to bring on Kyle Walker for Ross Barkley showed how much he wanted the win and decided to shut up shop.

It wasn't the dirtiest of games but both teams were committed in the tackle and eager to win. This was a great advert for the Nations League and England fans will now be looking forward to the final game against Croatia.