Spain vs England (2-3): Match Review

Modified Oct 16, 2018 04:00 GMT

England defeated Spain at the Estadio Benito Villamarin. This was the first defeat in a competitive game for "La Roja" in 15 years. Greece were the last team to beat Spain on their home soil. Both the teams met on Matchday 1 in Wembley, where Spain got the better of their opponents. Spain came to this match in the back of a 3-1 away win in a Friendly against Wales on Saturday, while England were held 0-0 by Croatia in Rijeka.

Starting XI and Substitutes:

Spain: 1. David De Gea, 2. Jonny, 3. Nacho, 4. Sergio Ramos, 12. Marcos Alonso, 6. Saúl Niguez, 5. Sergio Busquets, 10 Thiago Alcantara, 20. Marco Asensio, 17. Iago Aspas, 19. Rodrigo

Subs: 13. Kepa Arrizabalaga, 23. Pau López, 3 Raul Albiol, 7. Alvaro Morata, 8. Koke, 9. Paco Alcacer, 11. Suso, 14. Cesar Azpilicueta, 16. Rodri, 18. José Gayà, 21. Marc Bartra, 22. Dani Ceballos

England: 1. Jordan Pickford, 2. Kieran Trippier, 5. Joe Gomez, 6. Harry Maguire, 3. Ben Chilwell, 4. Eric Dier, 7. Ross Barkley, 8. Harry Winks, 10. Raheem Sterling, 11. Marcus Rashford, 9. Harry Kane

Subs: 13. Jack Butland, 21. Marcus Bettinelli, 12. Kyle Walker, 14. Trent Alexander-Arnold, 15. Lewis Dunk, 16. Nathaniel Chalobah, 17. Mason Mount18. James Maddison, 19. Jadon Sancho

Luis Enrique made nine changes from their last game, only Sergio Ramos and David de Gea kept their places. Gareth Southgate made 3 changes in the team that started the game in Rijeka. Joe Gomez replaced suspended John Stones, Harry Winks started ahead Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier replaced Kyle Walker.

The Match started with the host dominating the first five minutes of the game. Marco Asensio was a constant threat in the opening encounters of the game, as Kieran Trippier had problems in tracking back. Eric Dier was shown a yellow card in the 12th minute of the match after he fouled Sergio Ramos.

England took the lead in the 16th minute of the match as Raheem Sterling, who was played on by Marcus Rashford's exquisite diagonal ball and he made no mistake to give the three lions an unexpected lead. Sterling became the first English player in 31 years to score a goal in Spanish soil after Gary Lineker scored 4 goals in a famous 4-2 success.

Thiago started to work his magic made some crucial passes which led to some half chances for the men in red. England doubled their advantage as Harry Kane took advantage of a loose ball and scooped a ball over the head of the Central Defenders to pick out Rashford, who controlled the ball quite well and slotted the ball behind his club teammate. Spain were sloppy throughout the game, as England looked threatening on counter attacks and looked to score everytime they were on the ball.

England scored their third goal in the 38th minute, as Ross Barkley lifts the ball over the sleeping Spanish center backs to pick out Harry Kane, who fires a first time low cross into the path of Raheem Sterling, who could not miss from two yards. The first half ended in favor of the Three Lions, who were completely dominating.

The second half started with a hope of a famous Spanish comeback. Luis Enrique subbed off Saul and Iago Aspas, and brought in Ceballos and Alcacer. Alcacer pulled one back from the set piece for the hosts, as he skipped past his marker to head the ball beyond the reach of Jordan Pickford. Spain started to get a grip on the game, as a flurry of attacks completely pushed the Lions in the backfoot. Jordan Pickford almost gave a goal as he tried to complicate the things by showing too much of the ball to Rodrigo, who dispossessed the keeper but still failed to score, as he believed he was pushed back by Pickford, who somehow managed to clear the ball for a corner.

Spain made their third and final change by bringing on Alvaro Morata, who replaced Rodrigo Moreno, who had a poor game. Ceballos was a constant threat in the midfield as he was fighting for every ball and was playing smart in possession and a menace defensively. The hosts had a couple of very good chances which they somehow couldn't convert. They finally scored their second goal in the last minute of injury time. Jonny did very well to pick out Ceballos, who crossed the ball in the box, Ramos reacted the quickest and headed home past Pickford.

This was the final act of the game as Spain couldn't pull off a comeback, after playing very well in the second half. Busquets, Alonso, and Nacho had a very poor game. they were all very sloppy at the back, Alonso was often caught out of position.

Spain are still on top with six points, while England are on four points and Croatia in third place with 1 point in the bag. England fans were absolutely buzzing,as they chanted "Football is coming home" throughout the 90 minutes, and they certainly made some difference for their beloved team.

Edited by Deepanshu Sharma