In this summer's World Cup in North America, Spain and England took gold and bronze respectively. In the autumn, the major nations will meet in the Nations League's A-division Group 3. In Saturday's group-stage opener at Wembley in London, the major nations provided some serious entertainment.
Star striker Lamine Yamal gave the world champions a 1-0 lead after Marc Guéhi's sloppy play in England's build-up. The home team then turned the game around to make it 2-1 at the end of the first half through goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, although Spain's Marc Cucurella was last to touch in Kane's header.
In the second half, Kane and England had a golden opportunity to take a real grip on the game after Spain captain Rodri was penalised for bringing down Jude Bellingham in the penalty area. However, the England captain slipped at the penalty spot and shot against the crossbar as England could have gone 3-1 up.
Instead, substitute Álex Baena was able to equalise for the away team, before Mikel Oyarzabal, also a substitute, decided the score with his 3–2 goal.
Spain thus remains undefeated in international men's football. Their last loss came against Colombia (0–1) in an international match in March 2024.
