England held off a massive wave of attacks at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid to beat Spain 3-2 in the UEFA Nations League.
The significant win secured England’s qualification to the quarterfinals of the competition while the loss was Spain’s first in 43 games.
2026 Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane scored twice in the win including converting a penalty kick attempt that atoned for his miss against Spain in the first fixture played at Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel’s men held a comfortable 3-0 lead but Elliot Anderson’s dismissal in the 63rd minute put that lead in jeopardy as Spain scored and almost tied the contest late in the game bar James Trafford’s brilliant double save.
Speaking to ITV Sport after the game, England manager Tuchel was ecstatic about the result stating,
“Brilliant performance. Well deserved win. Overall we were the better team. Fantastic performance from start to finish. A red card and penalty always a big decision. I need to understand why it was a double punishment.”
“Complete performance. We brought everything to the table. We were brave. Spirit wise, energy wise and also football quality was highest level. Half an hour feels like two hours against a team like this [with 10 men].”
“That’s the way it is. Without the red card we were clear winners. Good double save. He [James Trafford] had a brilliant match. What did England show? “What we are made of and what we can do.”
“We are always ready to push our limits. We had our best result in 60 years [at the World Cup] and we weren’t happy with it. It’s impressive what we did in the last two camps.”
