Kane's England finds Spain's seams in Madrid

BarcelonaFirst defeat for the world champion. A defeat at the Metropolitano, in Madrid, against an England team that was superior to Spain for much of the duel (2-3). Not even Anderson's expulsion, with the score at 0-3 in favor of the English, could prevent the defeat of the Spanish national team, which loses again after 43 matches. To find the last defeat of Luis de la Fuente's team, one must go back to March 22, 2024, when they fell in a friendly against Colombia.

Spain was looking to close out a perfect 2026, in which they won the World Cup, with a victory in Madrid against England to finish the UEFA Nations League group stage in first place and with a clean sweep of wins. The reality, however, was different. The team managed by Thomas Tuchel was superior in various stretches of the match and knew how to suffer and defend when they were left with one less player.

Before the ball started rolling, Iker Casillas, Fernando Torres, and Fernando Llorente placed two bouquets of flowers on the pitch in memory of the victims of the Urda train accidents and for Jesús de Miguel, whom they also paid tribute to by displaying the jerseys of the various teams he had played for.

With Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí in the starting eleven, England began the duel very strongly and Spain grew as the minutes passed. However, after several chances, the English team found the goal just before halftime. Pau Cubarsí committed a penalty on Harry Kane, the current Ballon d'Or winner, who did not forgive against Unai Simón. Tuchel's team reflected their dominance on the scoreboard.

Luis de la Fuente, aware that he had to shake the tree, made three changes at halftime –he had already made one earlier due to Marc Pubill's injury–. The Barcelona player Cubarsí was one of the sacrificed footballers, and Fermín and Pedri –who had started the match on the bench– entered the field of play. Some modifications that did not have the desired effect on the pitch, since Konsa, after a corner taken by Rice, and Ben White set the 0 to 3 on the scoreboard.

The Spanish national team was against the ropes at home, at the Metropolitano, and saw the first place in the group slipping away. But matches last 90 minutes. And Thomas Tuchel has experienced several comebacks firsthand. Without going any further, in the World Cup semifinals, when Argentina turned around Anthony Gordon's opening goal to qualify for the final (1-2).

At the Metropolitano, everything started with a red card after a recovery in the opposing half that ended with a penalty committed on Lamine Yamal and the sending off of Anderson. Oyarzabal converted the penalty and the game turned around completely. England began to defend in their own half against the Spanish siege. And another recovery, in this case by Pedri, ended with a pass from Fermín to Lamine Yamal, who set up the goal for Nico Williams.

Luis de la Fuente's side tried in every possible way, but Thomas Tuchel's men managed to hold on to break Spain's 43-game unbeaten streak. The Spanish national team will play the Nations League quarter-finals in March, but they already know they will do so against a group winner and with the second leg away from Spain.