England’s win over Spain is the statement Tuchel’s team have been waiting for

MADRID — England survived a second-half onslaught following Elliot Anderson‘s red card to end Spain‘s 43-game unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory that secured the top spot in UEFA Nations League Group A3.

On a pulsating night at Riyadh Air Metropolitano, England raced into a 3-0 lead as Harry Kane‘s first-half penalty preceded Ezri Konsa and Ben White finding the net early in the second half.

Thomas Tuchel’s side fully deserved their advantage but the night turned when Jarell Quansah was caught in possession and Lamine Yamal went through on goal on 63 minutes. Anderson put his hand on Yamal’s shoulder, and the Barcelona winger went down in the box. French referee Clement Turpin pointed to the spot and sent off Anderson.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted the penalty, and Spain were sparked into life. Yamal found substitute Nico Williams to convert from off the post in the 75th minute and laid siege to England’s goal in search of an equalizer.

James Trafford made a brilliant double save in stoppage time from Yamal and Aymeric Laporte as England clung on for a famous win, which sees both teams qualify for March’s quarterfinal, but the Three Lions will be seeded and play the second leg at home. — James Olley

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England finally answer elite nation question

The main obstacle preventing England from winning silverware in eight years of going close is their inability to beat the best sides around.

They had winning positions against Croatia in their 2018 World Cup semifinal, Italy in the Euro 2020 final, and Argentina in this year’s World Cup semifinal, only to lose all three games. You could throw in their timidity when reaching parity against Spain in the Euro 2024 final and also losing a lead against the same opposition in September’s reverse Nations League fixture.

For 63 minutes, they were absolutely magnificent here. The pattern of regressing towards their own box and gifting possession to their opponents was broken. There wasn’t the physical drop we so often see in the summer either, although the fact that this game was played in November and not July has something to do with that.

They were brave on the ball, ferocious in the press and pushed home their advantage when getting in front. Critics will argue the Nations League is not on the same level as a Euros or World Cup, but this game was played in a combative spirit and at the highest quality.

Whatever skepticism there is about England’s chances of winning Euro 2028, Tuchel can now point to this win — and a 7-0 thrashing of Croatia — as tangible evidence they are capable of finally doing it when it matters most in 18 months. — Olley

Spain’s unbeaten run is over. Should they be worried?

So Spain have tasted defeat in a competitive game for the first time since March 2023. But coach Luis de la Fuente won’t panic, nor should he.

His Spain team are still the reigning world and European champions. They dominated the World Cup knockout stage just four months ago, comprehensively besting heavyweight teams like France and Argentina. They beat England at Wembley in September, and they’d won five Nations League games out of five going into Sunday’s match.

Yet they were unrecognizable for an hour at the Metropolitano. In the first 10 minutes, visitors England enjoyed 67% possession. That just doesn’t happen to Spain. The midfield — featuring an out-of-form Martín Zubimendi and a struggling Mikel Merino — was overwhelmed.

If you wanted further evidence of why Zubimendi has played just 100 minutes in the Premier League this season, here it was. And the malfunctioning midfield meant a forward line led by Oyarzabal barely got a touch.

But Spain’s second-half rally, albeit against England’s 10 men following Anderson’s red card, was a reminder of their quality and their strength in depth.

Some players who’d started, like Yamal, raised their game, and with England rocking, went for the jugular. And they were joined by their world-class players De la Fuente was able to call off the bench. How many of Pedri, Williams, Fermín López and Pedro Porro could be substitutes for any other national team?

The other standout quality for Spain was their attitude. At 0-3 down after 57 minutes, in front of a shell-shocked crowd, they could have called it a night. It’s only the Nations League, and they were already assured of a place in the next round.

Instead, they drew on their wounded pride and mounted a stirring fightback. In the end, Spain could easily have drawn here, had they converted one of those two golden opportunities in added time.

It’s a disappointing way for Spain to end the year. But there’s no need for soul-searching or a radical overhaul, especially following De La Fuente’s post-match comments saying he’s “still convinced that the best is yet to come.” Spain’s approach won’t change; they’ll view this result as a blip in an otherwise golden 2026. — Alex Kirkland

Tuchel gets substitutions right

England’s World Cup exit asked very difficult questions of Tuchel. England capitulated and his substitutions compounded the problem.

In 18 minutes and 37 seconds before Argentina equalized, England completed two passes and had 6% possession. He has spoken since about evolving England’s style, labelled by some now as “Tuchel 2.0,” and part of that was to alter his approach to using players from the bench.

Different occasions demand different decisions, of course, but this had hallmarks of England’s win by the same scoreline against Mexico at the World Cup and the Argentina game.

Tuchel didn’t make a change at all here following Anderson’s red card for 15 minutes. And then he took Kane off for Myles Lewis-Skelly. That felt like a bold call, then doubled down on it by substituting Jude Bellingham for Djed Spence as part of a change which saw Anthony Gordon replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Just as against Mexico and Argentina, Dan Burn — who, remember, was not part of the initial squad this month before an injury to Marc Guéhi triggered his call-up — came on for the final few minutes. So some things don’t change. But the result did, and this was a major vindication of Tuchel’s methods, a step in the right direction after the summer. — Olley

Yamal shows why you can never write him off

You could already see the headlines. In another face-off with Kane, just weeks after missing out to him for the Ballon d’Or, Yamal comes out second-best again. And yes, Yamal ended up on the losing side at the Metropolitano. But the last half hour was yet another reminder of his mesmerizing quality.

Yamal won the penalty for Oyarzabal to make it 3-1. He provided the assist for Williams to make it 3-2. And after that, he was a relentless threat to England’s defense until the final whistle.

Yamal’s statistics at full time are worth dwelling on. He had 73 touches, the second-most of any of Spain’s starting eleven, and more than any England player. He had six shots, twice as many as Kane.

He created five chances, the most of any player on the pitch, and four key passes, likewise. He played 29 passes in the final third, compared to Jude Bellingham’s 12. And all this was after an opening hour where Yamal, by his standards, had been a little underwhelming, at times peripheral as the game passed him by, symptomatic of Spain’s inability to control the play.

Yamal traditionally wears the No. 19 for Spain. On Sunday, he wore the No. 10 shirt, which usually belongs to the injured Dani Olmo. And this, in the end, was a performance worthy of the great No. 10s.

When Spain needed inspiration, a talisman to lead their comeback, Yamal was there. They fell just short, but Yamal gave everything. He’s another reason why Spain doesn’t need to dwell on this result. The future is bright. — Kirkland

Is Trafford now England’s No. 1?

Lost amid the chaos of England’s semifinal exit in the summer were question marks over whether Jordan Pickford was at fault in Argentina’s comeback.

As Tuchel searches for areas of improvement, it has become increasingly clear that he, at the very least, has the goalkeeping position under review. He planned to give Trafford both Nations League matches against Spain to “see how far Traff is”, adding on Saturday that “we give him the opportunity, which is normally very rare for goalkeepers.”

The Leeds United stopper grabbed it with both hands. Spain had 23 shots, and Trafford made six saves, including a brilliant double in stoppage time.

Flying to his left, he kept out Yamal and then produced an even better effort to deny Laporte. In that moment, it was easy to imagine the baton passing from Pickford to Trafford. It won’t be that simple — international soccer is now on hiatus after this window until March, and Pickford has 94 caps to his name — but Trafford has advanced his case immeasurably to be England’s No. 1. — Olley