WEMBLEY – Spanish arms raised in triumph. Again. Another victory in an unprecedented run of 39 matches unbeaten, but there was nothing inevitable about this result. Indeed, had Harry Kane hit the net from the spot instead of the bar, England would have led 3-1 and been good value for it.
DNA be damned. This was football at its most pure, two teams responding to each other, going at it irrespective of culture and habit, and for once defeat did not meet with English introspection.
Anthony Gordon, scorer of England’s first, returned from his exposure to La Liga with Barcelona with his head full of concern about the nature of English football, what its essence might be. He was sure of one thing: it wasn’t Spanish.
And a good thing too, for on this stirring night at Wembley, England eschewed respect and deference toward the world champions in favour of confidence and belief in themselves. The performance was in many ways better than the first half against France in Miami, a game of nil import played for bogus World Cup bronze.
Thomas Tuchel needed a night like this to convince a good number of England fans that he and not the players were made of the right stuff. His account of the disastrous retreat against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final did not tally with the skill quotient of his talented squad.
His comments about deep, cultural resistance to the idea of controlling matches was just manure and viewed as such by the majority of supporters. Spain’s first two were gifted by Marc Guehi inside two minutes, and in the second half by Nico O’Reilly, who, hitherto, had been outstanding.
In between, England ran Spain seriously out of their imperious shape, proving that no team, not even world champions, can find football so easy under pressure. Spain improved in the second half under the diligent prompts of Dani Olmo, but England, driven forward by Jude Bellingham and Gordon, were always in coiled-spring mode.
Spain’s third was a painful lesson in the brutality of elite sport, the world champions ruthless when opportunity knocked. England kept coming, thriving all night on big Jude Bellingham energy. Gordon wasn’t far behind, his intelligent running and urgency a persistent threat as if he wanted to ram home the idea that England can play this game too.
Spain found an extra gear when they needed it. Maybe that is the lesson England must learn. Fast and furious can be compelling, but not at the expense of composure. Those unforced defensive errors meant Spain never really experienced the pressure they were under as stress.
The third goal stole England’s momentum for a 15-minute period during which the ronda blossomed to give the impression that Spain always had this match in their pockets. They didn’t. England were full of imagination and urgency, too much for Spain at times.
It helps, however, to have Lamine Yamal as your outball. Alongside Bellingham, Lamal was the outstanding player on view, teasing with pace and trickery, whilst wasting nothing.
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