Kane hit the bar from the spot at 2-1, and Spain came back to beat England at Wembley

Harry Kane put the ball on the spot at Wembley in the 54th minute with England 2-1 up on the world champions. His standing foot went as he struck it, the ball came off his own leg and hit the crossbar, and Spain scored twice in the next 20 minutes to win 3-2 on Saturday, 26 September.

It was the Nations League opener for both sides, and England’s first game since the World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina 10 weeks ago. Spain are now 39 matches unbeaten. Their last defeat was against Colombia in March 2024.

Two minutes in, and a goal down

The start could hardly have been worse. Marc Guehi dithered on the ball about 25 yards from his own goal, Lamine Yamal took it off him and curled a shot in off the inside of the far post. It was the third-quickest goal England have conceded at Wembley, behind only first-minute goals by Hungary in 1953 and Scotland in 1957.

Spain should have been further ahead. Ferran Torres had a volley ruled out for offside and missed two one-on-ones in the first half an hour.

Then it turned. In the 36th minute Elliot Anderson pounced when Nico Williams slipped, Jude Bellingham carried the ball over halfway, and Anthony Gordon finished low from 20 yards. Four minutes later Nico O’Reilly crossed, Kane stretched to head it in, and England went in 2-1 up.

The penalty, and the 20 minutes after it

Early in the second half Rodri was judged to have fouled Bellingham, and VAR backed the penalty. Not everyone agreed. The Spanish refereeing analyst Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez said Bellingham went down before there was any contact. It did not matter in the end, because Kane slipped.

On the hour O’Reilly played a loose pass, Dani Olmo cut it out, and Alex Baena, only just on as a substitute, beat James Trafford from 20 yards. In the 74th minute Baena slid a pass through for Mikel Oyarzabal, who lifted it over Trafford as the keeper came out. Oyarzabal also scored the winner against England in the Euro 2024 final. He seems to like this fixture.

“We did everything today to beat Spain. Details matter on this level. Clear-cut mistakes were too high on our side,” Tuchel said. He also claimed England had been the better side after the first 10 minutes and “dominated”. Kane kept it shorter: “On another day we would have won.”

Luis de la Fuente had a different memory of the evening. “The game was under control most of the time, except for six to seven minutes, when England dominated us,” the Spain coach said.

Prague on Tuesday, then an empty stadium in Rijeka

The trouble with losing the opener of a six-game group is that none of the next games is easy. England go to Czechia at the Fortuna Arena in Prague on Tuesday, 29 September, and then to Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, 3 October, a match UEFA has ordered to be played behind closed doors. Croatia won 2-1 in Prague on Saturday, so they sit level with Spain on three points.

I don’t buy Tuchel’s “dominated”. I do buy the part about details. Two of Spain’s goals came straight from England giving the ball away, and the third moment that decided it was a penalty taker losing his footing. Take those out and England probably win. Against a team that has not lost in 39 games, though, “take those out” is doing an awful lot of work.

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