There was a party atmosphere at a sold-out Metropolitano on Sunday night as Spain hosted England in their first game in the Spanish capital since conquering the World Cup in the summer. Luis de la Fuente’s side had won five from five in the UEFA Nations League campaign and were unbeaten in 90 minutes in 43 games, since March 2024, with this expected to see them crowned as group winners in the UEFA Nations League.
Instead, England ran out the winners, taking a 3-0 lead through a Harry Kane penalty,
an Ezri Konsa header and a third from Ben White. Spain did battle back to 3-2 after the Three Lions went down to 10 men after Elliot Anderson was sent off for fouling Lamine Yamal in the box, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the resulting penalty and Nico Williams adding another.
At left-back, Marc Cucurella had a night to forget. Booked for a foul on Morgan Rogers early in the second half, he won only one of five ground duels and didn’t complete any tackles as he struggled with the threat of Rogers down England’s right flank. Going forwards, he also contributed little with only two passes into the final third and failing to find his target with his only attempted cross.
In the second half, he was joined by Dean Huijsen, who came on at the break to replace Pau Cubarsí, who conceded the penalty which gave England the lead before half-time.
Huijsen too found it hard going up against Kane, losing all four of his aerial duels, and also failing to complete any tackles. Where he did contribute more was in Spain’s more direct approach with Huijsen often carrying the ball forwards before launching it into the final third later on, registering six passes into the final third and a step by 92% pass accuracy overall.
Spain have now finished second in the group, behind England on goal difference, which means that they will face a tougher draw in the Nations League play-off before a final four.
