ISTANBUL
Spain edged England in a 3-2 thrilling opener in an UEFA Nations League A3 match Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
Spain started strong, capitalizing on a mistake by Marc Guehi as he tried to turn back to his goalkeeper. Lamine Yamal, hot on his tail, recovered the ball and curled it toward the far corner, putting Spain in the lead two minutes in.
The English equalizer came in the 36th minute from a quick counterattack. After Nico Williams lost possession outside the penalty box, Jude Bellingham dribbled quickly and found Antony Gordon, who hit it past an overextended Unai Simon, scoring England’s first goal with their first on-target shot.
Three minutes later, England completed the turnaround. Nico O’Reilly crossed it into the box to find Harry Kane, whose header hit Cucurella and fell into the net in the 40th minute.
Desperate to find the equalizer before half-time, Spain turned up the pressure. Despite consecutive attempts by Yamal and Ferran Torres, La Roja failed to find their second goal.
Shortly after the start of the second half, England was awarded a penalty from Rodri’s foul against Bellingham. Kane failed to convert, however, hitting the crossbar.
Following the failed penalty, Spain amped up the pressure. Yamal gained possession from O’Reilly, passing it to Dani Olmo and then Alex Baena at the top of the box, who curled it in in the 60th minute to level.
Spain finally restored the lead in the 74th minute. Coming off the bench 20 minutes before that, Mikel Oyarzabal received a pass from Baena during his run inside the box and calmly lobbed it above English goalkeeper James Trafford amongst the English defenders crowding around him.
Even though England pressed hard for an equalizer in the last quarter of the match, getting close multiple times, the Spanish defense held firm, denying English attempts spearheaded by Bellingham.
Saturday’s Results
Czechia 1-2 Croatia
Slovenia 0-0 Scotland
North Macedonia 0-3 Switzerland
San Marino 0-7 Finland
Albania 2-0 Belarus
Faroe Islands 1-1 Kazakhstan
Slovakia 2-0 Moldova
Iceland 1-1 Estonia
Bulgaria 1-2 Luxembourg
