Spain Complete Comeback to Beat England 3-2 in Nations League Opener

Spain produced a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat England 3-2 in their Nations League opener, overcoming a two-goal deficit at Wembley to begin their campaign with three points.

Mikel Oyarzabal once again proved to be England’s tormentor, scoring the decisive goal just as he did in the Euro 2024 final. The victory also extended Spain’s remarkable unbeaten run to 39 matches in all competitions.

Spain made a dream start when Lamine Yamal capitalised on a mistake from Marc Guehi inside the opening two minutes. After dispossessing the England defender, Yamal calmly finished into the far corner to give the visitors an early lead.

Spain continued to threaten, with Ferran Torres having a goal ruled out for offside before missing two further chances. England goalkeeper James Trafford denied him in a one-on-one situation, while another opportunity was fired wide.

England gradually grew into the contest and turned the match around in spectacular fashion. Anthony Gordon equalised in the 36th minute after combining with Jude Bellingham during a swift counter-attack before finding the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Just four minutes later, England took the lead. Nico O'Reilly delivered a dangerous chipped cross into the box, and Harry Kane got ahead of Aymeric Laporte before his effort took a deflection off Marc Cucurella and ended up in the net.

England had a golden opportunity to extend their advantage early in the second half when Bellingham won a penalty following a challenge from Rodri. However, Kane struck the crossbar after his standing foot slipped during the spot-kick.

That miss proved costly.

Spain responded in the 60th minute after O'Reilly's loose pass presented Dani Olmo with possession. Olmo quickly found substitute Alex Baena, who calmly finished past Trafford to level the contest at 2-2.

Spain then completed the comeback in the 74th minute. Baena produced another decisive contribution, threading a superb pass through the England defence for Oyarzabal. The forward lifted a composed finish over Trafford, who had rushed off his line, to put Spain ahead.

England pushed for another equaliser but could not find a way through as Spain held on for a memorable 3-2 victory.

The result was particularly significant for Spain, who maintained their extraordinary unbeaten record despite conceding twice in the first half. It was the first time since October 2018 that Spain had conceded two goals in the opening 45 minutes of an official match.

Yamal's early strike also made history. At 19 years and 75 days old, he became the youngest player to score against England in a competitive match at Wembley in the last 20 years.

Spain finished the match with 15 shots, five of them on target, while England registered 12 attempts with four on target. Spain also recorded the higher expected-goals figure, 1.99 to England's 1.51.

England will be left to rue their missed chances and defensive mistakes, particularly after Kane's penalty miss gave Spain a route back into the contest. Spain, meanwhile, showed their resilience once again to turn a difficult situation into another important victory.