England 1-2 Spain: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis
Spain defeated England 2-1 at Wembley, in their first UEFA Nations League encounter of the season. An early goal from Marcus Rashford was neutralized by Saul's equalizer within a span of two minutes.
Luis Enrique's side later notched a lead through Rodrigo's clever finish from the right post, and managed to hold on to their advantage despite some late drama about which I talk further into this article.
Here are the talking points and tactical analysis from an entertaining encounter between the two teams.
#5 Spain control the proceedings, but England score against the momentum
Spain were quite dominant from the beginning, as they pressed in packs of two or three players to dispossess the English players and then circulated the ball safely around the midfield area. They exerted pressure on England and quite easily were the better team for the first ten minutes or so.
Meanwhile, England dropped further and further back on the field, with even the likes of Harry Kane coming behind the halfway line to recover the ball from the Spaniards.
Though Gareth Southgate did not set his team up to play on the counter, a quick recovery from the right flank meant that Kane received it and set up Luke Shaw who was chagrining ahead from the left wing.
Spain were unable to track back on time, and Shaw delivered a well-timed pass to Marcus Rashford, who scored with a composed finish.
To be fair, England did not look to being on the attacking front at that point of time, but Shaw’s run from the left side ensured that they struck well against the momentum of the game.
Dani Carvajal did not have the best of games from a defensive perspective, as he often allowed Shaw and later Danny Rose to run behind him. Hence, England’s first goal, though might have been unexpected, it was a result of Spain’s defensive drawback on the right-hand side.