England began their Nations League campaign with a defeat as Spain came from behind to win 3-2 at Wembley. The world champions took an early lead through Lamine Yamal but trailed at the interval after Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, via a deflection, scored for England.
Kane's penalty miss proves costly
Kane then hit the bar with a penalty, and Spain secured victory with goals from Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal. Dom Smith was at Wembley to rate the England players' performances.
James Trafford rated 5, making an early save but conceding three times and showing inconsistency with his distribution. Jarell Quansah also scored 5, joining attacks and generally solid, though he headed over the bar with a decent chance.
Defensive struggles and standout displays
Ezri Konsa earned 4 as part of a backline that shipped three goals, while Marc Guehi scored 3 after his terrible backpass gifted Yamal the opener in the second minute; he was also booked. Nico O'Reilly (5) used his physicality and was shown a yellow card for a foul, and Elliot Anderson (5) worked hard but was too easily bypassed in midfield.
Myles Lewis-Skelly (6) fitted in well in midfield, offering a physical presence and getting a couple of shots off. Bukayo Saka (6) worked incredibly hard, creating space to shoot several times and coming close. Jude Bellingham was the standout with 8, described as the best player on the pitch alongside Yamal; he assisted Gordon, won the penalty Kane missed, and was everywhere.
Substitutes make little impact
Anthony Gordon (7) was a constant threat, running Spain ragged and scoring England's equaliser after running through and calmly converting. Harry Kane (5) scored his first career goal against Spain with a heavily deflected header but slipped at the crucial moment and hit a penalty against the bar.
Among the substitutes, James Garner (5) found himself in an unfamiliar position late on with a poor cross, Morgan Rogers (4) made little impact despite intense pressing and saw one cross balloon out of play, while Morgan Gibbs-White, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jarred Branthwaite were not rated. Unused were Pickford, Steele, Alexander-Arnold, Scott, Chalobah, Hall and Eze.
