England stun Spain and and show that World Cup run was no fluke
So, it wasn’t a dream after all. At times during the last three months we have had cause to wonder whether the World Cup really happened, whether England really did rediscover their swagger and a place at international football’s top table, as Gareth Southgate’s team made a stuttering start to the Nations League.
Tonight in Seville they blew away those doubts — and a Spain side who had previously looked back to their devastating best — with a 3-2 victory that, while flawed, proved that the summer run in Russia was no fluke, never mind a dream. Arguably Southgate’s finest hour in charge, it was more like dreamland.
This was a match in which England answered a barrage of questions thrown their way. Has Southgate engineered lasting improvement? Can they score from open play? Are Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford able to shoulder the burden when goals elude Harry Kane, as they have now for seven international matches.
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The answers were: yes, yes and emphatically yes, with Sterling’s two goals and Rashford’s strike distilling a ruthless first-half display that put the visitors three up at the interval. They were England’s first goals in Spain since 1987 and they effectively ensured the hosts’ first home defeat in a competitive fixture for 15 years.
After that there were more questions. Could they manage a game once in front, as they notably struggled to do at the World Cup? Could they continue to threaten on the counter-attack? Could they learn from their semi-final defeat to Croatia in July and hold their nerve?
This time the responses were less convincing, but enough to earn their first Nations League victory. Spain remain top of the three-team group and the favourites to win it, but England still have a chance of catching them and will do if Luis Enrique’s men fail to take three points in Croatia on 15 November and the Three Lions fare better at Wembley three days later.
England did not manage the game quite as they would hope to, by effectively keeping the ball, but they defended resolutely for most of the second half. They did remain a threat on the break and Sterling might well have won a penalty to round off his excellent night. And they did show signs of learning, with calmer attempts to play out when under pressure.
Rashford scored England's second goal of a first-half blitz (Source: Getty)
“People have chosen to analyse the summer as they see fit but what the players achieved was incredible,” said Southgate. “The next challenge was: can we advance, look at a new system, and look at some young players? The mentality has been outstanding and they’ve got to enjoy tonight. I’m delighted with what we’ve done, and now we have to keep building on what we’ve done in the last few months.”
England rode their luck at times. Marcos Alonso’s fourth-minute shot only stayed out because it hit an already-prone Jordan Pickford and the England goalkeeper will feel particular relief that his unnecessary attempt to dribble past Rodrigo, who he then grappled with and tackled, didn’t result in a penalty and red card.
Paco Alcacer’s 58th-minute header looked like sparking a siege, but Spain were largely kept at arm’s length until Sergio Ramos scored a vain second in the seventh minute of added time. And it must be noted that this was the youngest England team fielded this century, with an average age of 23, missing key players through injury and suspension, yet there were so many positives.
Sterling ended his three-year drought with an explosive opening goal from Rashford’s perfectly weighted pass from the left and tapped in the third when Kane hooked a fine lofted ball from Ross Barkley across the face of goal. He revealed afterwards that he had resolved to run in behind more in a bid to import his club form. On this evidence, it worked.
Besides Sterling, Rashford’s assured finish after more selfless work from Kane banished the memory of his misses in Rijeka on Friday, Harry Winks showed grace on the ball and guts off it, while Joe Gomez ensured the absence of John Stones was barely felt alongside Harry Maguire in the centre of defence.
England even showed a streetwise quality perhaps lacking a few months ago. When they were felled by challenges in the second half, Sterling, Maguire, Trippier and Kane all took their time getting to their feet, running down the clock. After Kane’s lengthy treatment, Spain captain Ramos nodded to him in respect, as if acknowledging gamesmanship well executed.
Not until the 2020 European Championships will we learn whether Southgate’s England are truly back among the best, but this was a powerful statement. The World Cup was real, tangible progress and the signs are that there is more to come.