World champions Spain punish England errors to win Nations League thriller

Sept 26 : Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner as the world champions capitalised on two calamitous England defensive errors to claim a thrilling 3-2 victory at Wembley on Saturday, in the standout fixture of the opening round of the Nations League.

Less than 10 weeks after lifting the World Cup, Spain, unbeaten in 39 games, made England pay in scoring their first two goals. 

Teen sensation Lamine Yamal struck in the second minute when Marc Guehi was caught in possession deep inside his own half. Alex Baena scored on the hour after Nico O'Reilly's misplaced pass handed possession back to the visitors.

Oyarzabal, who also got the winner against England in the 2024 European Championship final, struck the decider in the 74th minute with a clever dink over goalkeeper James Trafford.

"There are many matches within a match and we've known how to play them all at every moment," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. "England has a lot of talent to hurt at any moment, but we've controlled the game."

Spain's victory spoiled what had briefly looked like being a memorable England comeback - and a small measure of redemption after their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina.

England had turned the game on its head in a thrilling four-minute span, with Anthony Gordon's 36th-minute equaliser sparking a blistering spell that culminated in captain Harry Kane heading the hosts in front.

"We're playing against the world champions, the European champions, and we went toe-to-toe," Kane told ITV. "On another day for sure we'd have won that game."

Kane was left shaking his head though after firing a second-half penalty off the inside of the crossbar when his left foot slipped upon planting.

"Terrible start, the worst start possible,"