Spain defeat England in Nations League

Follow-up – Al-Wasat Iraqi newspaper

The Spain national team, world champions, secured an exciting victory over hosts England 3-2 on Saturday evening at Wembley Stadium in London, in the opening matchday of the top tier of the UEFA Nations League.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the second minute after capitalizing on a possession error by Manchester City defender Marc Guehi, stealing the ball and racing into the penalty area before finishing past goalkeeper James Trafford.

After a spell of missed chances by Spain, Barcelona winger Anthony Gordon leveled in the 36th minute when he exchanged passes with Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid midfielder, on a counterattack before advancing and firing past Unai Simón.

Four minutes later, Bayern Munich star Harry Kane put England ahead 2-1 with a header that struck Real Madrid full-back Marc Cucurella and hit the net after the latter failed to clear it, in the 40th minute.

At the start of the second half the hosts were awarded a penalty, but Harry Kane missed after stumbling; he struck the ball with both feet and it hit the crossbar, a moment that proved a turning point in the match.

Just six minutes after the Bayern star missed the penalty, substitute Álex Baena restored Spain's parity with a powerful strike from outside the box, before the same player provided an assist that fellow substitute Mikel Oyarzabal converted for the third goal in the 74th minute, giving the visitors the win with a superb shot over goalkeeper Trafford.

England pushed hard in the closing minutes to find an equalizer, and goalkeeper Unai Simón saved a powerful shot from Bellingham, before the referee blew the final whistle to confirm a 3-2 Spanish win.