Well, that’s all from me. England have much to do if they’re going to bother the best. But I think we all knew that despite the fine qualifying run they had. Thanks for your emails and tweets. Bye.
Full-time: Spain 2-0 England
Spain were full value for the win. They dominated from beginning to end. If Roy Hodgson wanted an indication of how far his team has to go to bother the best teams in Europe, he got one. It wasn’t a full-strength England but they were way behind Spain. Even with their best players coming back it’s hard to see how they could match a team of Spain’s quality. Next up: France. Gulp.
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90+2 min: Casillas makes a smart save to deny Kane to his left. Alli picks up the loose ball but Casillas snuffs out the danger. And that’s that.
90 min: Elsewhere, in troubling news, there appears to have been an explosion at a bar near the Stade de France, where France are playing Germany.
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87 min: Spain fans are olé-ing every pass now. This is good olé-ing. It’s Spain after all and the game has been comfortably Spain’s from beginning to end. Carrick, meanwhile is stricken on the turf. He looks to have had his right ankle stood on accidentally and will need to be carried off on a stretcher. That’s a shame. He’s not had much luck of late. Shelvey will replace him.
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86 min: There’s some pathetic pushing and shoving after Alli sidefoots the ball at Alba. Nonsense.
Goal! Spain 2-0 England (Cazorla 84)
And that is a more fair reflection of Spain’s dominance. England give the ball away in midfield. Spain pick up possession. Nolito, who looks just onside, plays a first-time pass back to Cazorla after the ball was played into his feet with a neat backheel, and Cazorla angles the ball a foot outside the post with his instep and curls it an inch inside Hart’s right-hand post. A lovely goal.
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81 min: Bartra is replaced by Azpilicueta.
79 min: Dier gets his Spurs antennae twitching and plays a little reverse pass into Kane who, in the box and with his back to goal on the right-hand side, swivels and scuffs a shot across goal. He needed composure then but slipped as he rushed his effort.
77 min: Koke is on for Busquets.
75 min: Fábregas, who has been back to his sparkling best tonight, slides a ball in behind Jones for Mata, who makes a diagonal run from right to left. But that is very smart goalkeeping by Hart, who races off his line and clears just as Mata gets a toe on it.
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74 min: Roy reacts by bringing Rooney on for Barkley.
73 min: That was something special. Fábregas dinks the ball over the England defence to Mario, the Villarreal right-back who pulls off Smalling’s left shoulder and arches his back before thumping a right-footed scissor-kick into the top corner of Joe Hart’s goal, across the stricken England goalkeeper. That was incredible. And from a full-back. Who doesn’t usually play for Spain. Wow!
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Goal! Spain 1-0 England (Mario 72)
Wow!
69 min: England are pressing Spain higher up the pitch now. It’s not bothering them too much, mind – they work the ball out with a little bit of showmanship on one occasion. And then …
67 min: Spain’s defence has, at times tonight, stood off on the edge of their box. They’ve invited shots. Not great ones, but it’s still a dangerous tactic, if that’s what it is and not just laziness. Kane is afforded a bit of space this time. He has a crack from 20 yards that is sliced ever so slightly and misses by half a yard to Casillas’s left-hand post.
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65 min: Nolito has more tricks up his sleeve than a second-rate northern working men’s club magician. Every touch appears to be an illusion – the ball’s there then it’s gone. He plays Alcacer in with a backheel but the striker takes a wild swing at it and misses in the Can Can style.
64 min: Barkley’s free-kick doesn’t even get into the box. Wasteful.
61 min: Spain break. And it is a break as England have had a spell of possession. Nolito rolls his foot over the ball at the frame-speed of an old Charlie Chaplin movie and hares off into the box. He tries to get a shot away but he is crowded out. England win a free-kick inside Spain’s half on the right. But first some substitutes … Lallana and Delph off for England and Alli and Dier on. And Costa off for Spain and Mata on. Right that free-kick then …
58 min: Delph and Carrick are starting to look a little more authoratative in midfield. They play a few neat passes between one another and then Delph chips a little ball into the path of Kane, but the Spurs striker is a foot offside.
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57 min: In a shocking turn of events England keep the ball for a good 25 seconds. Smalling has enough of this nonsense, though, and hoiks it forwards and back into Spain’s possession.
54 min: You know what? That was a good corner. Yes. Lallana whipped an outswinging ball to the penalty area where Jones and Costa collided like two planets. There’s a peep of a whistle and a free-kick goes against Jones, who actually got a good chunk of forehead on it.
53 min: Kane plays the role of hold-up man brilliantly. Gathering possession midway inside the Spain half, holding off two players, and dinking a ball out of the scrum to set Barkley free in a central position. He is closed down but pops the ball off to Sterling. He jinks his way into the box but is ushered towards the byline by Alba and Bartra, who concede a corner.
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52 min: Fábregas is pulling the strings more than any other Spain player. He looks much more influential in red than blue.
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50 min: Spain play a one-two on the left to release, of all players, centre back Bartra. He hustles and bustles his way past Jones but can’t get to the ball before it zips out of play with Joe Hart closing him down where the six-yard box and byline meet on the left. But that gives you an indication of which team has started with the most attacking intent this half.
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49 min: Delph, who is full of energy, wins back possession off Mario but gives away possession just as quickly with a lazy ball intended for Kane that skids off out of play near the halfway line. Thrilling this.
47 min: Sterling races away from Fágregas, which doesn’t take much, admittedly, but then steams straight into Alba on the edge of the Spain penalty area. A moment later Sterling gives the ball away again. He’s involved at least. He’s also now over on the right hand-side with Lallana moving over to the left.
46 mins: More jokes. What is this? A talent contest? “They’re playing Money For Nothing. Is that the England’s squad’s anthem? They’re certainly in dire straits,” honks Jerry Slaff.
45 min: Nolito is on for little Andrés Iniesta, which must be a relief for England’s midfield as the little Barça player hogs the ball like a possessive but rather cute dog.
Here’s a good England. And a good National anthem too …
Half-time entertainment courtesy of Ben Raza: “Clueless, naive, snapping at opportunities to show any ideas or quality. Basically out of his depth. But enough about Ian Wright’s half-time punditry …”
Hmmm. Both teams played up to their style stereotypes. Spain have hogged the ball, England have treated it like a hot potato. That said, there haven’t been a lot of clear-cut chances for either side. And the ones England have had have been every bit as good as Spain’s. I’d bring Stones on and ask him to take charge of distribution at the back. They need someone who isn’t frightened of it back there.
Half-time: Spain 0-0 England
Chris Fowler on the Pique whistles, which calmed down a bit towards the end of the half: “Whatever the original reason for people booing Gerard Piqué, there are two main reasons that it still happens: the media fan the matter for all they’re worth, with whole sections of the TV news sports sections dedicated to whether he gets booed, asking people if they’re in favour or not, etc; and the fact that a lot of eejits go to football matches.”
45 min: Alcacer has a scruffy effort but it’s not bothering Hart. And that’s your lot. Peep!
43 min: England do a Spain! Sterling and Delph play a return pass down the left. Lallana and Sterling then play some triangle passes in the penalty area, drawing Spanish defenders into them before popping the ball off to the penalty spot for Kane to strike, under pressure, at goal. But his left-footed effort is reflective of his August-September Spurs form and not the good stuff of recent weeks. It’s weak, left-footed, and wide.
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40 min: Alba looks to play the ball inside to Busquets. But he slips and Delph pounces on the loose ball. He drills a shot low and hard straight at Casillas, who takes the sting out of the strike before gathering at the second attempt. There’s hope for England, in that they have had attempts on goal. Just not clear-cut ones.
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38 min: Glenn Hoddle is desperate for England to do what Spain are doing (ie. keep possession with consummate ease), which is just impossible given the team they have out there. Carrick is dropping deeper to try and play out from the back in a way that seems beyond Smalling and Jones. The full-backs aren’t showing enough in my opinion. They don’t seem to want the ball. This is hardly breaking news, though, I realise that.
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36 min: Joe Hart’s not getting a Christmas card off Matt Dony. “Joe Hart is, admittedly, a talented goalkeeper, and doesn’t necessarily seem any less grounded or gracious than most other professional footballers. But, there’s just something about him. I don’t think I would ever get tired of slapping him, to the point where it colours my view of whatever team he’s playing in. Irrational? Probably. But I don’t care. And he can chuff off with his shampoo nonsense as well.”
34 min: England have had a decent 10 minutes. That’s not saying much as they’ve had a rank average 24 minutes before it. Kane spins and shoots, 10 yards out, but his shot is blocked and then bobbles through to Casillas, who gathers gratefully. By hook or by crook, England have got a toe back in this game.
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31 min: Barkley turns up the volume. He spins off his marker in midfield and, as is his wont, powers towards the Spain penalty area. Seeing that no one seems particularly keen to close him down, he has a go with his right foot from 20 yards. It’s low and reasonably well hit, but also a yard wide. That was better from the Everton midfielder.
30 min: Fábregas plays a lovely pass to Costa, who pulls away from Jones 20 yards out. He gathers possession, and under pressure, curls a shot just over and wide of Hart’s left-hand post.
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29 min: Sterling is finding a little bit more room to manoeuvre now. He’s the most likely England player to unlock the Spain defence. Lallana and Barkley have been particularly quiet.
28 min: Alcacer finds space on the right corner of the England penalty area. He looks up at Hart and hits a shot towards his far post, but it’s an agnostic effort. The pace of this match is picking up.
26 min: A chance! For England! Carrick nicks possession in midfield and finds Sterling midway inside Spain’s half. The Man City winger motors on 15 yards and waits for Bertrand to overlap on his left. The full-back curls a low, inviting ball into the corridor of uncertainty, but Kane is just a yard away from it. Would have been a tap-in. Best move of the match for England. Not that that is saying much.
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25 min: Thiago has gone down with a knock or strain or something. Hodgson is bawling a few instructions out at his team. For all that England have been bad, Spain’s pressing has been incredibly effective. Jürgen Klopp will be recording this for a screening at Melwood. Thiago is crocked. He’s replaced by Cazorla.
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24 min: Spain have had 75% possession. I thought it was more, to be honest. That’s how bad England have been. What is Roy learning from all this? The old English disease is alive and well?
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21 min: England give the ball away. Surprised? And Diego Costa picks up possession, spins Jones, but the Man Utd defender recovers to deflect Costa’s shot out for a corner. There’s a melée after the resulting cross and the ball skitters out a yard wide of Hart’s right-hand post.
19 min: Pop, pop, pop. Fábregas and Alba dissect the space between Walker and Jones and try to work a through-ball towards Costa but Smalling is alert and the threat is snuffed out. Here’s Rob Clay: “I’ll tell you what this game needs. The dynamic duo of midfield pressing that is Delle Alli and Eric Dier. Soon sort out Spain’s tiki-taka.”
18 min: A whistling update from Barney Ronay.
Not all the Spain fans are whistling Pique. Many on the far side applauding when he gets the ball. Odd scenes.
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) November 13, 2015
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15 min: Pique almost silences the whistling mob by cutting out a pass towards Sterling and then having a pop at goal from 25 yards that takes a deflection and bounces a yard wide of Joe Hart’s right-hand post. Thiago then does a couple of keepy-uppies in midfield to make Delph and Carrick look daft and win a free-kick off the Man Utd midfielder’s mis-timed tackle.
13 min: Delph surges forwards, in the hurly-burly old-English style, nicking the ball away from Bartra on the edge of the penalty area but then running into Pique. Spain still look completely untroubled by what England have to offer, though, which is the odd burst now and then but nothing much else. Meanwhile, Spain are getting into their groove.
10 min: Another take on the booing of Pique. Anthony Ashworth says it is to do with the the Barcelona defender speaking out in support of Catalan independence.
9 min: Thiago shows some nifty footwork on the right, dangling the carrot in front of Bertrand, before pulling it away again and drilling a cross towards the front post that Smalling clears.
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7 min: Well, that was more promising for England. Some good hold-up play by Kane as he worked the ball back to Walker. He squirted the ball through to Lallana, who popped it off to Sterling on his left. The little forward scurried towards the Spain penalty area and drilled over from 20 yards. Barkley’s encouraged by that. He has a go from similar distance a moment later, but his weak left-footed effort isn’t bothering anyone, apart from himself.
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5 min: I think England have touched the ball about five times. This could be an exercise in shuttle-running for Roy’s boys. Spain are utterly dominant and slick in possession.
3 min: Pique is being whistled by the majority of the crowd, who despite not being in Madrid, appear to have a beef with the Barcelona player for having a dig at Real Madrid during Barça’s trophy parade last season.
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1 min: Spain set the tone by keeping possession for a full minute with Busquets and Thiago orchestrating things deep in midfield. Fábregas is set free on the left, but Smalling ushers him – and the ball– out of play. England have a goal-kick and a touch of the ball.
Peep! Paolo Mazzoleni blows his whistle really hard … and we’re under way in Alicante, a very nice city. I’ve been. Great market.
The teams trot out. There’s a rousing rendition of God Save the Queen. Well, Benidorm is only just up the road I suppose. Marcha Real is belted out around this little rickety ground too. Lots of flag waving ensues and we’re almost ready for some football. Are you ready? Good.
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Charles Antaki isn’t that impressed with Spain’s attackers: “On the day that Spain icon Raúl is reported to have decided to hang up his boots, the best his old team can field are Paco Alcácer and Diego Costa. Rapier exchanged for fake pistol and neutron bomb respectively. Not much of a swap.”
Roy Hodgson speaks: “The challenge is to be well organised defensively. We won;t be able to stifle them completely because they are so good. We’ll have to try to play a counterattacking system too.” He’s looking for Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana to attack with pace when they win back possession. They’ll be set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation up against Spain’s 4-3-3.
Another fan of the stadium …
Great stadium in Alicante. Looks like a goblin-scale version of the Vicente Calderon
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) November 13, 2015
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Lee Dixon says he is looking forward to “watching England without the ball tonight”. He’ll likely get to see a lot of that. Spain are in transition but they still have a team of ball players who are very comfortable in possession. Del Bosque has obviously not chosen his team on form, though, given that Cesc Fábregas starts. Costa too. He’ll have a point to prove. He always has a point to prove.
There appeared to be a bit of confusion as to whether Alcacer or Koke was starting for Spain but the official teamsheet, courtesy of a tweet from @coveringfutbol, helps clear that up. It is Alcacer. And a look at the two starting XIs makes you feel that an experimental England team will have to play out of their skins to get a rare win on Spanish soil.
Official teamsheet should clear up Koke / Alcacer confusion. Koke warming up with subs, Paco with starters: pic.twitter.com/lBgTBkxhLz
— Covering Futbol (@coveringfutbol) November 13, 2015
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Some history …
The two nations have met 23 times. England have won 12, Spain have won eight and there have been three draws. The last time they faced each other was at Wembley, in 2011, when a Frank Lampard strike gave England an unlikely 1-0 win in a game in which Spain had about 97% possession. Fabio Capello was still in charge then. Seems a long time ago doesn’t it?
The last time England won in Spain was 28 years ago. And what a friendly that was. Gary Lineker, a resident at Camp Nou at the time, scored four times in a barnstorming performance in Madrid to seal a 4-2 win for Bobby Robson’s side. That kind of entertainment would be very welcome tonight.
Tonight's cast
Spain: Casillas, Mario, Pique, Bartra, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Thiago, Iniesta, Fabregas, Costa, Alcacer. Subs: De Gea, Azpilicueta, Morata, Koke, Pedro, Mata, Nacho, De Marcos, San Jose, Cazorla, Nolito, Sergio Rico.
England: Hart, Walker, Jones, Smalling, Bertrand, Delph, Carrick, Lallana, Barkley, Sterling, Kane. Subs: Butland, Clyne, Stones, Dier, Cahill, Gibbs, Shelvey, Rooney, Alli, Heaton.
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (Italy)
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Preamble
Evening. So this is the start of England’s big run up to the European Championships. And it’s a testing one too. Risky Roy has chosen Spain, France, Germany and Holland as opponents. If there are any creases he feels need ironing out on the way to France 2016 this lot should emphatically find them. England come into the game with 10 wins from 10 in qualifying. Impressive, but they haven’t faced a team anywhere near the quality of Vicente Del Bosque’s European champions. They’re looking smooth again. They’re pop, pop, popping the ball around with the confidence and verve of their pre-World Cup 2014 days. They’ve found a groove and they’re sticking to it. Five wins, five clean sheets in their last five. Yes, they’re dancing.
Roy Hodgson still fancies having a tinker with his squad, mind. He’s resting Wayne Rooney for this. Something he wants the world to know is not down to the player’s form having fallen off a cliff this season and just a decision to give one of his other strikers a chance to impress. “Wayne and I are very anxious that we’re not trying to fool anybody or bamboozle anybody when he’s sat alongside me. That’s for the very simple reason that we’re looking at various combinations and it will be good for me to see how various combinations are developing. At the front we’ve got Wayne and Jamie, we’ve got Harry and Ross Barkley, there are combinations there that interest me.”
Jamie Vardy hasn’t been deemed fit enough to start, which is a real shame, as he’d have brought more devilish energy to Alicante than the average 20-strong stag-do does. So that other striker will have to be Harry Kane, then. Not a bad time for the Spurs striker to be brought in. He’s scored six in four games. Oof!
And you know what’s going to make this friendly seem a little punchier than the average one? The fact it’s not being played in a massive stadium such as Wembley or the Bernebéu, where it was initially penciled in for. The Estadio José Rico Pérez is a tight little ground that is expected to draw a feverish crowd who don’t get to see their heroes out in this neck of the woods too often. This may well crackle and fizz. As will Diego Costa, if he starts for Spain.
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I’ll be back shortly with the team news.
My prediction: Spain 3-2 England.
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