England record memorable victory over Spain after Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling strike
England ran riot by scoring three first-half goals to stun Spain and earn a 3-2 away win in the Nations League on Monday as they moved back into contention in League A Group 4 with their first victory on Spanish soil for 31 years.
Raheem Sterling gave England the lead against the run of play in the 16th minute by finishing off a swift counter-attack and Marcus Rashford fired into the top corner for the second on the half-hour after a superb pass from captain Harry Kane.
Sterling, who had not got an England goal for three years, struck again from another Kane assist to give Gareth Southgate's side a big halftime lead against Spain, who had scored 12 goals in their last three games and beat England 2-1 last month.
Spain hit back with a header by substitute Paco Alcacer just before the hour and were almost gifted another goal after an error from Jordan Pickford although the keeper managed to tackle Rodrigo Moreno, sparking fierce penalty appeals from the hosts.
Captain Sergio Ramos got a second for Spain with a diving header in the eighth minute of added time with the last action of the match, leaving his side tasting their first defeat over 90 minutes since they were beaten 2-0 by Italy in Euro 2016.
That's all from us here tonight. Make sure you stay tuned to The Independent for all the reaction, fallout and analysis from tonight's game in Seville.
I've been Harry Latham-Coyle - thank you for joining me.
Harry Winks will be replaced by Nathaniel Chalobah, who makes his England debut. A proud moment for the Watford midfielder who has come right the way through the youth setups.
No word on added time just yet, but we are into however long has been added to the game.
Balls flying across the England box as if the full-backs are playing ping-pong.
Dani Ceballos' stab goalwards hits his own man.
Marcus Rashford surges away and Nacho slides in to prevent him making further headway. Dani Ceballos is booked for trying unsuccessfully to slice Rashford down as he looked to break.
An intriguing second change from Gareth Southgate: a swap at right-wing back, with Trent Alexander-Arnold entering the game in place of Kieran Trippier.
Trippier looks shattered. A solid and hard-working night from him.
Thiago is forced into a speculative low drive trying to beat Jordan Pickford at the near post but it rolls a couple of yards to the right of Pickford's right-hand post.
Paco Alcacer whips what appears to be a cross to the far post with some venom and curl. In actuality, the ball is flying towards the far corner and Jordan Pickford has to be alert to parry the ball down and reclaim on the bounce.
Jonny sends Ben Chilwell flying almost back to England after lining up the cross, cutting inside. His cross is headed to Paco Alcacer but the Dortmund striker slices wildly and the ball doesn't even go out of play.
Kyle Walker will be Gareth Southgate's first change. Ross Barkley goes off, so presumably some reorganisation. To a 3-4-3, with Walker at right centre-back, perhaps?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Main Event channel from 7pm. Highlights will be shown on the Sky Sports Football channel at midnight.
It’s a big game for…
Jordan Henderson – The latest crisis to form a cloud over the England football team concerns the lack of a quality passers, and with opposite numbers such as Isco and Saul so fluid on the ball that criticism has only intensified. However, while the likes of James Maddison have been called up to attempt to address that problem, it will be up to the more experienced heads, such as Liverpool’s Henderson, to guide the younger stars as England look to rebuild their midfield.
Remember when…
England’s last visit to Spain will not serve as any inspiration to Gareth Southgate, but nonetheless it took two special strikes from current Villarreal players to defeat the Three Lions. Mario Gaspar acrobatically diverted a lofted Sergio Busquets pass into the top corner, before Santi Cazorla, an Arsenal player at the time, deceived Joe Hart to beat him at his near post and secure victory in Alicante. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Qkr3Sz8qk
Player to watch…
Paco Alcacer – The Spaniard ended his Barcelona exile by joining Borussia Dortmund on loan in the summer and the forward has not looked back since. His double against Wales took his tally to nine goals in five games in all competitions, and therefore England’s defence will have to be aware of the former Valencia forward.
Past three-meetings…
England 1 (Rashford) Spain 2 (Saul, Rodrigo), UEFA Nations League, September 2018
England 2 (Lallana pen, Vardy) Spain 2 (Aspas, Isco), International Friendly, November 2016
Spain 2 (Gaspar, Cazorla) England 0, International Friendly, November 2015
Form guide…
Spain: WDLWWW
England: WWLLLW
Odds…
Spain to win: 4/5
England to win: 17/5
Draw: 5/2
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
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