Glory night for Southgate and young England
The Nations League was only intended as a mild diversion from the dreary rounds of international friendless, but by the end of 97 exhilarating minutes in Seville, Gareth Southgate’s young England team were entitled to feel differently about how they can play and what they might achieve.
This game in Uefa’s new competition ended with Sergio Ramos scoring a goal with the very last touch, although even the man who has often been able to burst just about anyone’s balloon was unable to bend this occasion to his will.
Perhaps it was the Nations League that gave this game its edge and certainly Southgate’s players responded, beating one of the world’s finest football nations on their own soil – Spain’s first defeat in a competitive home game since June 2003.
They did so as the youngest England XI to be selected since 1959, with Kieran Trippier, at 28, the oldest player and Raheem Sterling, who scored his first two England goals in more than three years, its most capped with 46. They shredded Spain on the counter-attack, the second coming from Marcus Rashford, in an approach honed to take the few chances they knew they would get. By half-time England had less than 30 per cent of the possession and all three goals.
It was an extraordinary first 45 minutes, a compelling game in which it was clear that their quality had to be of the highest if England were to survive what was to come – and what was to come was a relentless second half pursuit from Spain. They scored through the substitute Paco Alcacer and then Ramos with a header in the seventh minute of time added on, a chase that was so intense that it might have been easy to forget what had gone before.
That was an attacking sensation from England who made peace with their long periods out of possession and then seized the moments they had it, with a masterclass from Harry Kane, who showed the kind of resilience every great centre-forward needs. The England captain went to war with Ramos and his Real Madrid defensive partner Nacho and it was Kane who won, leaving the two centre-halves for the most part out-fought and out of position, however hard they tried.
Later Southgate would acknowledge that an 11th-minute sliding tackle by Eric Dier that cleaned-out Ramos in the Spain penalty area was part of establishing the mentality that this was not a game in which reputations could be allowed to dominate. “We know Ramos and [Sergio] Busquets will run the game if you let them,” Southgate said, so England refused to allow it.
Dier was booked for the challenge but only, it seemed, because the Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was just not accustomed to seeing that sort of thing.
No one would say that this Spain team are flawed, indeed with 73 per cent of the possession you could say that they are perfectly set up to carry the tradition of their predecessors. It was just that even while the likes of Thiago Alcantara ran much of the game, England had learned the lessons of their Wembley defeat last month – when really they should have snatched a late draw – a sure sign of a team that are capable of growing.
They took risks, none more so than Jordan Pickford who was fundamental in the first two goals with his swift and decisive distribution to bypass the Spanish midfield. Southgate would chuckle later at his goalkeeper’s attempt to Cruyffturn his way out of trouble later when Rodrigo Moreno bore down on him in the box. In the tangle that ensued Spain might have had a penalty and perhaps even a red card for Pickford, but England survived.
In defence there was another performance from Joe Gomez that confirms him as a young player of uncommon talent, always finding a way to block or stop or slow down the attack. To his left side was Harry Maguire and his Leicester City team-mate Ben Chilwell, winning his third cap for England and another one of those young Englishmen for whom this night will have been confirmation he belongs at this level.
Viva the Nations League – although in the end this was Sterling’s night. His first goal for his country in 1,102 days swept past David De Gea in the blink of an eye.
Pickford’s quickly struck ball to Kane went to Rashford on the left who produced a right-footed pass that spilt Spain’s defence and gave Sterling the run on goal.
The second was a long punt from Pickford when Spain had crowded up which left Kane receiving a ball over his shoulder with Ramos and Nacho converging on him. The England captain’s strength and touch meant that he got the ball where he wanted it. His pass eluded three Spain defenders, and Rashford’s first touch set the ball before a perfect finish past De Gea.
There was a dreadful error from Busquets in the build-up which gave the initiative to England for the third. Ross Barkley spread the ball to the right and Kane again provided the final pass, cutting the ball back for Sterling to arrive in the area and finish.
There is still a chance that England could win their Nations League group and progress to the finals next summer. Spain must go to Zagreb now and beat Croatia to put an end to that prospect. You would not bet against them doing so although there were other records that tumbled on this night. It was the first time Spain had conceded three goals in a home competitive game and, while they responded in impressive fashion, this was something new for them.
As they came at England in the second half, Southgate switched back to 3-5-2. He still found time to give Nathaniel Chalobah his England debut as if it had been longplanned. The 23-year-old stepped into one of the most frantic defensive actions he will have ever been part of, but when the referee blew for full-time as Ramos headed back to restart the game, it had all been worth it.