England's UEFA Nations League campaign began with defeat as Spain claimed a 2-1 victory at Wembley on Saturday (Sep 8).
England's Nations League campaign opened with defeat as they were beaten by Spain in their first match since the 2018 World Cup. Marcus Rashford gave England the perfect start with an 11th-minute strike from Luke Shaw's pass but Spain responded with an almost instant equaliser thanks to Saul Niguez's low finish.
Rodrigo Moreno then took advantage of poor marking at a free-kick to score the winner from close range after 32 minutes.
England suffered a blow just after half-time when Shaw was taken off on a stretcher with a head injury following an accidental collision with Dani Carvajal but they rallied late on and could have earned a draw.
David de Gea, who saved brilliantly from Rashford's header in the first half, denied his Manchester United colleague once more and England were furious Dutch referee Danny Makkelie ruled out an injury-time finish from substitute Danny Welbeck after Spain's keeper tumbled under pressure from the striker.
England were left to ponder their first competitive defeat at Wembley since they lost a Euro 2008 qualifier to Croatia in November 2007, a run stretching back 24 games - and also Gareth Southgate's first home defeat as manager.
Spain's victory sees Luis Enrique kick off a new era for Spanish football in his first game in charge.
Man of the match: Luke Shaw
