Spain Beat England 3-2 At Wembley In Nations League Opener

Spain came from behind twice to beat England 2-3 at Wembley on 26 September 2026 in their opening UEFA Nations League Group A3 match, with Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal on the scoresheet for the visitors and Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane replying for England.¹⁵⁸

A rapid start and a late twist

Yamal opened the scoring within two minutes after pouncing on a Marc Guehi mistake, a strike said to rank as the third-fastest England have shipped at Wembley. England responded through Anthony Gordon after a team move, before Harry Kane headed them in front via a deflection off Marc Cucurella.¹⁴⁵

Ten minutes into the second half Kane was awarded a penalty after Rodri was judged to have fouled Jude Bellingham, but his effort struck the crossbar, with one account saying he slipped on a divot as he struck the ball. Alex Baena, introduced from the bench, then equalised for Spain before Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner with 16 minutes remaining.⁴⁵⁷

A misplaced pass by Nico O'Reilly was also cited as contributing to Spain doubling their advantage during the match, according to Goal.com.⁴

Tuchel's reaction

Goal.com reported that England were the better team after the opening ten to twelve minutes and dominated possession despite conceding early, though only Spain's third goal was described as truly earned through creative play, with the other two attributed to individual errors.⁴⁶⁷

Racing Post reported that Tuchel rejected any suggestion that Guehi's mistake was connected to Manchester City's impending punishment; per Yahoo Sports, the Premier League had ruled the day before the game that City broke its financial regulations.²⁶

Yamal draws international praise

International media coverage focused heavily on Yamal's performance. The Guardian wrote that "No podías apartar los ojos de Lamine mientras los cambios ofensivos de Luis de la Fuente daban resultado", and described how he "Se deshizo de Guéhi, se quedó completamente solo y consiguió que la definición ante James Trafford pareciera fácil".³

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente praised Yamal's display against England, and The National marvelled at what the teenager has achieved at such a young age, suggesting he now operates on another level entirely. Yamal himself explained that he sometimes loses concentration but other times seizes opportunities, recalling how he found himself one-on-one and was able to finish, and he added that few players stir as much emotion in spectators as he does.³⁸

Spanish newspapers hailed the result in their headlines, with La Vanguardia declaring "Spain destroy Wembley" and Marca writing "Olé and the return of the world champions at Wembley", while El Periódico said "Lamine outshone Kane".⁴

Standings and what comes next

The win stretched Spain's unbeaten sequence to 39 matches, a mark geosuper.tv called a European record, and De la Fuente said Spain had been in command for most of the contest and were confident they could have rallied even if trailing 3-1. The victory came in what Racing Post reported as De la Fuente's 50th match in charge of Spain, with a record of 38 wins, 10 draws and 2 losses.⁵²

Betting markets moved after the match, with Spain's odds to win the Nations League shortened from 3-1 to 11-4 and their Euro 2028 odds cut from 4-1 to 7-2 by one bookmaker, according to Racing Post, while another firm pushed England's odds to win their group out from 11-8 to 3-1. In the other Group A3 fixture, Croatia beat Czech Republic 2-1. Spain's next match is against Croatia, while England travel to face the Czech Republic.²⁴⁵