Spain 2 England 0
Once again, England were reminded of their own shortcomings as soon as the standard of opposition goes up a notch. Roy Hodgson's team still have to learn the importance of taking care of the ball in these fixtures and they left a clear sense of deja vu in their wake.
Ten straight wins in qualifying for Euro 2016 have been followed by a clear defeat on the first occasion they played one of Europe’s leading nations and by now, it all seems terribly repetitive.
If there is one consolation for England, it is that they did avoid this match turning into the kind of chastening experience that was threatened during those opening stages.
Hodgson’s players could hardly get a kick in those moments and after a difficult start they did at least play with a degree of composure during the middle part of the match. Ultimately, though, the moments of high quality all came from Vicente del Bosque’s side, most notably in the form of a wonderfully taken opening goal from their right-back, Mario Pérez.
The defender’s spinning volley was the outstanding moment of a night when Spain clocked up their seventh successive win and England were beaten for the first time since the World Cup. Santi Cazorla added the second goal and it was difficult not to leave with the feeling that England’s run of victories has been slightly deceptive given the moderate standard of opposition.
To put it into context, this was a Spain side that could not even shoehorn Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla, Pedro Rodríguez and, most bewilderingly, David de Gea into their starting XI. The electronic scoreboard at one end of this roofless stadium, with the bats fluttering in the night sky, had almost ticked into its second minute before an England player touched the ball.
New challenge
The tone had been set and, having breezed through their Euro 2016 qualifying programme, this was a new challenge for Hodgson’s men, chasing the ball and enduring long passages where the bottom line was that the other side were vastly superior on the ball. For England there were times when their efforts to get it back were almost as futile as the attempts by the Spain supporters to get the away end to join in with the Mexican wave.
More alarmingly, there was also a tendency early-on, when England did get the ball, to give it straight back to their opponents with remarkable alacrity. It is the lack of refinement in possession that can be startling and the tendency to rush passes.
Spain, in stark contrast, make possession look easy. They passed, they moved and they looked up to see where the next pass was. At one point in the first half, Hodgson came to the edge of the technical area and seemed to be biting his nails.
The imbalance of talent was considerable and all the while there was also the distinct feeling that Spain were operating within themselves and that if the mood took them they might just really start to try.
Sergio Busquets and Paco Alcácer both flashed shots wide of Joe Hart’s right-hand post during the opening exchanges. Diego Costa aimed for the other side of the goal and curled his effort just over, but if there was one criticism of Spain it was that all their stylish interaction often broke down on the edge of the penalty area.
One of Cesc Fàbregas’s great qualities has always been his ability to run beyond defenders but that has not been so evident this year. Thiago Alcântara had to off with an injury after 26 minutes and during that break, as the Bayern Munich midfielder was treated, there was an emergency huddle of the England players in front of their dugout.
Spain temporarily lost their rhythm and for all their possession, Hart did not have a great deal to do inside the opening 45 minutes.
Half chances
England, to give them their due, did also create a couple of half-chances during the closing stages of that half. These tended to originate on the left, with Ryan Bertrand keen to break forward from his full-back position.
Bertrand often doubled up with Raheem Sterling on Mario, and Fabien Delph should be better for his first start since damaging a hamstring in the opening 10 seconds of the game against Switzerland in September.
For the most part, however, there was not a great deal of opportunity during that period for Ross Barkley and Harry Kane to build their understanding on the night when Hodgson started with Wayne Rooney on the bench and Hart wearing the captain’s armband.
England’s players might have been grateful that Andrès Iniesta did not come back out again after half-time. The pace of the game had dropped by that stage, although his replacement, Nolito, did occasionally cause problems for Kyle Walker on Spain’s left.
Otherwise, England had started to look relatively comfortable. Costa seemed to be on his best behaviour, perhaps surprisingly so from the perspective of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, who were seldom troubled by the Chelsea player before his 64th-minute substitution. John Stones and Gary Cahill are expected to start against France but Hodgson is entitled to think the Smalling-Jones partnership coped admirably.
After 72 minutes, however, Fàbregas dinked a little pass over Mario's shoulder and the right-back, coming inside Bertrand, turned elegantly to redirect the ball with a diagonal volley into the far corner of the goal. It was a tremendous strike but Spain's second goal was a scruffy one to concede, Cazorla picking his spot to beat Hart before England's goalkeeper, angrily demanding an offside, was booked for dissent. Guardian Service
SPAIN: Casillas, Mario, Pique, Bartra (Azpilicueta 82), Jordi Alba, Busquets (Koke 78), Thiago (Cazorla 27), Iniesta (Nolito 46), Fabregas, Costa (Mata 63), Alcacer (Pedro 74). Subs Not Used: De Gea, Morata, Nacho, De Marcos, San Jose, Sergio Rico. Goals: Mario 72, Cazorla 84.
ENGLAND: Hart,Walker, Jones, Smalling (Cahill 85), Bertrand, Delph (Dier 63), Carrick (Shelvey 90), Lallana (Alli 63), Barkley (Rooney 73), Sterling, Kane. Subs Not Used: Butland, Clyne, Stones, Gibbs, Heaton. Booked: Hart.
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (Italy).
