• Rashford 11; Saúl 13, Rodrigo 32
If nothing else, England’s footballers were spared the kind of treatment they might have anticipated in more mutinous times. In the warm afterglow of the summer’s World Cup, this was no time for rancour and recriminations and it was a sympathetic reaction at the final whistle. No matter that England had lost their first competitive fixture at Wembley since the now-infamous ordeal against Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifying stages, or that this is the first time they have been beaten in three successive matches for even longer – Euro 88, to be precise.
Equally, Gareth Southgate must know the feelgood factor will dissipate quickly if his team continue to find the European Nations League so problematic. Once again, we were reminded of their difficulties when it comes to overcoming the elite nations. It was hardly the kind of homecoming that Southgate must have wanted and the fact England led early on, courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s goal, will merely increase the manager’s frustrations.
Written by Daniel Taylor at Wembley
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/sep/08/england-spain-nations-league-match-report under the title “Rodrigo consigns England to defeat by Spain in first post-World Cup match”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
