Roy Keane sees a gap between England and Spain after 3-2 Wembley defeat

Roy Keane believes a gap remains between England and Spain. His disagreement with Anthony Gordon came after the world champions’ 3-2 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s side in their Nations League opener at Wembley.

England had nevertheless led 2-1 before half-time, with Harry Kane heading home after Gordon’s equaliser from a superb counter-attack. England scored twice in four minutes just before the break, more goals than Spain conceded during the entire World Cup. Gordon felt the display should have been enough to win and showed England are a top team.

The turning point, however, came after Kane’s slip and his missed second-half penalty. Substitute Alex Baena equalised before setting up the decisive goal for another substitute, Mikel Oyarzabal, who had already scored against England in the Euro 2024 final. Spain’s unbeaten run now stands at 39 matches.

Spain had opened the scoring in the second minute, when Lamine Yamal capitalised on a Marc Guehi error. Their equaliser was also caused by an England turnover following a misplaced pass. Thomas Tuchel said his team had made too many clear mistakes and that Spain had been more clinical and composed in the final 20 metres, turning lost balls into clear-cut chances.

According to Rob Dorsett, Spain could have extended their lead in the opening 30 minutes, before the fact they were only one goal ahead gave England hope. He highlighted the 10-minute spell in which Gordon and then Kane turned the game around, while judging that the missed penalty revived Spain: Baena’s and Oyarzabal’s goals were, in his view, a decisive and deserved response. He also described the scenario as a captain’s slip and a memorable victory that slipped away from England.

Gordon said he did not see a gap to Spain, insisting that England were “right there”, and added that a converted penalty could have taken his side to victory. He also said he would have approached a final against Spain with confidence, while acknowledging that confidence does not guarantee a win.

Keane replied that he disagreed with the England forward. In his view, there is a gap, noting that Spain are both world champions and European champions.

Tuchel said his side had “done everything” to beat Spain and had their chance to do so. He explained that England thought they had their opponents at half-time and desperately wanted to be the team that ended their run. But he regretted that the same issues had happened too often, with the opponents showing top-level execution and composure in the final 20 metres.

Luis de la Fuente felt Spain had controlled the match apart from six or seven minutes of English dominance before half-time. Against a “superpower” such as England, his team had become disconnected, he admitted, while maintaining that Spain had broadly remained in control.

For Dorsett, the defeat contains some merit for Tuchel’s England, but a gulf in class remains.