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England will hope the positivity of their 2018 World Cup campaign seeps into their first ever Nations League campaign with the Three Lions due to host Spain at Wembley on Saturday night.
While the ultimate permutations of the competition still remain somewhat puzzling, it’s already clear that there will be a higher level of competitiveness than a traditional friendly – and that England and Spain should put on an entertaining game.
But Saturday’s opponents enter this fixture on a much sourer note, having again exited the World Cup early and subsequently appointed Luis Enrique to usher in a new era.
So, will Spain start it off with a win or can Southgate keep the good times rolling for England? Our match preview covers everything you need to know ahead of the Wembley clash…
What History Tells Us
It’s England who boast the stronger head-to-head record in this fixture, with four more wins and 15 more goals, but much of that dominance stems from a twenty-year spell between 1960 and 1980 when the Three Lions won all seven of their encounters with Spain. In contrast, England have managed just one win from the last six meetings, with four of those defeats adding to Spain’s haul of an impressive nine clean sheets.
The situation in terms of recent history, meanwhile, is somewhat reversed. Whereas three of Spain’s four trophies have all come since 2008, it’s England who are currently higher in the FIFA rankings after reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup. Spain crashed out in the Round of 16 to hosts Russia and are now entering a new era which is very much caught in a transition between two generations of talent.
Key Player Focus – The Left-Backs
The wing-back berths are a vital element of the functionality of Southgate’s 3-1-4-2 system and with Ashley Young dropped from the latest squad, the Spain clash is a vital chance for Luke Shaw to establish himself as the preferred choice on the left-hand side.
Despite Manchester United’s difficult start to the campaign he’s been in fantastic form this term, bouncing back from the struggles of the last few years to create eight chances, win seven takes and make five interceptions in four Premier League outings – while hitting the net against Leicester on the opening weekend. It’s a huge opportunity for a player who no doubt has the talent to be an England regular, but has lacked the fitness and consistency to justify such a role.
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That being said, the introduction of Marcos Alonso feels like an important one for Spain too. With Jordi Alba out of Enrique’s squad seemingly due to their frosty personal relationship, the Chelsea man is essentially auditioning to replace the Barcelona defender on a long-term basis.
He could be a key ingredient in Enrique’s mission to make Spain a far more dynamic side too and has been unstoppable going forward so far this term – one goal and two assists in the Premier League is an acceptable season-long return for a defender, let alone grabbing that in just four games.
Team News
We may only be one game on from England’s World Cup heroics but Football FanCast are already anticipating some changes from the starting XI Southgate stuck to so religiously in Russia. One of those has been imposed upon the Three Lions with Raheem Sterling withdrawing through injury and Jamie Vardy retiring – leaving Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford as the only obvious candidate to partner Harry Kane up front. Southgate, meanwhile, has forced one himself by essentially swapping Young for Shaw – who looks set to start over Tottenham’s Danny Rose.
Perhaps the more surprising change comes on the other flank. Joe Gomez is a firm favourite of Southgate’s and may well have started for England at the World Cup had he not been injured.
The youngster is fit once again and impressing for Liverpool, so considering how naturally suited he is to the right centre-back berth, he may end up completing England’s back three alongside John Stones and Harry Maguire. Walker, meanwhile, could then replace Kieran Trippier at right wing-back in a revised role for the Manchester City star, leaving both Tottenham defenders on the bench.
Spain’s lineup, on the other hand, requires a little more guesswork simply because Enrique will have his own ideas on how to set the team, especially now that David Silva, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique have all hung up their boots.
That being said, although there is certainly the potential for Enrique to employ the back three system he used frequently at Barcelona, we’re expecting more evolution than revolution, with the shape of the team largely staying in tact from the World Cup.
Alvaro Morata should get the nod up front despite scoring just two goals for Chelsea since the turn of 2018 – he’s a more conventional centre-forward than Rodrigo and Iago Aspas and has a decent scoring record for Spain with 13 in 23 outings – while Real Madrid duo Isco and Marco Asensio will operate in close support, drifting inward from wider starting points. David De Gea should keep his place, although there’s plenty of popularity behind world-record goalkeeper Kepa starting instead.