England 1-2 Spain: Nations League match report

England - Spain match report

Luis Enrique's first game in charge of Spain was a mixed bag of sometimes exceptional, sometimes unsure football and three points following a scare at the end after his side beat England 2-1 at Wembley in the Nations League.

The Spain manager made six changes from the one that Fernando Hierro started in the World Cup opener against Portugal during the summer in what looks to be a brand new era with a slightly different style. In came Alonso, Nacho, Saul, Aspas, Thiago and Rodrigo as various players bowed out due to retirement, personal reasons, and in Jordi Alba and Koke's case, being dropped.

The former Barcelona boss said it was all about evolution and not revolution before the game and said that the objective was to stop being so predictable. He is a feisty character and his players had to show plenty of their own unwillingness to back down after England took an early lead through Marcus Rashford.

The ball was slipped through by Luke Shaw and Rashford poked home. That came after 11 minutes and the World Cup hangover got worse before it was about to get better.

Just two minutes later was all it would take, in fact, when Saul Niguez sent a shot home from a ball that was squared to him by Rodrigo. That came after an incisive run by Carvajal down the right hand side. If he was sloppy earlier for the Rashford goal, he was straight to the point with his attack for the leveller.

Spain were actively trying to not be predictable with more high pressing, switching of the play, shots from distance to avoid overplaying the ball and being caught on the counter and more direct football in general even if there was some confusion in their play.

They turned the tie on its head on 32 minutes when Rodrigo poked a shot home on the bounce from a lovely lofted free from the left. Spain were ahead and England's 24 game unbeaten streak at Wembley was under serious threat.

That threat did not lessen in the second half to start as Spain held the ball for long periods and made the hosts work hard to even think about winning it back. The game was stopped for the guts of ten minutes when Luke Shaw took a heavy blow to the head and had to be stretchered off as the Manchester United man continues to struggle through unfortunate and untimely injuries

After that brief spell and some more Spain dominance, the visitors seemed to switch off while England grew in confidence. It wasn't until the closing stages when Rashford had a couple of efforts saved by De Gea and Welbeck had a goal ruled out for apparently fouling the keeper when he came to gather, that England really started to force the issue though. They just couldn't beat De Gea, or the offside trap, as the clock wound down.

Spain got out of London with three points and their first win on their first try under Luis Enrique. It might have been a little too close for comfort for Spain after a dominant performance but they must appreciate there is plenty of work to do after such a shoddy World Cup.

The halcyon days are gone for England for now after a performance that landed them back on their feet. And as for Luis Enrique and his side: the evolution has just begun.

England - Spain live: live updates

England - Spain live: preview

Wembley is the venue for Luis Enrique's first game as the manager of Spain having taken over after the World Cup last summer. England the opponent. Kick-off from London is at 20:45 CEST in the Nation's League as Spain try to shake off the hangover from the summer and England try to prolong the effects of their trip to Russia. It's a brand new era for the Spaniards after a bitterly disappointing World Cup while England, who are in the middle of the Gareth Southgate, are playing their first game since returning from Russia where they outperformed expectation. There is plenty of intrigue surrounding this game after the side's contrasting performances in Russia during the summer and the fact that Luis Enrique, a man who played 61 times for Spain and won nine trophies in his last job as the boss of Barcelona is not dampening expectation.

England made it to the semi-final of the World Cup and were beaten by fellow surprise package, Croatia, and while they might not have the shock factor anymore, they have their house in order under Southgate. The former England player has completely changed the England camp's set-up to the point where relations between the media have rarely been better and word of innovative training approaches are constantly making the back pages. The FA are looking to extend the manager's contract and a positive Nationa's league will only enhance their desite to keep him on the bench. He has a young, quick selection to chose from too. One of his better attacker in Raheem Sterling withdrew from the squad recently and he is also without Adam Lallana due to injury. 

Luis Enrique has installed new rules in the Spanish camp which include no phones at meal time and with a focus on punctuality. The Spanish federation are keen to portray a house that's in order after the shambles that was the World Cup and Luis Enrique is the perfect manager to instill discipline in the side. He says Spain's goal is to "stop being so predictable" and that they will look to press and attack from the start of his reign. Gerard Piqué has retired as have David Silva and Andres Iniesta but there is a first call-up for Dani Ceballos along with chances afforded to Iñigo Martínez and Diego Llorente although the former will miss out due to injury. Diego Costa pulled out of the squad for personal reasons and Iago Aspas was brought in while Jordi Alba did not make the cut after a frosty ending to their relationship at Barcelona when Alba spoke out publicly about wanting more playing time. Meanwhile Alvaro Morata is back for Spain and Luis Enrique has ensured that he "never had a doubt about the goalkeeping position" as David de Gea looks set to continue despite a wobbly World Cup performance.