Thomas Tuchel was burning again, eyes full of aggression and fire, knowing that any claims he might have for English supremacy at Wembley would meet with raised eyebrows and a roll of the eyes.
Thus did a 3-2 defeat to Spain reframe impressions. What might have been cause for trumpets and drums became a night of fawning over the world champions.
We learned nothing new about Spain, a fully developed unit, replete with next level talent, supported by a bench just as good, and a mentality made of iron. We did, however, learn much about England, an evolving team that drew from Tuchel the view that he had seen in moments the best football of his reign.
This was far removed from the overwhelmed, low esteem England of two years ago when Spain rattled through Gareth Southgate’s lame apologists in the European Championships final.
Tuchel identified two critical differences between these teams at Wembley, England’s susceptibility to unforced errors that gifted Spain two goals and a want of the kind of composure and ruthlessness Spain showed within sight of goal.
Kane MISSES from the penalty spot! Harry Kane slips when he strikes the ball, let off for Spain and Luis de la Fuente#ITVFootball pic.twitter.com/pvg3GGa9ma
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 26, 2026This meant Tuchel was explaining away a narrow loss when he felt he could have been celebrating victory.
“The top transition goal we scored [Anthony Gordon] was an amazing goal, and we could have created more,” Tuchel said.
“The effort against the ball is also identity. The effort against the ball and the bravery and courage to have the high ball wins was outstanding.
“I think we had 12 or 15 more ball wins in the opponent’s half than Spain today. But we couldn’t convert enough into chances and goals, because otherwise we would have won the match.”
Apart from a 15-minute spell after the equaliser, when Spain hit that familiar, poetic meter, England were, in the argot of the football pundit, “at it”.
There was a welcome absence of doubt, of deference. They cancelled Spain’s eminence by refusing to acknowledge it.
The result was a rousing, joined-up demonstration of super expressive Englishness, powered by England’s own Hispanophiles Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon. Spain were never far away, but they were properly discomfited and suffered a little of the anxiety they routinely evince in others.
What stood out was the confidence of England, recovering from an awful Mark Guehi error in the second minute to establish a degree of command. Nico O’Reilly, who would offer gift No 2 on the hour to complete the momentum shift after Harry Kane’s missed penalty, raced forward with real spite. His counterpart on the right, Jarell Quansah, made light of Nico Williams with his rendition of a Venus fly trap.
Elliot Anderson enjoyed sole occupancy at the base of midfield to deny Dani Olmo room to operate and Myles Lewis-Skelly proved a nimble contrast to the more one-dimensional, hard running of Declan Rice. This gave England real presence in the middle of the park, forming a fluid connection with Bellingham.
Had Kane been at his best to put England 3-1 up from the spot, it might have put a welcome sock in all those crowing inevitably, “yeah, but you knew how it would end. Same old England.”
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Report: England imaginative and energetic but lack of composure proves costly Kevin Garside: England’s obsession with Spanish football is getting embarrassingTuchel knew it was coming, reacting tetchily to reporters framing the outcome in that way.
“The start was terrible,” he admitted. “It makes it so, so difficult to be behind against this kind of team. The reaction was very, very good.
“After 10 or 12 minutes, I think we were the better team. We still made two or three big mistakes and conceded big chances, but overall we were better.
“We dominated at home in the first half. We created, scored two goals and I think it was our best 15 minutes after the whistle. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert the penalty, which maybe would have been the decisive moment, because I think then Spain would have maybe, for the first time, believed that their long run of unbeaten games ends here.”
Tuchel gets another chance to make his point in Prague, where England must demonstrate the same appetite against lesser opposition. November’s return with Spain will tell us soon enough if his team are on the right path.
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