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The Spanish Attempt To Run Through The English

The UEFA Nations League is in full swing, and that means that the games warranting the international break are coming thick and fast. Some of them may seem a little bit familiar to you, and that’s probably because the reverse fixture happened a couple weeks ago – but we don’t want to focus all too much on that. Instead, we want to look ahead to the future, and one of the games that we’re really looking forward to is Spain vs England as the Spanish attempt to keep pushing forward in search of reclaiming the European Championship that they lost just two years ago.

Both of these nations are considered to be amongst the best of the best by UEFA, which is the reason that we’re going to see them square off again. Alas, while standard logic suggests that the Spaniards will walk through the English, recent history will tell us that it probably won’t go down like that. Either way, though, it feels like we’re in for an entertaining clash when they meet in Seville, which is an intriguing location for this to go down. The one and only reason for that, mind you, is because we enjoy when stadiums around the country are utilised as opposed to just the biggest.

Whatever the case may be, though, we need to talk about the managers. Luis Enrique has been acting as a man possessed ever since taking over the role as Spain’s national team manager, as the country goes in search of reliving their glory days from between 2008 and 2012. During that time period, they established themselves as one of the best international teams in the history of the game, right up there with the likes of Brazil, Italy and Germany from years gone by. That may sound like an overestimation to some, but they truly were just that good.

On the other hand, we’ve got Gareth Southgate, who has embodied what it means to be an underdog from the start of his reign right up to the present day. He was nobody’s number one choice to take over as the boss, and yet courtesy of some alternative management methods as well as a lot of heart, he was able to win over the country this past summer when he helped England to reach the final four of the World Cup for the first time since 1990. At this point, he’s already solidified his place in the annals of English football history, and all that is left is for him to prove that he can do it all over again.

As we noted Spain have been on something of a role since Enrique came through the door, but prior to that era getting underway, they had the 2018 FIFA World Cup to deal with. After the historic draw against Portugal they edged past Iran with a narrow victory, followed up by an unconvincing draw against Morocco. Then, in the Round of 16 they had their hearts broken by hosts Russia on penalties, but thankfully they’ve been able to bounce back with three emphatic wins against Croatia, Wales and, as we know, England.

The English made it a few steps further in Russia, and they were able to follow up their Round of 16 success over Colombia with a comfortable quarter-final win over Sweden. Then, in the semi-final, they experienced heartbreak of their own when they fell to Croatia in extra time. They also lost out against Belgium in the Third Place Playoff, and that bad feeling seemed to carry over into their first game against Spain when they were defeated 2-1. A win against Switzerland and a draw in the rematch against Croatia somewhat helped matters, though, and there are still plenty of reasons to be positive within the England camp.

Throughout history, England have actually gotten the better of Spain more often, with a 13-10 lead in the overall head to head standings and three draws. Alas, as we’ve noted their last meeting only took place just over a month ago in September, such is the nature of the Nations League. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not England have had enough time to adjust and fix the problems they had in that game, and whether or not Spain will set themselves up in the same manner.

Spain rested several players against Wales meaning that several recalls could be in order for this one, with Sergio Busquets, Marco Asensio and Thiago Alcantara being tipped to return to the starting XI. David De Gea will be expected to keep out many of his Premier League rivals and teammates in this one, with the always controversial Sergio Ramos being the man who will likely lead them out into battle. On paper, it seems like they should have England’s number, but we all know that isn’t how it works in this game.

Jordan Henderson is suspended meaning that he’ll be sitting this one out, with John Stones also being sidelined for the very same reason. Jadon Sancho turned quite a few heads against Croatia and could have a breakout performance if he’s given the chance to start in this one, with the teenager being touted for superstardom already. Many fans are expecting another youthful England selection from Southgate, and while they are certainly going to have plenty of young and hungry players to choose from, they could struggle when it comes to the experience side of things.

Spain vs England Betting Prediction

It’s always tough to predict how two teams will compete against one another when they’ve already faced off so recently, but we’re going to give it our best shot. It really doesn’t feel like England are going to be capable of pushing Spain back to the point where they can carve out a positive result, especially away from home. Spain have been here and done it all before, and all they need to do is impose their attacking style on the visitors and that should be more than enough to see them through to a win.

We aren’t counting England out entirely but they’ll quite literally have to be firing on all cylinders to even score in this one, and we think they will, but we don’t think it’ll make much of a difference. We’re predicting the Spanish to race out into a 2 or 3-0 lead within the first hour of the game, with England edging back into the game with some kind of set piece. With a final scoreline of 3-1 we’d imagine that the English would be pretty disheartened, but you’ve got to keep in mind that we’re still in the early stages of the ‘post World Cup hangover’.