England face Spain in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley in their first game since the World Cup.
The Three Lions produced their best performance at a World Cup since winning it in 1966 as they finished third at the finals in North America following a semi-final defeat to Argentina.
It was Spain who went on to lift the trophy for the second time with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final, reclaiming football’s most prestigious prize two years on from beating England in the Euro 2024 showpiece.
This is the first meeting between the two sides since the European Championship final in Berlin, and 101GreatGoals has the full team news.
England team news
The big news for England comes in goal, where James Trafford gets the nod ahead of long-time number one Jordan Pickford.
The XI features only six players, Marc Guehi, Elliot Anderson, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, who started against Argentina.
Jarell Quansah is preferred at right-back to the returning Trent Alexander-Arnold with Reece James unavailable through injury.
Myles Lewis-Skelly comes into the midfield after Arsenal team-mate Declan Rice’s withdrawal from the squad.
England: Trafford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
England substitutes: Alexander-Arnold, Branthwaite, Calvert-Lewin, Chalobah, Eze, Garner, Gibbs-White, Hall, Pickford, Rogers, Scott, Steele.
Spain team news
Spain’s starting XI features only three changes from the team that kicked off the World Cup final.
Ferran Torres, who scored the winner in extra time, starts up front, with Mikel Oyarzabal on the bench.
Eric Garcia comes in at right-back with Pedro Porro out through injury, while Nico Williams starts on the left ahead of Alex Baena.
Spain: Simon; Garcia, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Ruiz; Yamal, Olmo, Williams; Torres.
Spain substitutes: Baena, Fermin, Grimaldo, Huijsen, Martinez. Merino, Oyarzabal, Pedri, Pino, Pubill, Raya, Zubimendi.
Recent Form & Stats for England v Spain
- England have won 14 of their 28 previous meetings with Spain in all competitions.
- Spain have won the last competitive meeting, beating England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final.
- England have won four of their last five matches, with their only defeat coming against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
- Spain have won their last five matches, including their 1-0 World Cup final win over Argentina.
- Spain have been unbeaten in normal time since their friendly defeat to Colombia in March 2024.
- England are back in Nations League League A after winning promotion from League B in the 2024-25 edition.
- Spain won the Nations League in 2022-23 and finished runners-up in the previous edition.
Recent Results : England
-
World Cup
England
ENG
L 1 – 2 2026-07-15
Argentina
ARG
-
World Cup
Mexico
MEX
W 2 – 3 2026-07-06
England
ENG
-
World Cup
England
ENG
W 2 – 1 2026-07-01
Congo DR
CGO
-
World Cup
Panama
PAN
W 0 – 2 2026-06-27
England
ENG
-
World Cup
England
ENG
D 0 – 0 2026-06-23
Ghana
GHA
Recent Results : Spain
-
World Cup
France
FRA
W 0 – 2 2026-07-14
Spain
ESP
-
World Cup
Spain
ESP
W 2 – 1 2026-07-10
Belgium
BEL
-
World Cup
Portugal
POR
W 0 – 1 2026-07-06
Spain
ESP
-
World Cup
Spain
ESP
W 3 – 0 2026-07-02
Austria
AUT
-
World Cup
Uruguay
URU
W 0 – 1 2026-06-27
Spain
ESP
Where to Watch England v Spain: TV and online streams
England v Spain will be shown live on ITV in the UK, with coverage beginning at 6:45pm ahead of the 7:45pm kick-off at Wembley. The match will also be available to stream live through ITVX.
TalkSPORT will also provide live radio commentary from Wembley.
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