England 1 - 0 Spain - Match Report
England gave a strong but extremely defensive display against the reigning World and European Champions, making the most of their few chances to snatch the victory.
In a match surrounded by controversy with FIFA's ruling against displaying the poppy on England's shirts to the selection of John Terry after being currently under investigation for alleged racism, England defeated Spain 1-0 at Wembley. England gave a strong but extremely defensive display against the reigning World and European Champions, making the most of their few chances to snatch the victory. From the outset England were consistently putting all 9 or 10 men behind the ball with every Spain attack and they were attacks which came thick and fast. Spain were their usual selves throughout the match, stringing passes into the slightest of areas and creating chances from nothing however it wasn't enough to penetrate a solid English defence. The initial talking points of the match came from the team selections. Spain displayed a very strong side which included David Villa, David Silva, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and company. For England the selection of Phil Jones in midfield and the lack of John Terry in a starting role were the two main surprises. The first half highlighted how effective England's tactic to counteract Spain's flowing style of play was. Spain, as expected, held onto the ball extremely well and used this possession to try and string out the England defence to open a way forward for their offensive line. The Spaniards only managed to breach England's defensive line three or four times from many more chances but these chances were excellently closed down by Lescott, Jagielka, Jones and Parker. Villa, Iniesta and Silva were the main threats of the half with each having efforts on goal deflected away for corners. However it wasn't a complete shut out by the Spaniards. England had some success down the right wing with Glen Johnson and Theo Walcott making the most of the attacking mentality of Spain left back Jordi Alba. Johnson eventually managed to break through into the 18 yard box but the Valencia man, Alba, covered back well to usher his potential chance out for a goal kick. Phil Jones also started to play a vital role in orchestrating the England chances. The versatile Manchester United player was distributing passes to allow offensive moves very well whilst given the chance, unfortunately these chances came far and few between. Frank Lampard was the only other provider of an opportunity on goal after he fired a 25 yard shot at Iker Casillas, which was handled with ease. The second half saw a flurry of substitutions for both teams. Jose Reina, Juan Mata and Cesc Fabregas were introduced for Casillas, Silva and Xavi for the Spaniards and Stewart Downing started the second 45, replacing Theo Walcott. Despite the substitutions for Spain potentially adding more attacking threat it was England who capitalised in the second half. A free kick conceded on the left wing resulted in James Milner swinging in a free kick to the Spain penalty area, Darren Bent rose above the rest to connect with a header which was out of reach of recently introduced Pepe Reina. The ball deflected off the post into the path of Frank Lampard who converted the ball into an empty goal. It was Bent's first real effort on goal after being isolated in the lone striker role. After conceding the goal Spain maintained their established style of play, still trying to find small pockets to let their players in on goal and less than 10 minutes after England took the lead they were almost back on level terms. David Villa accelerated onto a through ball that was carrying a lot of pace, knocked past England keeper Joe Hart but the angle of the shot in addition to the fast pace of the pass was just too much for Villa who skewed his shot wide of an open goal. Once the hour mark was reached it almost seemed like Spain were starting to get a little frustrated with England's extremely defensive display. Both Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Ramos picked up bookings in the space of 60 seconds after two footed tackle from the Real Madrid defender and an aerial barge into Phil Jagielka from Fabregas. England did fantastically to hold onto their 1-0 lead and started playing deeper than ever in the final quarter of the match. Their deep style of play invited Spain to attack and attack. After introducing Fernando Torres and Santi Cazorla for two central players, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, it was all guns blazing for the World Champions. David Villa discovered, the hard way, that the fortune the woodwork gave to England was not present for his team. After a long flowing attack, deep into the England half, Villa fired a swerving shot towards goal, Hart was completely out of position but the ball knocked the outer half of the post without a Spain player available to capitalise. Fabregas had numerous chances to get an equalizer for Spain in the final ten minutes. His first saw him one on one with Joe Hart but the decision to square the ball to Gerard Pique was intercepted and cleared. Next Fabregas tried from a longer range, shooting a low shot at the England goal. It appeared to be a routine save for Hart but a deflection made it a little more difficult but still not out of reach for the Manchester City player. In the dying moments of the match Fabregas' third, and final, chance saw a square ball get played to him in the 18 yard box to put him in a fantastic position but the shot rolled wide. Whilst Spain maintained the possession, as expected, England kept a strong shape and kept their concentration to nullify the threat given by the Spanish style of play. Capello certainly got his tactics right in the match but the continuous concentration to maintain this style has to be credited to the England back line.