England's record vs top-10 teams under spotlight ahead of Spain at Wembley
September 26, 2026 09:40
WHAT HAPPENED
England have won six of their last 15 matches against teams ranked inside the top 10 of Fifa's world rankings. Three of those wins came at major tournaments: the Euros semi-finals in 2021 and 2024 (against Denmark and the Netherlands) and the bronze-medal match against France at this summer's World Cup. The victory over Les Bleus to take third place was Thomas Tuchel's first win as England boss over a top-10 opponent.
Their record at World Cups against top-10 opposition is particularly stark. England have been eliminated every time they faced a top-10 nation in the knockout stages since 1998 — seven times — and in their past 10 World Cup games versus top-10 sides their only win was a 2002 group-stage victory over Argentina. When facing the defending world champions at the World Cup, England have lost on all four occasions.
KEY CONTEXT
Two of the six recent wins helped England advance to the Euro finals of 2020 and 2024. Other wins in that run include Euro qualifying matches against an Italy side described in the source as "already on a sharp decline" and a Nations League victory over Belgium six years ago.
Possession figures underline how England have often been outplayed by elite opposition: their lowest possession in the last 15 matches against top-10 teams came in the World Cup semi-final against Argentina (35.8%) and in the Euros finals versus Spain (34.9%) and Italy (42.1%).
Harry Kane, England's all-time top scorer with 85 goals, addressed what is missing in big moments. "I think it's just in those biggest moments, still being ourselves," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. Reflecting on the Argentina game he added: "The Argentina game was so hard to take, because we had a mindset of going to win the tournament, win in our way and our style... The Argentina game was maybe the first game we tried 'not to lose' in the last 30 minutes and then we ended up losing anyway." Kane, who has scored 152 goals in 154 games for Bayern, also said: "You don't fear anyone... We just need to be ourselves in the biggest moments and hopefully get over the line."
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
England meet Spain at Wembley on Saturday in their opening Nations League fixture.