Kane penalty miss as Tuchel’s England lose 3-2 to Spain at Wembley
September 27, 2026 01:30
England were beaten 3-2 by Spain at Wembley in the Nations League, in Thomas Tuchel’s first match managing the side since the World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina. Spain opened inside two minutes when Marc Guehi’s turn put Lamine Yamal through for the opener. England recovered to lead at half-time through Anthony Gordon’s composed finish and a deflected Harry Kane header.
Kane missed a penalty shortly after the break, hitting the bar after slipping and touching the ball twice. Spain drew level when Nico O’Reilly lost possession in the build-up to Alex Baena’s goal, and Mikel Oyarzabal — who scored the Euro 2024 final winner against England — settled the match with a 74th-minute strike. Spain extended their unbeaten run to 39 games.
KEY CONTEXT
Tuchel had spoken about England having to “embrace the chaos” as they moved on from the World Cup disappointment. The BBC’s match report described how moments of chaos without control proved costly against a Spain side noted for their calm possession. Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon, now playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, were England’s standout performers; Bellingham said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm not sure there was a lot of chaos. We had an incredible amount of high-ball recoveries in the opponent's half."
Defensive struggles were underlined by the result. James Trafford, playing while Jordan Pickford is set to return after two games, was described as blameless, but England have conceded 13 goals in their last six matches after allowing seven in their first 17 under Tuchel. The match exposed problems at right-back for Jarell Quansah and costly errors from Guehi and O’Reilly.
REACTIONS
Harry Kane: "On another day we could have won." Tuchel on the defensive display: "The defending and the deep block were excellent, except for the third goal where we got cut open through the middle. This normally should not happen."