England manager Thomas Tuchel, in the post-match press conference after England’s 3–2 Nations League loss to Spain:

I think we had the worst possible start against a team like Spain, who love to control the game and play with confidence. To be one-nil down so early is the worst possible start.

We survived two big chances and then grew into the game. We played more and more in Spain’s half, won an incredible number of high balls, played very bravely without the ball, pushed them back, and created more and more throughout the match.

The difference was that Spain were more clinical and composed in the last 20 metres. We could have created more clear-cut chances from our ball wins, but we got the momentum and belief back. We scored twice and could have scored a third before half-time; we absolutely should have scored one in the second half.

We were clearly the better team but could not score the third goal. Then another technical mistake cost us, the momentum shifted, and we conceded from open play. They played through the middle, which we should have defended better. We wanted to close the middle.

The result is not what we wanted. We could have won the same match, so we have to live with it, recover from it, learn from it, repeat what we did well, and reduce our mistakes.

England’s wings lack the same amount of flair and dynamism compared to Spain. They are very athletic but lack that layer of unpredictability.