A bitter evening for Harry Kane and the English national team. In their Nations League opener, Thomas Tuchel’s squad suffered a 2-3 defeat to Spain at home at Wembley. Ironically, it was the Bayern Munich striker who had the big chance to put England firmly on track.
In an entertaining rematch of the 2024 European Championship final, the Spaniards got off to a much better start. Just over a minute into the game, Lamine Yamal capitalized on a mistake by Marc Guehi to give the reigning world champions an early 1-0 lead.
Spain remained dangerous afterward but failed to build on their lead. That would come back to haunt them. Within a few minutes, England completely turned the game around before halftime.
England turns the game around—then Kane slips up
Anthony Gordon finished off a counterattack in the 36th minute to make it 1–1. Just four minutes later, the Three Lions suddenly found themselves ahead. After a header by Kane, Marc Cucurella failed to clear the ball decisively and instead sent it into his own net.
After the break, England even had a great chance to make it 3–1. Following a VAR review, referee Davide Massa awarded a penalty kick.
Kane stepped up to take the kick as usual. But this time, things went wrong: The Bayern star slipped as he ran up to the ball and touched it twice on the shot. Although the attempt hit the crossbar, it would not have counted anyway due to the illegal double touch.
It was a rare moment for Kane. Especially from the penalty spot, the 33-year-old is normally one of the most reliable finishers in Europe.
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Spain capitalized on Kane’s miss and subsequently turned up the pressure. Just six minutes later, substitute Alex Baena scored the 2-2 equalizer with a precise right-footed shot.
But that wasn’t all: In the 74th minute, Baena also set up Spain’s winning goal. Mikel Oyarzabal appeared in front of James Trafford and beat the English goalkeeper with a spectacular chip to make it 3–2.
England gave it their all once more in the closing stages but could not find a response. As a result, Tuchel’s team kicked off the new Nations League season with a loss.
For Kane, his missed penalty must have been particularly frustrating. Instead of putting England on the path to victory with a potential 3-1 lead, the Bayern striker watched as Spain completely turned the game around in their favor.