England start Nations League in disappointing fashion: 3 takeaways

England hosted Spain at Wembley in their first ever UEFA Nations League match, losing 2-1. Here are three takeaways from the match.

Spain came away from Wembley with a 2-1 win as England were unable to respond to a first-half comeback in their Nations League opener. Both sides had sustained periods of pressure, but La Roja were more clinical, and Gareth Southgate will be annoyed that a lack of concentration on a corner ended up costing them.

Southgate sticks with the 3-5-2

The England manager opted to keep the same system and the majority of the personnel that brought success in Russia. Luke Shaw, Joe Gomez and Marcus Rashford were brought in for Ashley Young, Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling, respectively. Rashford, in particular, impressed, while Gomez put in a solid performance. Shaw had a mixed display, including an assist, before he unfortunately went off with a head injury.

Spain highlighted some of the flaws of this formation because they were able to pin the wing-backs into a low block and stretch the midfield through their ability to retain possession and circulate it efficiently. The lack of width is the main issue for this formation, and it doesn’t appear that Southgate has been able to solve that since the summer.

England attempted to press high in order to disrupt La Roja’s buildup and force turnovers high up the pitch. However, Spain’s defense, and the centre-backs in particular, were comfortable playing around it. They were able to draw players around them before quickly switching play; Harry Kane struggled to cut off passing lanes even though he often led the press. David De Gea was the weak link — he struggled under heavy pressure — but the rest of the team prevented that becoming an issue most of the time.

Spain also tried to press high, but the benefits of having a back three could be seen as England often had a free passing option. England were often able to bypass the press by finding a free midfielder when Spain committed players forward; this was on display for the first goal, when they were able to quickly transition up the pitch and Shaw played a lovely ball across for Rashford to finish.

Enrique utilizes set-up from Barcelona days

Spain set up in a 4-3-3 with two forwards and Isco as a wide playmaker. This changed into a 4-4-2 defensive shape because Isco moved back to the left-wing and the rest of midfield shifted across to accommodate him. This worked well with Spain’s possession-based philosophy. They controlled territory and the ball in sustained periods of pressure, but were also able to sit deep and absorb opposition attacks when needed.

The emphasis on the center-backs having a lot of possession in their own defensive third was a common feature in Enrique’s Barcelona team. It’s a risky approach, but it creates high-quality opportunities by actively inviting the press and then providing an easy route around the first two opposition lines. Saul Niguez, Sergio Busquets and Thiago Alcantara took turns in dropping deep to find pockets of space and act as a passing option for ball progression.

Iago Aspas and Rodrigo Moreno worked well as part of the front three because of how they were both comfortable playing out wide, so they interchanged effectively. They exploited the gaps between the center-backs and wing-backs as well as the space between the lines. Isco, who effectively had a free role, was a constant danger, overloading certain areas and receiving the ball in tight spaces to aid ball progression.

Saul was a valuable asset for their attacking play, and he could be a solution for some of their issues at the World Cup. He’s more than capable on the ball, but is more of a box-to-box midfielder than a deep-lying playmaker. His goal was an example of the danger he provides because he made an intelligent late run and finished exquisitely. These runs helped ensure their possession had penetration in central attacking areas.

Overall, Enrique got the balance of his first team selection right. Spain were able to control the game, but also quickly transition as well as increase the tempo with slick passages of play.

England need a different set-up against the top sides

In Russia, the 3-5-2 was an innovative way to deal with the lack of a deep-lying playmaker and the onus on set-pieces helped deal with England’s issues in creating chances from open play. Reaching the semifinals in a major tournament for the first time since 1996 was the reward for Southgate’s boldness. However, this is the fourth match against a top side in the last few months that England have lost utilizing this system.

England’s losses to Belgium at the World Cup, in the group stage and third-place match, mattered little, but their problems there were also on display against Croatia, while Colombia started to highlight the shortcomings in the latter stages of their round of 16 encounter.

Southgate needs to consider either bringing through a deep-lying playmaker from one of the England youth teams or being less ambitious in midfield. Lewis Cook is the best option currently, although he hasn’t nailed down a starting place for Bournemouth this season. He was pivotal to the success of England in the U-20 World Cup due to his ability to dictate play and wear down the opposition.

A 3-4-3 would be a way to switch it up without changing too much — Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier could be used in a slightly workmanlike midfield, with the Liverpool man being used as a box-to-box midfielder. Playing two wingers such as Sterling and Rashford alongside Kane could make this a clinical counter-attacking set-up.

A 4-3-3 would be an alternative way to control possession by making the full-backs play high and Eric Dier could be used as a pivot to drop between the centre-backs in possession, although a playmaker would need to be used in midfield such as Cook or Leicester’s James Maddison. Regardless, Southgate needs to come up with new ideas if this England side are going to progress and build on their success in the summer.