Spain 2-0 England: Five talking points from Alicante
Saturday 14 November 2015 16:10, UK
England suffered a 2-0 friendly defeat to Spain on Friday night.
Arsenal's Santi Cazorla doubled the hosts' advantage after a spectacular Mario Gaspar opener, ending England's unbeaten run which stretched back to the 2014 World Cup.
Here we look at five key talking points from the game..
Can England compete with Europe's best?
"England will have learnt a lot more from this game - about every position on the pitch - than they did in the previous 10 games in qualifying."
Terry Butcher's post-match assessment highlighted what a step up this fixture had been for an England team that has spent the past 18 months cruising through Euro 2016 qualifying.
While England deserve credit for the 10 consecutive victories they recorded in Group E, their 2-0 defeat to the reigning European champions is a more accurate barometer of where their chances at next summer's showpiece in France currently stand.
Out-done in possession (64 per cent v 36 per cent), passing accuracy (86.3 per cent v 79.5 per cent), shots (15 v 10) and, most importantly, chances taken, England will be in no doubt they have significant ground to make up on the continent's best if they are to turn impressive qualifying results into tournament success.
"Hopefully, we won't lose confidence because there's still a lot more to come from our game. We weren't always allowed to show it this evening," said Roy Hodgson after the game.
England will have to find a way to play their best football against the best teams if they want to succeed at Euro 2016.
Attacking options without Rooney
It's perhaps unfair to too heavily criticise England's attack in Alicante, given how they were starved of possession by their hosts and attacking opportunities were at a premium. But, with captain Wayne Rooney starting the game on the bench, this was a chance for others to make their mark.
While lone frontman Harry Kane went about his work with his typical enthusiasm, the Tottenham striker was short on service and, when the ball did reach him, often found his play snuffed out by Spain's impressive centre-back pairing of Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra.
Raheem Sterling was bright but lost possession in promising possessions - mis-placing six out of 23 passes in Spain's half - while Adam Lallana struggled to create openings and Ross Barkley was unable to seize his opportunity in an attacking midfield role, with a couple of mis-hit long-range shots the sum of his night's work.
Barkley was very much out of his depth. He would have disappointed Roy Hodgson because he's a much better player than that.
"Barkley was disappointing," Butcher said. "His passing wasn't great. He was very much out of his depth and he would have disappointed Roy Hodgson because he's a much better player than that. England looked better when Rooney was behind Kane than Barkley, because he's got the experience."
After entering the fray in the 73rd minute, Rooney hit the woodwork with a volley from the edge of the box. It wasn't a great connection and he arguably should have done better - but it was a reminder of his importance to England's attack.
England's central midfield pairing
Injuries have limited Michael Carrick to just one start for England since the World Cup and it seemed a cruel blow when the Manchester United man was forced off on a stretcher late on.
In between, Carrick had struggled to get on the ball and dictate play as is his wont. "He disappointed me that he couldn't - and didn't - get on the ball to make the passing range that he's got count," said Butcher. "Instead he had to pick up a lot of runners and he was often outnumbered."
The same could be said for his midfield partner Fabian Delph - thrust into a starting role after playing just 16 minutes for Manchester City since returning from injury.
The pair were overwhelmed in the opening stages - Spain had 75 per cent possession in the first 20 minutes - and despite both Carrick and Delph showing their strengths as the game wore on, with the United midfielder spraying two fine passes out to the left flank and his younger team-mate surging forward and trying his luck from range, the Spain midfield will feel they won their battle.
Sergio Busquets completed every single one of his 54 passes. Cazorla completed 90.7 per cent of his. In contrast Carrick had a passing accuracy rate of 86.1 per cent, Delph just 77.4 per cent.
Hodgson subbed on both Dele Alli and Eric Dier on 63 minutes. Perhaps he will turn to the Tottenham midfield pair - so impressive in the Premier League this season - against France on Tuesday.
The Premier League's Spaniards
There are a host of talented Spanish players in the Premier League these days - 29 have played in England's top flight this season - and six got on the field on Friday night.
The most impressive of all was Cesc Fabregas. While the Chelsea midfielder has come in for criticism for his displays for his struggling club, he was at his play-making best in Alicante.
He completed 87 of his 99 attempted passes - no England player completed more than 31 - while his chipped through ball allowed Mario to convert a spectacular opener and his slide-rule pass to Juan Mata forced Joe Hart into a good save.
Fabregas consistently looked for his Chelsea team-mate Diego Costa, but the striker - who was left out of the previous Spain squad and now has just one goal in 10 games for his country - was unable to convert two openings that came his way into genuine opportunities and failed to hit the target once in his 64 minutes on the pitch.
Cazorla - withdrawn at half-time in the north London derby with dizziness - was back doing what he does best, capping his display with a cool finish for Spain's second. Mata could have joined him on the scoresheet but for Hart's quick reactions, while Pedro tested the England 'keeper with a fierce strike from range before Cesar Azpilicueta was sent on to shore-up the hosts' backline late on.
Nolito shows his class
Nolito has been making waves in La Liga this season, scoring seven goals and registering four assists for surprise package Celta Vigo, and the 29-year-old showed why he's getting Spanish football fans excited with an energetic, enthusiastic and effective substitute appearance.
The forward added another assist to his tally by teeing Cazorla up for Spain's second, while a clever back-heel allowed Jordi Alba to force a smart save from Hart. From his 45 minutes on the field he racked up more key passes than any player (five).
Nolito made just two appearances in three years for the Barcelona first-team before leaving in 2011. Friday night was further evidence why he continues to be linked with a return to the Nou Camp in January.
