England ran riot by scoring three first-half goals to stun Spain and earn a 3-2 away win in the Nations League on Monday night.
With their first victory on Spanish soil for 31 years, the English side also moved back into contention in League A Group 4
Raheem Sterling gave England the lead against the run of play in the 16th minute by finishing off a swift counter-attack and Marcus Rashford fired into the top corner for the second on the half-hour after a superb pass from captain Harry Kane, reports Reuters.
Sterling, who had not got an England goal for three years, struck again from another Kane assist to give Gareth Southgate’s side a big halftime lead against Spain, who had scored 12 goals in their last three games and beat England 2-1 last month.
Spain hit back with a header by substitute Paco Alcacer just before the hour and were almost gifted another goal after an error from Jordan Pickford although the keeper managed to tackle Rodrigo Moreno, sparking fierce penalty appeals from the hosts.
Captain Sergio Ramos got a second for Spain with a diving header in the eighth minute of added time with the last action of the match, leaving his side tasting their first defeat over 90 minutes since they were beaten 2-0 by Italy in Euro 2016.
“It was amazing, Spain are probably one of the in-form teams in the world but we knew we could beat them and we came out of the blocks firing,” said England captain Kane. “The second half was difficult but we defended well and soaked up the pressure.”
Spain lead the group with six points after three games while England are second on four, leaving Croatia bottom with one point although the World Cup runners-up have a game in hand.
