Spain defeated England at Wembley on the evening when they unveiled the new national team shirt with two stars on the chest, symbolising their status as two-time world champions. It was a comeback worth watching time and again, as Luis de la Fuente’s side picked up their first three points of the UEFA Nations League campaign with a 2-3 victory.

If the world champions could choose where to make their first appearance as champions away from home, Wembley would surely be among the leading candidates. And fate dictated that England–Spain would be the first match of a new era for Luis de la Fuente’s side.

And if the script could have been written in advance, an early goal would certainly have featured among the preferred options. In the third minute, Lamine Yamal showed exactly why he is one of the candidates for the Ballon d’Or. Marc Guéhi took too long in possession and Spain’s winger pounced to win the ball before creating a move that he finished himself, firing Spain into a 0-1 lead.

But the reality is that no one can predict how a match will unfold, and if there is one team who are now the side to beat, it is precisely Spain. Luis de la Fuente’s men dominated and Ferran Torres, scorer of Spain’s World Cup final goal, had three chances to score. He found the net with the first, only for it to be ruled out for offside, while the other two narrowly missed the target. England were not prepared to give up their fight for the three points, particularly after reaching the World Cup semi-finals and returning to their home ground. Tuchel’s side stepped up the intensity and took control during the final ten minutes of the first half. Gordon equalised in the 37th minute and Kane completed the turnaround three minutes later to make it 2-1.

The second half began with some uncertainty for the national team. In the 54th minute, Harry Kane stepped up to take a penalty following a foul by Rodri inside the area. England’s No. 9 sent the ball crashing against the crossbar. Immediately afterwards, Luis de la Fuente made changes, bringing on Mikel Oyarzabal and Álex Baena. The Spanish coach’s tactical decisions once again paid dividends, and just five minutes later Spain were celebrating a goal at the top of their lungs inside Wembley. Baena controlled the ball on the edge of the box and struck home his fourth goal for the national team to make it 2-2.

As the minutes ticked by, football once again proved Luis de la Fuente right. This time, Mikel Oyarzabal, another of the substitutes introduced in the second half, emerged as the hero, finishing off a flowing move with a superb finish to complete a comeback that will live long in the memory of Spain fans.

Spain extend their unbeaten run to 39 matches and strengthen their world record

Remember that, at the beginning of this article, we were imagining what might happen. If they had been asked to write the script for this match, they could probably have described it exactly as it unfolded: the unveiling of the two stars at Wembley, a comeback and a thrilling victory over England.

The national team’s next challenge comes at home, at Seville’s Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, this Tuesday, 29 September, against Croatia.