Raheem Sterling scored twice as England delivered one of their finest victories of the modern era by beating Spain 3-2 in Seville on Monday.
Away from home, and against a Spanish side in scintillating form under their new coach Luis Enrique, this was certainly England’s best win under Gareth Southgate and, perhaps, their most impressive since thrashing Germany 5-1 in Munich in 2001.
Marcus Rashford was the other scorer in a breathless opening 45 minutes here, which witnessed Spain conceding three on home soil for the first time in their history.
Paco Alcacer, on as a substitute, headed in before the hour to spark hopes of a comeback but England were home and dry by the time Sergio Ramos scored in the 98th minute, with the last action of the match.
It means England keep alive their hopes of finishing top of Group 4 in the UEFA Nations League, the position Spain had needed only a point to all-but guarantee would be theirs.
It was a night for streaks ending and records tumbling. Sterling’s opening goal was his first in 1102 days for England, even more remarkable given he added his second 22 minutes later.
The last time England won away against Spain was 1987 and that was when they last scored against Spain away from home too, Gary Lineker on target.
With an average age of just over 23, this was also the youngest England starting line-up in the 21st century and that will be the most exciting aspect for Southgate.
For Spain, defeat represents something of a reality check. “Waving the flag for goals,” read Marca’s front page on Monday. They had scored 12 in three games since Luis Enrique took charge.
But Eric Dier set the tone early on. He left Sergio Busquets, sluggish throughout, hopping out of his first pass and then slid through Ramos, who was also out of sorts.
After a frantic start, England settled and in the 13th minute, scored. Under pressure at the back, they played keep-ball until the risk was too great and Jordan Pickford drove forward to Harry Kane.
With Spain caught upfield, he was able to turn and find Rashford whose quick switch set Sterling free. He finished into the top corner.
“We are staying up,” sang the away support as Thiago Alcantara danced around England’s midfield with flicks and tricks. But to little effect.
Instead, Harry Kane showed the value of a top-class centre forward for England’s second. He outmuscled Ramos to win Pickford’s punt downfield, outpaced Nacho to the loose ball with a superb reverse pass in behind. Rashford only had to finish.
Spain’s early confidence was gone and England added a third before the interval, which was greeted by whistles from the home fans.
Ross Barkley’s sumptuous ball over the top caught Ramos napping again and Kane squared for Sterling to tap in. “Are you Scotland in disguise?” came the taunt from the corner.
Spain were sent out early for the second period, among them Alcacer, who replaced Saul. He scored with his first touch, heading in Marco Asensio’s corner, given away after a fumble by Pickford.
It was a nightmare few minutes for England’s goalkeeper, who then dallied and was tackled by Rodrigo.
Pickford scrambled the ball away but probably fouled Rodrigo in the process and Spain were adamant they deserved a penalty. The referee was not convinced.
England played for time, with a handful of players going down with injuries, and Spain’s pressure gradually eased. Rodrigo shot wide in the final 10 minutes. Asensio went even closer.
Marcos Alonso then deflected onto the bar deep into injury time and Ramos headed home in the 98th minute. But there was not even time for a restart. England’s win was complete.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE SPECS
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Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
