England drop victory against Spain in injury time

Leading by two goals until the 89th minute, a loss of concentration saw Gareth Southgate's players draw 2-2 in a friendly at Wembley.

In the ninth minute, Adam Lallana opened the scoring for the home team from the penalty spot after goalkeeper Pepe Reina brought down Jamie Vardy in the penalty area. Early in the second half, Vardy doubled the gap for the "Three Lions" with a flying header from a cross by Jordan Henderson.

As the match drew to a close, it seemed as though England would win in front of 83,716 fans, but Spain scored two goals in quick succession to level the score in spectacular fashion. First came Iago Aspas' dribble and left-footed curler into a dangerous corner in the 89th minute, followed by Isco's winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

This was Gareth Southgate's final game as England's interim manager and it was not a happy ending. Previously, the English Football Association (FA) had agreed to let the 46-year-old strategist lead the "Three Lions" until the end of 2016 before deciding on a long-term plan.

Iago Aspas' excellent finish started Spain's comeback. Photo: Reuters.

Southgate replaced Sam Allardyce as England manager amid a scandal over his predecessor. In his first match in charge, England beat Malta 2-0. This was followed by a 0-0 draw with Slovenia and a 3-0 win over Scotland, both in 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Ahead of the friendly with Spain, some pundits predicted that the win would earn Southgate a long-term contract. Things were going well for the former England Under-21 coach until just one minute of normal time remained.

In England's first goal, former Liverpool striker Iago Aspas made a fool of expensive centre-back John Stones with his constant footwork before unleashing a skillful finish. In the second goal, despite Isco's excellent control of the ball after Daniel Carvajal's pass, England would not have conceded had goalkeeper Tom Heaton not been so foolish. Heaton let Isco finish the nutmeg after the midfielder had lost his momentum and the ball was almost out of bounds.

Southgate complained to the fourth official after his team conceded the second goal. Photo: Reuters.

In this match, Jamie Vardy scored a goal and won a penalty for Lallana to open the scoring. It must also be said that the midfielder currently playing for Liverpool was the owner of the smart pass that gave Vardy the opportunity to face Reina. However, the Leicester striker left a bad impression with a tackle that kicked Cesar Azpilicueta straight in the ankle.

Lallana played well before being forced off in the 27th minute due to injury. This will be a big loss for Liverpool FC in a difficult period of the upcoming season. Lallana was the best player in England's 3-0 win over Scotland and was the only player to score the only goal in the 1-0 win over Slovakia. It can be seen that this midfielder is gradually increasing his influence in the team.

In this match, in addition to the two goals, England had many dangerous attacks on goal but could not take advantage to score more goals. As for Spain, they only really dominated in the final minutes of the match. However, the immaturity of the opponent helped coach Julen Lopetegui's team escape defeat.

According to VNE