In the grand scheme of things, England’s record against Spain is not terrible.
From 1960 to 2000, the two teams played each other 13 times, with the Three Lions winning nine of those matches, drawing one and losing three. For most of that period, however, Spain weren’t much of a force on the international scene, ‘underachievement’ being the word most commonly associated with La Roja.
This century, though, it’s been a bit different, what with Spain evolving into a genuine force in world football and England, well, just continuing to be England. The boys from Blighty have only beaten the Spanish twice in seven attempts since the millennium, the most recent of which came in 2011.
At that time, Spain were in fact world champions. Which makes it all the more bizarre that this particular England side managed to emerge victorious…