The two defeats Spain have suffered in the Luis de la Fuente era both occurred in the UK, with Scott McTominay scoring both goals in a 2-0 win for Scotland in Euros qualifying at Hampden Park in March 2023. The second goal saw McTominay crash the penalty box to fire home after David García failed to clear a Kieran Tierney cross. When Colombia beat Spain 1-0 in a friendly at the London Stadium 12 months later, it was again a delivery from the left flank which did the damage, with Luis Díaz crossing for Daniel Muñoz to score.
The stats for the chances Spain allowed highlight this superbly, with the average value of a shot being 0.1 expected goals. Across 750 minutes this summer, Spain conceded just six chances that Opta deemed to be of greater value. Lowering the bar to 0.07 xG still only finds 10 shots that were worth more. England's best chance of scoring against Spain may lie in delivering crosses into the box, with Trent Alexander-Arnold keen to get back into Thomas Tuchel's good books by delivering a trademark cross onto the head of Harry Kane.