Gordon says England were on Spain’s level despite Nations League defeat

Anthony Gordon says England proved they can match Spain but believes Harry Kane’s missed penalty allowed the visitors back into the game during a 3-2 defeat at Wembley.

The Group A match in the UEFA Nations League saw Spain extend their unbeaten run to 39 games, with Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal scoring for the visitors.

Gordon and an own goal from Marc Cucurella accounted for England’s goals, but Spain held on for an entertaining victory.

“We were just as good as they were, and I feel very disappointed because of the mistakes we made,” Gordon told ITV Sport.

England had the chance to regain control when Kane stepped up from the spot, but the captain failed to convert.

“Confidence does not always mean winning, but I think we showed tonight that we are a top-quality team,” Gordon said.

“I do not think there is a gap between us and Spain. I feel we are exactly at the same level. We could easily have won this match. If we had scored the penalty, we would have been able to go on and win.”

Gordon, whose club is listed as Barcelona in the article’s player information, said England had looked comfortable for much of the contest and would not have been intimidated by meeting Spain in a final.

“It is always easy to say that after the game, but I felt comfortable during the match,” he added. “I do not think there is a gap, and I believe that if we played them in the final, I would feel confident that we could win.”

He also defended Kane after the missed spot-kick, saying it could have put England in a strong position to add further goals.

“I think it would have put us in a great position to go ahead and score more goals,” Gordon said. “We wanted more and were determined to keep pressing and attacking until the end, and we did that.

“Missing penalties is part of football. Harry rarely misses them, so we will forgive him for this one.”

Yamal’s opening goal was the third-fastest goal England have conceded at Wembley. The only quicker goals came in the first minute against Scotland in 1957 and Hungary in 1953.

Spain conceded two goals against England, more than they allowed at the 2026 World Cup, where they conceded only once.