A rare rivalry: Past Spain v England clashes

Spain and England meet in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday in what will be a rare encounter between the nations at a major tournament.

Here, let’s look back at their most notable past clashes:

First competitive clash

The first competitive meeting of Spain and England came at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, at which they were drawn together in the same group.

Both teams had won their opening match at the tournament, with England defeating Chile 2-0 at the Maracana and Spain beating the United States 3-1.

However, while Spain then got the better of Chile, England suffered one of their most humiliating ever defeats, losing 1-0 to the USA. The clash between Spain and England in Rio de Janeiro on July 2 was therefore crucial, with the latter having to win.

Spain came out on top 1-0 thanks to a goal by legendary forward Telmo Zarra. England went out, while Spain advanced to the four-team final round in which they drew with eventual champions Uruguay before losing 6-1 to Brazil and 3-1 to Sweden.

World Cup hopes end at Spain 82

England beat Spain in a home-and-away quarter-final to qualify for the final tournament of Euro 1968, and the sides also met at the 1980 Euros, from which both went out in the group stage.

Their next competitive encounter came at the 1982 World Cup, when they found themselves together in the second group stage, in a three-team pool alongside West Germany.

The Germans had drawn with England and beaten Spain, results which meant the host nation were already eliminated from their own competition before taking on Ron Greenwood’s English side in Madrid.

The match ended in a 0-0 draw, an outcome which meant England were knocked out without losing a game. West Germany progressed to the semi-finals and were eventually defeated in the final by Italy.

Pearce’s penalty at Euro 96

Meetings between the nations may have been rare, but their quarter-final match-up at Euro 96 led to one of the most iconic moments in English football history.

The game at Wembley ended 0-0 after extra time, meaning a penalty shoot-out. Fernando Hierro blasted Spain’s first kick off the bar. England converted four out of four, with Stuart Pearce — who had missed in their 1990 World Cup semi-final shoot-out loss to West Germany — among their scorers.

David Seaman’s save from Miguel Angel Nadal, uncle of tennis star Rafael, allowed England to win the shoot-out 4-2 and advance to the semis, where this time they lost on penalties to Germany with current manager Gareth Southgate missing the decisive kick.

Friendly controversy

A 1-0 Spain victory over England in a friendly at the Santiago Bernabeu in November 2004 was overshadowed by racist abuse directed at several visiting players.

Asier del Horno’s early goal gave Spain the win despite Raul having a penalty saved, but it was an unsavoury night. Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were the targets of “clear racist chanting” according to the BBC’s report on the night.

England’s Wayne Rooney was also substituted before half-time to avoid a red card after he clashed with several Spain players.

– England win Nations League clash –
Sunday’s final will be the first meeting of the teams since late 2018, when they came together in the group stage of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.

Spain won 2-1 at Wembley in September, but England gained revenge with a 3-2 success in the return in Seville just over a month later. Raheem Sterling scored a brace either side of a Marcus Rashford goal as England led 3-0 at half-time. Paco Alcacer and Sergio Ramos pulled goals back in the second half for Spain.

England topped a group also containing Croatia and went on to the finals, in which they lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the semis before beating Switzerland on penalties to finish third.