A rare rivalry: Past Spain v England clashes

BERLIN – Spain and England meet in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on July 14 in what will be a rare encounter between the nations at a major tournament.

AFP looks 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, where they were drawn together in the same group.

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

However, while Spain then got the better of Chile, England suffered one of their most humiliating defeats, losing 1-0 to the US. 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 2-2 with eventual champions Uruguay before losing 6-1 to Brazil and 3-1 to Sweden to end fourth.

World Cup hopes end in Spain

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 Euro, where both went out in the group stage.

Their next competitive clash came at the 1982 World Cup, where they were drawn alongside West Germany in the second group stage.

The Germans had drawn with England and beaten Spain, results which meant the hosts were already eliminated 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 semi-finals. England went on to lose 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 Gonzalez 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 top in Nations League

The Euro 2024 final on July 14 will be the first meeting of the teams since late 2018, when they came together in the group stage of the inaugural Nations League.

Spain won 2-1 at Wembley in September, but England gained revenge with a 3-2 success in the return tie 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.

Group winners England went on to the Finals, where they lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the last four before beating Switzerland on penalties to finish third. AFP