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Spain national football team
International Friendlies
Nov 13, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
England national football team

2-0

Gaspar (72'), Cazorla (84')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Player Ratings: Spain 2-0 England

Sports Mole looks at who stood out during Spain's 2-0 victory over England in their international friendly in Alicante.

Spain made it seven wins on the bounce and ended England's 15-match unbeaten streak in the process with a 2-0 victory over the Three Lions in Alicante this evening.

Mario Gaspar opened the scoring with a stunning acrobatic volley in the 72nd minute, before Santi Cazorla sealed the win six minutes from time.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out in the first warm-up match for next summer's Euro 2016 tournament.


Spain's forward Mario (2ndR) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the friendly football match Spain vs England at the Jose Rico Perez stadium in Alicante on November 13, 2015. © Getty Images

SPAIN

Goal

Iker Casillas: Didn't have an awful lot to do on his 165th cap, a tally that brings him level as the most-capped European player of all time. Was a little fortunate to get away with one late on when he parried the ball straight to Alli. (6/10)

Defence

Mario Gaspar: His goal will be shown time and time again in the coming weeks, and it will be impossible to get tired of it. He now has two in two caps, but even if he goes on to match Casillas's tally of appearances for Spain, he won't score a better one. (7/10)

Gerard Pique: His every touch drew a reaction from the home fans, but the hostility in the whistles seemed to wane as the match wore on and as Pique put in a composed and assured performance. (7/10)

Marc Bartra: Dealt with the threat of Kane comfortably all night and even threatened on a couple of occasions in the opposition penalty area. (7/10)

Jordi Alba: Forced one save from Hart and made a number of darts forward, while his pace ensured that even Walker and Sterling couldn't catch him out at the other end. (7/10)

Midfield

Thiago Alcantara: Lasted less than half an hour before he was forced off through injury. (6/10)

Sergio Busquets: Allowed the likes of Barkley to have one or two efforts from outside the box, but protected his defence well on the whole and helped Spain to dominate possession. (6/10)

Andres Iniesta: Was taken off at half time, but showed glimpses of his class during his 45 minutes on the field. (7/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Much improved from his recent form with Chelsea. Set up the opening goal and could have had a couple more assists had Costa and Mata finished off chances that he created. (8/10)

Attack

Diego Costa: The jury is still out in Spain as to whether Costa is the man to lead their line, and he didn't show much to provide a conclusive 'yes' tonight. He made a couple of nice runs and came close with one curling effort in the first half, but aside from that he was quiet. Just one goal in 10 for his country now. (5/10)

Paco Alcacer: Had a few nice touches and kept the England defence busy with some clever runs in behind, but his finishing was disappointing and in the end he wasn't able to have a huge influence on proceedings. (6/10)

Substitutes

Santi Cazorla: An early change for the injured Thiago and, as expected for a player of his quality, slotted seamlessly into midfield. His finish for the second goal was coolness personified. (7/10)

Nolito: Replaced Iniesta at half time and offered an alternative option on the left flank. Heavily involved from the moment he came on and grabbed the assist for Cazorla's goal. (7/10)

Juan Mata: Missed one glorious chance having been played through by Fabregas, although Hart should be credited for a good piece of goalkeeping to cut out Mata's attempted pass to Pedro. (6/10)

Pedro: Came on for Alcacer 15 minutes from time and had one powerful effort from range that was too hot for Hart to handle. (6/10)

Koke: Given 12 minutes at the end of the match but it wasn't enough time for him to make an impact. (6/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Thrown on as a makeshift centre-back and was unable to prevent England from creating a couple of late chances. (6/10)


England's defender Kyle Walker (L) vies with Spain's midfielder Cesc Fabregas during the friendly football match Spain vs England at the Jose Rico Perez stadium in Alicante on November 13, 2015.© Getty Images

ENGLAND

Goal

Joe Hart: Was at fault in the build-up to the second goal when he failed to get enough distance on a clearance. Could do nothing about either finish, though, and actually didn't have an awful lot else to do despite Spain's possession. Made one fine tackle to deny Mata, though. (6/10)

Defence

Kyle Walker: Didn't appear to have much up his sleeve in an attacking sense when he came up against his match in terms of pace. Never caught out at the back, but didn't do enough to suggest that he should be starting ahead of Clyne. (5/10)

Phl Jones: Too sloppy in possession on occasions, but he was by no means the only guilty party on that front. Part of a defence that protected Hart's goal well against a tricky Spain side. (6/10)

Chris Smalling: Able to keep Costa quiet for long spells of the match alongside Jones. Seems on course to become England's undisputed number one centre-back by the time Euro 2016 rolls along. (7/10)

Ryan Bertrand: England's main threats came down the left flank, and usually from the overlapping runs of Bertrand, who put a couple of testing crosses into the box too. (7/10)

Midfield

Adam Lallana: His first touch rarely fails him, but he came up against a Spain midfield who were quick to apply pressure tonight and he, along with others in white, struggled with that. (6/10)

Michael Carrick: The game rather passed him by tonight. Certainly a player more suited to keeping the ball than chasing after it, but he was as guilty as others of gifting possession back to Spain. (5/10)

Ross Barkley: Showed flashes and glimpses of his quality with some exciting bursts forward, but the end product was missing tonight, particularly when it came to shooting. (6/10)

Fabian Delph: Put plenty of effort in but was another who failed to keep the ball well enough. Iniesta, Fabregas and Busquets vs. Delph is a mismatch to say the least. (5/10)

Raheem Sterling: A similar performance to that of Barkley in that he made a few bright breaks and could have hurt Spain had his final ball not been so poor. (5/10)

Attack

Harry Kane: A difficult game in which to shine for any lone striker. His frustration perhaps got the best of him when he failed to strike a couple of chances cleanly, although he did test Casillas with a good effort late on. (5/10)

Substitutes

Dele Alli: Introduced just past the hour but his only notable contribution was failing to make anything of a late rebound that fell to him inside the box. (6/10)

Eric Dier: On at the same time as his Tottenham teammate for his England debut, and almost grabbed an assist with a clever pass to Kane, only for the striker to slip when shooting. (6/10)

Wayne Rooney: Came closest to scoring for England when his miscued volley bounced up and onto the top of the crossbar in the dying stages. Equalled Bobby Moore's tally of 108 caps for England. (6/10)

Gary Cahill: Replaced Smalling immediately after the second goal and had little to do during his short cameo. (6/10)

Jonjo Shelvey: On for the injured Carrick but only had a couple of minutes of the field. (6/10)


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Roy Hodgson manager of England looks on prior to the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group E match between Lithuania and England at LFF Stadionas on October 12, 2015
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