England vs Spain Prediction, Tips and Odds | Nations League

England open their Nations League campaign with about as tough a start as the format could hand them, a Wembley meeting with reigning world champions Spain on Saturday night.

Luis de la Fuente's side arrive on the back of a 1-0 win over Argentina in July's World Cup final, settled by a Ferran Torres goal in extra time, while Thomas Tuchel is already missing five members of his squad less than three months after England's own summer ended with a third-place play-off win over France.

Spain's win over England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin remains the closest England have come to a first men's trophy since 1966, and Saturday offers this Tuchel-led group an early chance to show how much they have grown since Gareth Southgate's side lost to Mikel Oyarzabal's late strike that night.

England vs Spain: form guide and preview

England reached the last four of a World Cup for the first time since 2018, beating Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16 and Norway 2-1 in the quarter-final before a late Lionel Messi-inspired comeback saw Argentina come from behind to win the semi-final 2-1.

Jude Bellingham was the outstanding individual performer of that run, scoring twice in the win over Norway and finishing the tournament with seven goals in total.

Tuchel's side did at least finish the summer on a high, beating France 6-4 in an eventful third-place play-off to secure England's best World Cup finish since 1966.

That result means England have scored in six successive matches and won four of their last five, though a patched-up back line now has to find an answer to Spain's front three without Declan Rice screening it, and anyone comparing prices on this one before staking anything is well served checking our best new sports betting sites.

Spain's run to the World Cup title under De la Fuente was built on seven straight wins, starting with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Austria in the group stage and scoring in every one of those matches.

Knockout wins over Portugal, Belgium and France completed that unbeaten run before Spain beat Argentina in the final to lift a first World Cup since 2010.

De la Fuente has since been rewarded with a contract extension to 2032, confirmed by the Spanish federation this month, a mark of the federation's faith in the group he has built around Pedri, Rodri and Lamine Yamal.

The head coach has made wholesale changes to his squad all the same, handing debuts to uncapped duo Ivan Fresneda and Roberto Fernandez as he starts widening his options beyond the World Cup-winning core, and bettors tracking how the market moves across the Nations League campaign can follow our best football betting websites for updated pricing.

Nations League openers rarely carry World Cup stakes, but both camps have treated Saturday's fixture as an early form guide, with each manager forced into changes from their World Cup final selections through injury, retirement or straightforward rotation.

Team news: injuries and predicted XIs for England vs Spain

England

Tuchel confirmed this week that Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento have all pulled out of the squad through injury, a blow that strips out both defensive cover and creative depth in central midfield.

Lewis Hall trained on Tuesday but was absent from the session the following day, leaving his involvement this weekend in genuine doubt.

Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner have both been drafted in as late replacements, giving Tuchel fresh alternatives for the two vacated central-midfield spots.

Jarell Quansah is expected to start at right-back ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Alex Scott stepping into Rice's holding role alongside Elliot Anderson, and readers new to these markets can find the basics covered in our how sports betting works.

Harry Kane, fresh off a prolific World Cup, is four caps behind equalling Peter Shilton's all-time England appearance record if he features in all four of this international window's fixtures.

With Marcus Rashford ruled out, a good share of England's creative responsibility falls on Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham to supply Kane against a Spain back line missing regular full-back Pedro Porro.

England predicted lineup vs Spain

Pickford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly; Scott, Anderson; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Spain

De la Fuente is without back-up goalkeeper Joan Garcia and first-choice full-back Pedro Porro through injury, meaning Unai Simon continues as his number one between the posts.

Marcos Llorente has retired from international football since the final, while Gavi and Borja Iglesias have both been left out of this squad entirely.

Two uncapped players, Ivan Fresneda and Roberto Fernandez, have been included as De la Fuente begins widening his pool beyond the World Cup-winning group.

Up to three changes are expected from the side that started the final, with Eric Garcia and Pedri in line to come into a reshaped XI alongside Ferran Torres, who pushes for a starting recall in place of Alex Baena.

Spain have conceded only once in their last five matches, the defensive platform on which their World Cup triumph and their return to the top of the FIFA world rankings were built.

Spain predicted lineup vs England

Simon; E Garcia, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Olmo, Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Oyarzabal, Torres

Head-to-head: England's history with Spain

England hold the upper hand across the sides' full history, with 14 wins from 28 meetings to Spain's 11, though the two nations have met only three times in the last eight years and just once in the last five.

That solitary recent meeting was about as big as international football gets, the Euro 2024 final in Berlin, which Spain won 2-1 through goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal either side of a Cole Palmer equaliser.

The pair also met twice in the 2018-19 Nations League, both matches won by the travelling side: Spain 2-1 at Wembley in September 2018, then England 3-2 in Seville the following month.

Saturday's meeting is the first competitive reunion since that Euro 2024 final, and the first time either side has hosted the other outside a major-tournament final since 2018.

Only three of those 28 meetings have finished level, underlining how rarely this fixture produces a cagey stalemate whatever the occasion.

Our England vs Spain prediction and best bets

Results in this Nations League group also feed into UEFA's overall coefficient rankings for future seeding, adding a little extra needle to an already box-office fixture between two heavyweights of the European game.

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Odds correct as of Thursday, 24 September 2026, 14:00 BST.