Sam Allardyce's England to take on Spain in November
Sam Allardyce is to face an early test of his abilty to lead England at the highest level when the Three Lions take on Spain in a friendly in November.
The two sides will meet at Wembley on November 15, in what - for once - could be a fascinating international friendly.
Allardyce's reputation for direct but inelegant football could not be in greater contrast to that of Spain, whose possession-based approach - seemingly based on Barcelona's tactics - revolutionised the game in the late 2000s.
Indeed, Allardyce once famously spoke about 'tiki taka', witheringly referring to it as "tippy-tappy" and calling it "a load of old boll***s".
Spain are also at a crossroads, however: Vincente Del Bosque, the coach who led them to a World Cup and two successive European Championship victories, retired after Euro 2016. Their new coach, Julen Lopetegui, was most recently Porto manager, but spent four years in the Spain youth international set-up.
Allardyce's first fixture as England manager is a World Cup qualifier away in Slovakia on September 4, with subsequent matches looking against Malta on October 8, Slovenia on October 11 and Scotland on November 11.
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