Spain vs England: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis, UEFA Nations League 2018-19

#3 Jordan Pickford's distribution and England's midfield runs key to all goals

Jordan Pickford helped create England's first two goals

There were two aspects that made England's attack so much superior to Spain's. One of them was Jordan Pickford's distribution and long balls forward.

The first goal had seen the Everton goalkeeper find Harry Kane who had dropped to midfield - almost like a false nine. This resulted in Spain's defenders stepping up, allowing Rashford and Sterling to use their pace to get in behind.

Even the second goal had seen Pickford pick out Kane who managed to not only keep the ball but also run a full circle to keep defenders distracted that allowed Rashford to steal in behind and score.

This was a problem with Spain's defence. They were never alert to the danger of England's runs from deep until the final pass was made. Even for the third goal, nobody followed Kane's run as he latched on to Ross Barkley's lob over the defence to lay it on a plate for Sterling.