- Published
When England take on Spain in their opening Nations League match on Saturday, it will be tinged with a feeling of 'what could have been' for Three Lions fans.
The Wembley match comes three months after England agonisingly missed out on the chance to face La Roja in the World Cup final, having lost to Argentina in the last four.
That would have been a repeat of the 2024 Euros final, which England also lost.
In fact, their record against top-10 sides leaves much to be desired.
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record → publish → much
In their past 15 matches against sides ranked in the top 10 in the world - according to Fifa's rankings - England have won six matches.
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England → rank → matches
The victory over Les Bleus to take third place was Thomas Tuchel's first win as England boss over a top-10 opponent.
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victory → take → opponent
And his first win over opposition ranked inside the top 20 came in their opening group game at the tournament against Croatia.
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win → rank → Croatia
So do England have a problem against top-10 opposition?
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England → have → opposition
What do the stats say?
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stats → say → What
Six wins in their past 15 games against top-10 opponents are not the kind of numbers an England team with the ambition of winning major tournaments can be happy with.
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team → win → tournaments
Two of those wins meant the Three Lions advanced to the Euro finals of 2020 and 2024.
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Lions → mean → 2020
One was in the World Cup match no one wants to play in, two were Euro qualifying matches against an Italy side already on a sharp decline and one came against Belgium in a Nations League match six years ago.
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one → want → match
To put it simply, when faced with really elite opposition, England continue to stumble.
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England → put → opposition
England have been eliminated every time they have faced a top-10 ranked nation in the knockout stages of the World Cup since 1998 - seven times out of seven.
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they → eliminate → seven
In their past 10 World Cup games against sides ranked in the top 10, their sole win came in the 2002 group stage against Argentina.
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win → rank → Argentina
When faced with the defending world champions at the World Cup, they have lost on all four occasions.
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they → face → occasions
1954 - Uruguay 4-2 England
1962 - Brazil 3-1 England
2022 - England 1-2 France
2026 - England 1-2 Argentina
England have fared better at the Euros, overcoming top-10 opponents in Denmark and the Netherlands to reach the final at the past two tournaments but ultimately falling at the final hurdle on both occasions against Spain (2024) and Italy (2020).
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England → fare → Spain
Meanwhile, their lowest possession in their last 15 games against top-10 opponents came in the semi-final against Argentina (35.8%) at this summer's World Cup and in those Euros finals against Spain (34.9%) and Italy (42.1%).
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possession → come → Spain
'We just need to be ourselves'
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We → need → ?
England's all-time top scorer Kane, with 85 goals, was asked which missing ingredient was needed to get them over the line.
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ingredient → ask → line
"I think it's just in those biggest moments, still being ourselves," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
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he → think → Radio
"The Argentina game was so hard to take, because we had a mindset of going to win the tournament, win in our way and our style, and if we lose trying to do that then we will take that.
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we → take → that
"The Argentina game was maybe the first game we tried 'not to lose' in the last 30 minutes and then we ended up losing anyway.
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we → try → minutes
"
Kane has scored 152 goals in 154 games for Bayern, winning two Bundesliga titles.
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Kane → score → titles
"I have experienced it at Bayern Munich for example, you don't fear anyone," the 33-year-old said.
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old → experience → anyone
"You go and be yourself, if a team beats you, shake their hand after and say well done.
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team → go → hand
You have an identity that you keep throughout.
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you → have → that
I think with England now that is where we need to look.
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we → think → England
We are very close, we have been very close but ultimately, we don't need to fear anyone.
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we → need → anyone
"We just need to be ourselves in the biggest moments and hopefully get over the line."
Same questions continue to resurface - analysis
England have been getting closer to major tournament glory over a number of years but the same question remains - can they dominate the ball and beat elite opposition?
At Euro 2020, the last-16 win over Germany was huge - beating one of the historic footballing powers.
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win → need → powers
But that was a German side in transition who were, at the time, ranked outside the world's top 10.
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who → rank → 10
England were then beaten by Italy in the final after taking the lead, dropping deep and giving up possession before losing on penalties.
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England → beat → penalties
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Three Lions started the tournament with a free-flowing 6-2 win over Iran.
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Lions → start → Iran
But yet again the same issues resurfaced.
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issues → resurface → ?
Despite largely being the better team against France, a Harry Kane missed penalty and Les Bleus' know-how put England out at the quarter-final stage.
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penalty → miss → stage
Euro 2024 proved to be one tournament too far for Gareth Southgate and that team did not play anywhere near their best, relying on individual quality to get them through.
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team → prove → them
A last-gasp Ollie Watkins strike was needed to beat the Netherlands in the semis while Kane was not at full fitness and without him at his best, the team never troubled a formidable Spain side.
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team → need → side
After a flawless 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign and a new elite coach in Tuchel, many thought this was England's time for glory.
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this → think → glory
But, despite showing a huge amount of togetherness and grit in the last-16 win over Mexico, the same old problems once again sunk England.
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problems → show → England
The Three Lions cannot seem to translate world class talent into ball possession and control of the game, with Tuchel saying he may have to embrace the chaos, and Anthony Gordon adding that England should lean on their traditional direct style.
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England → seem → style
Perhaps that is what is needed to finally end their long wait for a trophy.
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what → need → trophy
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