Spain meets England in Madrid on 15 November with Nations League group lead at stake

Tuchel calls Spain the toughest test in world football

England coach Thomas Tuchel told a press conference at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on 14 November that facing Spain at national-team level is currently the biggest challenge in world football, because Spain looks unbeaten. He pointed to the European Championship and the World Cup as recent titles Spain has won and said England wanted to take that dominance away. Tuchel recalled that England came close in the first meeting at Wembley and said his group had plenty of confidence. The match is scheduled for 15 November in Madrid as matchday 6 of Nations League Group A3. Tuchel also said he had warned his players to pay attention to the anti-racism protocol, a point that drew a direct reply from Spain's coach.

De la Fuente rejects any racism claim

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente answered that there is no racism in Spain and asked that Tuchel be told so. He said the situation is the same as in England and that none of Spain's players are racists.

“In Spain there is no racism. None of us are racists.”

He made the remarks at the press conference held before the match at the Metropolitano, which is the last group-stage fixture of the competition. De la Fuente also praised Tuchel's squad, calling it a strong team with good players.

Squad news: Grimaldo out, Yamal likely to start

The Real Federación Española de Fútbol said on X that Álex Grimaldo had left the national team camp on 14 November because of a febrile illness, and wished him a quick recovery. The federation said the rest of the group had trained normally and would be available for the match. De la Fuente said every other player was in perfect condition, while Grimaldo had a flu-like illness and a poor night, so he would not train. He said 23 players are called up but 28 are in camp, which means five players will be told they will not dress for the match. He also said Lamine Yamal may start because he had recovered well after rest with his club.

Álex Baena said decisions about Yamal were made together by the player, de la Fuente, the clubs and the federation. He denied that Yamal received special treatment after discomfort that followed a match at the Metropolitano, when Yamal stayed in Barcelona for tests and rejoined the squad after the Prague game.

“Lamine has an enormous profile, he is our best player, apart from the team.”

Unbeaten run and group stakes

De la Fuente cited Spain's run of 43 matches without defeat and said the side now has the most unbeaten matches in national-team history. Spain has also won 12 consecutive matches, and the RFEF says it has 15 of 15 possible points in the group. El Periódico reported that both teams are already mathematically qualified, so the match decides first place. A draw would give Spain the top spot, while an England win would put Tuchel's side above them. De la Fuente said Spain would not settle for a draw and wants to keep adding to its records.

Pubill and the home crowd

RTVE interviewed Atlético defender Marc Pubill, who has scored two goals in this group stage and recently moved between left-back and centre-back for his club and country. He said the Metropolitano crowd would back Spain and that he wants to score and prevent goals for Atlético. He also said De la Fuente tells the squad that every match is a final.