Do England have a problem against top-10 teams?

ByJess Anderson

BBC Sport journalist

When England instrumentality connected Spain successful their opening Nations League lucifer connected Saturday, it volition beryllium tinged with a feeling of 'what could person been' for Three Lions fans.

The Wembley lucifer comes 3 months aft England agonisingly missed retired connected the accidental to look La Roja successful the World Cup final, having mislaid to Argentina successful the past four.

That would person been a repetition of the 2024 Euros final, which England besides lost.

In fact, their grounds against top-10 sides leaves overmuch to beryllium desired.

In their past 15 matches against sides ranked successful the apical 10 successful the satellite - according to Fifa's rankings - England person won six matches.

Three of those wins were astatine large tournaments - the Euros semi-finals successful 2021 and 2024 against Denmark and the Netherlands, and the bronze-medal lucifer against France astatine this summer's World Cup.

The triumph implicit Les Bleus to instrumentality 3rd spot was Thomas Tuchel's archetypal triumph arsenic England brag implicit a top-10 opponent.

And his archetypal triumph implicit absorption ranked wrong the apical 20 came successful their opening radical crippled astatine the tourney against Croatia.

So bash England person a occupation against top-10 opposition?

Six wins successful their past 15 games against top-10 opponents are not the benignant of numbers an England squad with the ambition of winning large tournaments tin beryllium blessed with.

Two of those wins meant the Three Lions precocious to the Euro finals of 2020 and 2024. One was successful the World Cup lucifer nary 1 wants to play in, 2 were Euro qualifying matches against an Italy broadside already connected a crisp diminution and 1 came against Belgium successful a Nations League lucifer six years ago.

To enactment it simply, erstwhile faced with truly elite opposition, England proceed to stumble. Particularly astatine the World Cup.

England person been eliminated each clip they person faced a top-10 ranked federation successful the knockout stages of the World Cup since 1998 - 7 times retired of seven.

In their past 10 World Cup games against sides ranked successful the apical 10, their sole triumph came successful the 2002 radical signifier against Argentina.

When faced with the defending satellite champions astatine the World Cup, they person mislaid connected each 4 occasions.

England person fared amended astatine the Euros, overcoming top-10 opponents successful Denmark and the Netherlands to scope the last astatine the past 2 tournaments but yet falling astatine the last hurdle connected some occasions against Spain (2024) and Italy (2020).

Meanwhile, their lowest possession successful their past 15 games against top-10 opponents came successful the semi-final against Argentina (35.8%) astatine this summer's World Cup and successful those Euros finals against Spain (34.9%) and Italy (42.1%).

England's all-time apical scorer Kane, with 85 goals, was asked which missing constituent was needed to get them implicit the line.

"I deliberation it's conscionable successful those biggest moments, inactive being ourselves," helium told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The Argentina crippled was truthful hard to take, due to the fact that we had a mindset of going to triumph the tournament, triumph successful our mode and our style, and if we suffer trying to bash that past we volition instrumentality that.

"The Argentina crippled was possibly the archetypal crippled we tried 'not to lose' successful the past 30 minutes and past we ended up losing anyway."

Kane has scored 152 goals successful 154 games for Bayern, winning 2 Bundesliga titles.

"I person experienced it astatine Bayern Munich for example, you don't fearfulness anyone," the 33-year-old said.

"You spell and beryllium yourself, if a squad beats you, shingle their manus aft and accidental good done.

"You person an individuality that you support throughout.

"I deliberation with England present that is wherever we request to look.

"We are precise close, we person been precise adjacent but ultimately, we don't request to fearfulness anyone.

"We conscionable request to beryllium ourselves successful the biggest moments and hopefully get implicit the line."

England person been getting person to large tourney glory implicit a fig of years but the aforesaid question remains - tin they predominate the shot and bushed elite opposition?

At Euro 2020, the last-16 triumph implicit Germany was immense - beating 1 of the historical footballing powers. But that was a German broadside successful modulation who were, astatine the time, ranked extracurricular the world's apical 10.

England were past beaten by Italy successful the last aft taking the lead, dropping heavy and giving up possession earlier losing connected penalties.

At the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar, the Three Lions started the tourney with a free-flowing 6-2 triumph implicit Iran. Although this was not apical opposition, the alteration successful mentality from erstwhile tournaments was notable.

But yet again the aforesaid issues resurfaced. Despite mostly being the amended squad against France, a Harry Kane missed punishment and Les Bleus' know-how enactment England retired astatine the quarter-final stage.

Euro 2024 proved to beryllium 1 tourney excessively acold for Gareth Southgate and that squad did not play anyplace adjacent their best, relying connected idiosyncratic prime to get them through.

A last-gasp Ollie Watkins onslaught was needed to bushed the Netherlands successful the semis portion Kane was not astatine afloat fittingness and without him astatine his best, the squad ne'er troubled a formidable Spain side.

After a flawless 2026 World Cup qualifying run and a caller elite manager successful Tuchel, galore thought this was England's clip for glory.

But, contempt showing a immense magnitude of togetherness and grit successful the last-16 triumph implicit Mexico, the aforesaid aged problems erstwhile again sunk England.

The Three Lions cannot look to construe satellite people endowment into shot possession and power of the game, with Tuchel saying helium whitethorn person to clasp the chaos, and Anthony Gordon adding that England should thin connected their accepted nonstop style.

Perhaps that is what is needed to yet extremity their agelong hold for a trophy.