Spain vs. England: Thomas Tuchel confirms one change and two boosts for Nations League finale

England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that James Trafford will start in goal for Sunday's UEFA Nations League group-stage finale against Spain.

The Three Lions take on the world champions at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, knowing that only a win will do if they are to progress to the quarter-finals as group winners.

Tuchel's side have already sealed a last-eight spot with 12 points on the board, but La Roja boast a perfect total of 15, having bested England 3-2 at Wembley back in September.

England confirmed a top-two finish by edging out Croatia 2-1 on Thursday, on an evening when Jordan Pickford was selected to make his 94th senior international appearance.

However, the Everton shot-stopper will now make way for Leeds United's Trafford, as confirmed by Tuchel in his pre-game press conference on Saturday evening.

"James Trafford will play tomorrow. We want to see how far Traff is," Tuchel told the media, as Trafford gears up to win just his fifth cap for England since making his debut in March.

Spain vs. England: How do James Trafford, Jordan Pickford compare?

An unused substitute throughout the World Cup, Trafford started both of England's first two Nations League games in the current cycle, shipping three to Spain before keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Both Trafford and Pickford have played every minute of the 2026-27 Premier League season so far, and both have four clean sheets to their name from their 10 appearances.

Pickford has conceded 10 goals to Trafford's eight, though, and the Leeds number one also boasts the best save percentage in the league, stopping 82.2% of the shots on target he has faced.

Arsenal's David Raya is second on the list with 80%, while Pickford lies sixth with a 73.7% save percentage, and the Everton man has also made fewer saves in total; 28 to Trafford's 37.

In addition, the former Manchester City goalkeeper has prevented 4.4 goals in the 2026-27 Premier League - the joint-most with Bart Verbruggen and Lukas Hornicek - strengthening his case to oust Pickford as England's number one.

Thomas Tuchel confirms double injury boost for England against Spain

As well as confirming that Trafford will start in between the sticks, Tuchel also revealed that Ezri Konsa and Djed Spence are both fit to play on Sunday.

The Arsenal centre-back and Inter Milan full-back were absent from Thursday's win over Croatia, having been restricted to individual training during the week as a precautionary measure.

However, Konsa and Spence's returns means that Tuchel will be blessed with a triple boost on Sunday, as Myles Lewis-Skelly is also back from a yellow-card suspension.