"Best team in the world" Spain will have too much for England in fascinating Nations League affair

Ahead of Spain's UEFA Nations League clash with England on Sunday, Sports Mole's Football Editor Matt Law discusses La Roja's chances of success.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "The outstanding team in the world"

It's an outstanding team. March 2024 was the last time they lost. They did lose to Portugal in the Nations League final on penalties, but technically that counts as a draw, so it doesn't work against them in terms of this record. 

They are just the outstanding team in the world, let alone Europe, and the clear number one in world football at the moment. 

That win the other night against Czechia epitomised everything that they could do without their best player, and without Oyarzabal, who's been fantastic for them. 

Laporte and Rodri were missing too. But they put a team on the field, and you look at the team and you say, "It's a really good team." 

On paper, they had Yeremy Pino and Alex Baena, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres, and don't get me wrong, these are wonderful players, but it's not Kylian Mbappe, it's not Lamine Yamal, it's not Harry Kane.

Those forwards are not at the top of world football. But as a team, they get the job done. 

They didn't really have to break sweat in that 2-0 win on Thursday, which put them on five wins from five in the section. It's an outstanding team, and one that will be strengthened by Lamine Yamal. He had a slight knee injury. 

I wonder how much of an injury it was, or whether, after that Barcelona-Atletico game, they just decided to give him a bit of a rest for the Czechia game because they felt like they could win without him. 

He's coming back into the squad, and Luis de la Fuente said that he's in excellent shape for this game, so I'm fully expecting him to come back into the starting side. 

Oyarzabal had an illness and also stayed behind for the birth of his second child, so he will join up with the squad as well. 

He's a player I really like and someone I've watched a lot of in La Liga. He's had an excellent record for Spain, with 31 goals and 12 assists in only 64 games, which is really good. 

He hasn't had the best start to the season for Real Sociedad, no doubt about that. He has been a little bit off it, in that it took a while for him to find the back of the net for them, but his international record is outstanding. 

Lamine Yamal has 25 goal contributions in 16 games for Barcelona this season, and 11 goals and 14 assists in 37 games for Spain. So we all know what to expect from Lamine Yamal in this game. Interestingly enough, will Nico Williams come back in? 

He missed out the other night through illness, and it's still unclear whether he is going to be available or whether he's going to be on the bench. Laporte was also ill the other night. 

That's my point, really: they can miss these players. They're one of those international teams where you can make four, five or six changes. The pattern is so embedded in what they play, the brand of football, through the youth team and through the training sessions. 

The quality obviously drops when you haven't got those top players, but the patterns of play are still the same. The players still know what they're doing. 

It's generally going to be good enough to beat most other teams. I don't think Spain with an under-strength team would fancy their chances against the best teams, but in 90% of the games they play, if they put their second string out, they're going to win. That's just how it is. It's an interesting game. 

I did the England post-match piece for Sports Mole last night, and I said that was not a performance that would leave the likes of Spain quaking in their boots for this game. 

I think Spain are the big favourites, especially considering the players that they'll welcome back in and their form. The manager's outstanding, and what an international manager he has turned out to be for Spain. 

It's a tough game for England. Topping the group from an English point of view would be great, but it was always about getting through to the next round. 

It would have been a disaster really if England didn't manage to make it through. Spain were always going to be the favourites to top the group. 

They're the favourites for the Nations League, and they're probably going to be the favourites for the next Euros and the next World Cup. That's just the way it is. Zubimendi was an interesting one for me the other night. 

He's going through a difficult spell club-wise at Arsenal at the moment, but he was one of Spain's best players last time out. 

Pedro Porro has had his problems at Tottenham, but on the international stage he turns into Cafu when he's playing for Spain. 

He was outstanding at the World Cup. Cucurella, and Cubarsi has gone to a new level with Spain and with Barcelona as well. They're good defensively. 

Rodri is missing, but Fabian Ruiz has been excellent this season for PSG, and he's always excellent for Spain. 

Someone else I did just want to mention, lastly, is Alex Baena, who had his chance at the World Cup with Nico Williams having his fitness problems. 

He has five goals and four assists this season for Atletico Madrid, and he caused Man United all sorts of problems when they played against him in the Champions League. 

He's an outstanding wide technical player, 25 years of age. If Nico Williams can't play, then he is some player off the left for them as well. 

So there are worrying signs. If I'm honest, I do think Spain win this game, but I think it'll be relatively close, just like the last game was. 

It was a really good spectacle last time out between these two sides. But Spain are the best team in the world at the moment. I expect them to win this, top the group and, to be honest, I expect them to win the Nations League as well this year.