England vs. Spain: La Roja are "the outstanding team in world football" and will be bidding to send message at Wembley

Ahead of Spain's clash with England in the UEFA Nations League, Sports Mole's Football Editor Matt Law discusses La Roja.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "It is very much about the team'

England vs. Spain UEFA Nations League Match Preview

Interestingly, Spain's joint heaviest defeat of all time did come against England, at Highbury. A 7-1 win for England back in 1931. So perhaps that is some confidence England can take, that they do hold the joint highest ever win over Spain.

What impressed me most about Spain at the World Cup was the way they went about the games and the way they won. That was probably encapsulated by their performance in the final, where Argentina tried everything.

Everything one side of the line, and they went over the line lots and lots of times to try and make it difficult for Spain. I think it was a victory for football that Spain ultimately were able to win that final against Argentina.

It was far from a classic, considering what we saw with France and Argentina in that amazing final, seeing Mbappe and Messi coming to the forefront. What is even more fascinating about them is when you look through their XI, the team that started the World Cup final.

Lamine Yamal is an unbelievable talent who is already one of the best players in the world, and I'm sure in a few years he will become the undisputed best player in the world.

Elsewhere, you look at Cubarsi, who is obviously a fantastic player, but Laporte, Porro and Cucurella are all good players who aren't top-drawer players that you would expect to be part of a team that concedes so few goals.

Obviously, Unai Simon is a fantastic goalkeeper. He has a decent understudy in David Raya as well. Rodri in midfield was obviously fantastic as well. But the point I'm trying to make is, I know Oyarzabal came into the team late on. Nico Williams had his own fitness problems.

Oyarzabal's record for Spain is very good, but he hasn't scored this season for Real Sociedad. He isn't an elite forward in the way that a prime Fernando Torres, a prime David Villa or a Raul were in the past for Spain. So it is very much about the team.

Death by a thousand passes in some games, and they keep the ball so well. The shape of the team is fantastic. Everyone knows what they are doing.

I think what is really interesting for Spain moving forward is that Nico Williams has had a decent start to the season, certainly fitness-wise as well, and he is obviously going to be looking to cement his place back in the team.

He was so good at the Euros, especially against England in that final. Pedri started the season well. He came out of the team in the World Cup, with Luis coming in.

Dani Olmo was very much an unsung hero of that Spain side. I think he had the highest final-third pressures for Spain in the tournament. That shows his importance to what they do.

They have won the tournament before, and last time out they lost to Portugal in the final on penalties. De la Fuente, the manager, has signed a new long-term deal to 2032, so he is going to be a huge part of what they are doing moving forward.

He was with the 19s and the 21s, and obviously had the Olympic side as well. When he first came in, there were a lot of people who questioned whether he could be the manager they wanted, whether his style of football was suited, and whether he could translate the success from youth level at Spain into the senior side, which as we know is really difficult, especially for a sustained period.

You get those managers who are just international managers. I can't imagine De la Fuente going to Real Madrid and managing. I'm sure he would do a great job, but some managers are just suited to international football.

That is obviously such a different style of management. But I think Spain are first in the FIFA rankings, the outstanding team in world football, with the outstanding international manager in world football and, obviously, Lamine Yamal.

Interestingly enough, Yamal wasn't great at the World Cup. I say he wasn't great. He was really good, but he didn't have an outstanding tournament and drag Spain to success.

So he is obviously going to be looking to get back on track in a Spain shirt, having had a fabulous start to the season with Barcelona. It is a big test for England. I do think it will be tight.

I think the England absences will ultimately see Spain be slightly too strong. Spain are the favourites for the tournament. They are the favourites for this game. They are the outstanding team in world football. For me, they could potentially dominate for a few years yet.