14 Oct 2018
England's Stones & Henderson out of Spain game

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England will be without John Stones and Jordan Henderson for Monday's Nations League game against Spain in Seville.

Manchester City defender Stones and Liverpool midfielder Henderson are suspended after both were booked during Friday's 0-0 draw in Croatia.

Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho, 18, came off the bench for his debut in Rijeka and could feature again.

"We lose John and Jordan so there will be opportunities for others," said England manager Gareth Southgate.

"We're going to be playing in front of 60,000 people and we want to be as competitive as we can. We have to pick a team to represent the country as well as we can.

"We don't want to overburden players. Around friendly matches we can be more sensible but it's difficult around these games."

Spain top Group A4 in the inaugural Nations League having won their first two games, beating England 2-1 at Wembley in September.

Victory in Seville will be enough to see them win the group and book a place in the Nations League finals next June.

  • History-maker Sancho's path to the England squad
  • Quiz: Can you name Southgate's England debutants?

'We know they're a strong team'

Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta says his side "know what to expect" when they play England.

"We know England are a very strong team," said the Chelsea player.

"They reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. They have been working a few years together and play in a very good way. We know what to expect and England have to win if they want to qualify for the final four in June."

After exiting the World Cup in the last 16 against Russia, Luis Enrique's side has scored 12 goals in three games.

They thrashed Wales 4-1 in Cardiff on Thursday, with Paco Alcacer scoring twice and further goals from Sergio Ramos and Marc Bartra.

England captain Harry Kane says his side are "not quite there" in terms of keeping possession in the same way that Spain do.

"We've got different qualities," said Kane. "We've got great pace in the team, great one-against-one ability, and that's what we've got to try to exploit when we play them.

"It will be a tough game, but these are the experiences you want to be in."

The best of the stats

  • Spain have won each of their last four matches against England on home soil by an aggregate score of 6-0.
  • England have won just three of their last 13 matches against Spain (W3, D3, L7), picking up just one win in their last seven meetings (W1, D1, L5).
  • The last England goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in an away game against Spain was Peter Shilton in March 1980, in a 2-0 win.
  • England's last away win against Spain came back in February 1987 under Bobby Robson; Gary Lineker scored all four goals in a 4-2 win.
  • Spain are unbeaten in each of their last 38 competitive home games (W34, D4), last losing to Greece in June 2003 - 5609 days ago.
  • England are winless in their last four competitive matches (D1, L3). They last went five competitive internationals without a win back in October 1992 under Graham Taylor.
  • Spain's Paco Alcacer has scored nine goals in just five matches for club and country in all competitions this season, averaging a goal every 27 minutes.
  • Harry Kane has failed to score in his last six appearances for England, his joint-longest goalless run for the national side (also six between June-September 2016).