England and Spain meet at Wembley on Saturday 26 September in the opening round of the 2026-27 Nations League. It is the first competitive meeting between them since Spain won the Euro 2024 final 2-1 in Berlin, and anyone looking at the England vs Spain betting odds will find two squads that have held on to far more of that night than the two years in between might suggest.
Spain arrive as world champions after beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time in New Jersey in July. England finished third at the same tournament, losing 2-1 to Argentina in the semi-final before beating France 6-4 in the bronze final, England’s best World Cup finish since 1966.
In this article, we look at the players who started that final in Berlin and where they stand ahead of Wembley.
England kept most of their Berlin XI
Eight of the England side that started the Euro final were in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad. Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane all travelled to North America, with Kane again wearing the armband.
Saka’s hat-trick against France in the bronze final was the individual performance of England’s summer, and Bellingham scored in the same match to become England’s highest scorer in a single tournament with seven goals. Guehi has moved on considerably since Berlin, captaining the side against Japan in March, three months after his transfer to Manchester City.
Three of that team are no longer in the picture
Luke Shaw and Phil Foden started in Berlin, but neither of them made Tuchel’s 26 for the World Cup. Cole Palmer, who came off the bench to equalise that night, was also left out. 2024 final starter Kyle Walker retired from international football in March 2026 with 96 England caps.
Their places have gone to a younger group. Reece James, Nico O’Reilly and Djed Spence made up the full-back options in North America, while Elliot Anderson was handed the holding role alongside Rice after breaking into the squad only last autumn. That turnover has been one of the more discussed subjects across sports betting markets ahead of the window, given how settled England looked in that area two summers ago.
Spain have changed even less
Seven of the Spanish team that started in Berlin also started the World Cup final in July. Unai Simon, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo were all involved on both nights.
Mikel Oyarzabal, who came off the bench to win the Euro final with four minutes of normal time remaining, has since become the starting centre-forward and led the line against Argentina.
The Spanish players who dropped out
Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand and Alvaro Morata all started the Euro final, and none of them were named in Luis de la Fuente’s World Cup squad, which contained no Real Madrid players at all. Pedro Porro took the right-back position and Pau Cubarsi partnered Laporte in central defence.
Nico Williams, who scored the opening goal in Berlin, is still in the setup but began the final against Argentina on the bench, with Alex Baena preferred on the left.
Both managers are still in place
De la Fuente has now taken Spain to a European Championship title, a Nations League title in 2023, a second final in 2025 and now a World Cup, losing only that 2025 final to Portugal on penalties. Tuchel signed a contract extension in February that runs to Euro 2028, which England will co-host alongside Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
That continuity is unusual for a fixture of this size. The last time these teams met in the Nations League, in 2018, England won 3-2 in Seville and Spain won 2-1 at Wembley in a group both sides have long since moved past.