Spain 2 - England 0: Gaspar stunner sinks Three Lions as Arsenal man makes it safe

Mario Gaspar celebrates after scoring the opener

ENGLAND were narrowly beaten by Spain thanks to a stunning second-half goal from Mario Gaspar and a cooly taken finish from Santi Cazorla in Alicante.

 

It was always going to take a moment of magic to settle a tie between two sides that were evenly matched throughout.

And Gaspar provided just that on 72 minutes, before Arsenal midfielder Cazorla wrapped it up five minutes from time.

But the display will give Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson some cause for optimism

Harry Kane led the line well but might have done better with the finish after a lovely move that involved Raheem Sterling, Ryan Bertrand and Fabian Delph.

 

Arsenal's Santi Cazorla made it safe with five minutes to go

Bertrand and Sterling, in particular, looked dangerous down the left-hand side.

However, the hosts created chances of their own, the best falling to out-of form Chelsea striker Diego Costa in the second half, who curled just wide.

Jordi Alba then stung the palms of Joe Hart before Gaspar's moment of pure brilliance.

The defender looped a controlled overhead kick out of Hart's reach, which nestled nicely into the bottom corner.

And Cazorla made the game safe, side-footing past Hart with his left-foot to give a comfortable look to tech scoreline.