Gareth Southgate’s men were brought down from their World Cup high by Spain, but England’s UEFA Nations League defeat was overshadowed by a nasty-looking injury to Luke Shaw.
The Three Lions got the reception they deserved at Wembley as they returned to action for the first time since equaling their best-ever World Cup performance on foreign soil.
But Spain gave Southgate an illustration of the work still required as Saul Niguez and Rodrigo secured the visitors a 2-1 comeback win after Marcus Rashford had opened the scoring in their first-ever Nations League match.
This was England’s first competitive home loss since Steve McClaren’s men fell to Croatia in a crunch qualifier in November 2007, but the inauspicious start to Group A4 paled into insignificance when compared to Shaw’s injury.
The 23-year-old produced a world-class pass for Rashford’s opener on his first international start since September 2015 – just a week before the hideous injury that he this week revealed nearly cost him his leg.
But Shaw’s assured return to England duty came to a shuddering halt minutes into second half.
The left-back required lengthy treatment after colliding with Dani Carvajal and hitting the deck, eventually leaving the field on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen mask.
The Football Association said it is not as serious as it looked, but the shock naturally took the sting out of the second half.
England pushed on in the closing stages but could not find an equalizer, with substitute Danny Welbeck seeing a goal ruled out deep in stoppage-time.