Spain have become the benchmark opponent for England, which is one reason England vs Spain odds attract so much attention, and the two meet again at Wembley on 26 September in the Nations League.
The head-to-head figures are less lopsided than recent meetings suggest, and they read differently again beside England’s records against France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.
The Spain record has two halves
England and Spain have met 28 times since May 1929. England have won 13, drawn four and lost 11, scoring 46 goals and conceding 34. The Euro 1996 quarter-final at Wembley counts among those draws, because the 0-0 was settled on penalties rather than in play.
A narrow winning record, then, and one built almost entirely in the first 70 years of the fixture. Between 1929 and 1996 England won 10 of 18 meetings and lost five. From February 2001 onwards they have won three, drawn one and lost six.
Nineteen of the 28 games were friendlies, which softens the headline further. In competitive matches the split is four wins, two draws and three defeats, the last of those the 2-1 loss in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
The clearest high point of the modern run came in Seville in October 2018, when England won a Nations League tie 3-2 after leading 3-0 inside 38 minutes.
England’s best return comes against France
England have played France 33 times since May 1923, winning 18, drawing five and losing 10, with 78 goals scored and 45 conceded. That is the strongest of the five, and front-loaded in the same way the Spain figures are.
England won 10 of the first 11 meetings between 1923 and 1949, including a 6-0 away win in 1927. The most recent came on 18 July 2026, a 6-4 win in the World Cup third-place play-off.
England edge Germany by a single win
Counting West Germany, the sides have met 35 times since 1930. England have won 14, drawn eight and lost 13, a margin of one win across 96 years.
Two of those draws were tournament exits decided on penalties, the 1990 World Cup semi-final in Turin and the Euro 96 semi-final at Wembley.
England’s 2-0 win in the Euro 2020 round of 16 was their first knockout victory over Germany since the 1966 final, and the sides have not met since a 3-3 draw at Wembley in September 2022.
Italy is the one losing record of the five
Thirty-two meetings since 1933 have brought England 10 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats, with 39 goals scored. Two more shoot-out defeats sit inside that draws column, the Euro 2012 quarter-final in Kyiv and the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
The recent run goes the other way. England won 2-1 in Naples in March 2023, a first away victory over Italy since 1961, then 3-1 at Wembley that October.
England lose least often to Portugal
Twenty-three meetings since 1947 have produced 10 England wins, 10 draws and only three defeats, comfortably the lowest loss rate of the five. The first, in Lisbon in May 1947, finished 10-0.
Portugal have instead specialised in the draw that goes wrong later, knocking England out of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup on penalties after 2-2 and 0-0 finishes.
One of their three wins came at Euro 2000, a 3-2 result in Eindhoven after England had led 2-0. The last meeting was a 1-0 friendly at Wembley in June 2016.
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Where Spain sits among the five
Ranked by win rate, Spain do not stand out. England have won 46% of their meetings with Spain, second only to the 55% against France, and ahead of Portugal on 43%, Germany on 40% and Italy on 31%.
Measured by defeats, the order flips. England have lost 39% of games against Spain, a higher share than against Germany on 37%, Italy on 34%, France on 30% or Portugal on 13%.
England lose to Spain more often per game than to any of the other four. Since 2001 it is six defeats in ten, the highest raw count of the group, though France run them close with five in eight.
The overall record is close because of what happened before 2001, not because of anything since
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