England captain Kane thinks referee ‘bottled it’ after ruling out Welbeck goal

England captain Harry Kane claimed the referee “bottled it” by ruling out a stoppage-time equaliser from Danny Welbeck as Spain won their UEFA Nations League opener 2-1 at Wembley.

The Three Lions, with eight of the XI which began the World Cup semi-final against Croatia, swept into a 10th-minute lead through Marcus Rashford.

However, Spain, with former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique now in charge, hit back straight away when Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez lashed in from close range after trademark slick build-up play.

The visitors then turned the match around after 32 minutes when Rodrigo volleyed in following a free-kick.

There was a lengthy delay early in the second half as Manchester United defender Luke Shaw, making his first England start since September 2015, was taken off on a stretcher after a heavy fall following a collision with Dani Carvajal.

Deep into nine minutes of added time, England thought they had found an equaliser when substitute Welbeck hooked the ball in after it had been dropped at his feet by David de Gea – but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie ruled the goal out for a foul.

Kane, who had collected the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot before kick-off, was left less than impressed at the decision, which he felt had been “100 per cent” wrong.

“In the big moments you need the referee to stay strong, and unfortunately he has bottled it,” the Tottenham striker said on Sky Sports.

“Danny Welbeck has just stood there, the keeper went to catch it and fell on top of him, he has put it away and somehow the ref has given it as a foul.

“In the big moments you need a firm referee who under the pressure doesn’t give wrong decisions really.”

“It is disappointing to finish that way, because I thought we played well, especially in the second half and deserved a draw at least.”

England also have Croatia in Group A4, and must now regroup for a friendly against Switzerland in Leicester on Tuesday night.

Kane continued: “It was a good game, a real test against a team that keeps the ball well. There were stages where it was difficult for us, but we had good spells throughout the game as well and we probably created the better chances.

“We tried to press and play with high intensity without the ball, but they are a very good team.

“However, this is what this competition is about. There’s a lot of stuff we can learn from, but I think we can hold our heads up high.”

England manager Gareth Southgate felt his players deserved credit for the way they continued to look for a way back into the match.

“We could have folded and disappeared. In the last 25 minutes we came into the game and could have got a draw,” he said on Sky Sports.

“We are under no illusion that Spain were the better team for long periods. We are still at the early stages of what we want to do.

“We are still finding out feet in playing out. We can go back to an old style but we will never be a top team. Or we stick with it and accept it won’t always work.”

Southgate added: “When we are match fitter we will function better up the pitch.

“We have to keep reviewing and looking at what we do. But we want to stick to the plan and get better at it.”