Spain beat England 1-0

Manchester:

Andres Iniesta scored his first international goal on Wednesday to lead Spain over England 1-0 in an international friendly. Iniesta collected a clearance from England defender Rio Ferdinand and scored with a long-range goal in the 63rd minute, shortly after he had come on as a substitute. England had its best chance when lone striker Peter Crouch sent a first-half shot wide. "We just lacked that bit of quality, that final ball," England coach Steve McClaren said after his team was booed off the field. "It's very difficult in friendly like this when you have to make changes and fit different people in." England is in third place in Group E of European Championship qualifying and faces a tricky trip to Israel next month. Spain is fifth in Group F, having earned only three points from a possible nine. Starting lineup Spain coach Luis Aragones opted for a starting lineup with no foreign-based players, while McClaren made seven changes to the team which drew 1-1 at the Netherlands in a November. "I'm very pleased Iniesta came up with a goal because one of the things we talked about before the game was getting midfield players forward quickly in order to hit the target and that paid off," Aragones said. Newcastle United's Kieron Dyer, starting for the first time in four years, had two scoring chances in the first two minutes, but he came away with nothing. Spain didn't threaten until the 18th when Fernando Morientes beat Gary Neville but somehow sent his shot skyward, despite only having England goalkeeper Ben Foster to beat. England's attack, missing the injured Wayne Rooney, faded before threatening Iker Casillas' goal. In the 40th, when Steven Gerrard picked out Crouch near the goal, the Liverpool striker shot wide. David Villa had the first chance of the second half in the 58th, but Foster saved the powerful shot. The two teams also drew 1-1 in 2004 when they met the last time in Madrid, Spain.