England beaten by Spain

David Villa opened the scoring at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, then Fernando Llorente replaced Fernando Torres and sealed the friendly win, Fabio Capello's second defeat as England boss.

Beckham came on at the break and saw plenty of the ball but Capello's men struggled to create clear-cut chances until Carlton Cole came off the bench for his debut and had an effort cleared off the line.

The evening was not without its encouraging aspects as Emile Heskey and Glen Johnson were among those who shone and Carlton Cole produced a late cameo.

But with Xavi a class above anyone else on the pitch, Spain were simply too good and too effective in too many areas for the visitors.

For long periods, it was an absorbing contest between two pretty decent teams, a label that certainly could not have been attached to England 12 months ago as they took their first tentative steps under Capello, trying to make up for the shattering disappointment of what had gone before.

It has to be said, some of Spain's passing is fantastic and in Barcelona's Xavi they have one of the most stylish players on the planet right now.

Spain opened the scoring as Phil Jagielka passed out of defence straight to Xabi Alonso in space. He quickly transferred possession to Villa, who only made things worse for Jagielka by skipping past his attempt to make amends, holding off John Terry, then sliding a precise shot past David James.

Five changes at half-time included Beckham's introduction for Stewart Downing, allowing a player whose career is littered with notable milestones to claim one of the most cherished.

There should be no surprise Xavi should provide the free-kick that allowed Llorente to wrap up Spain's victory eight minutes from the end.