A combined England and Spain XI will always be stacked with talent, and Darren Bent hasn’t fallen short with his selection.The two nations go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night for their 2026/27 Nations League opener, live on talkSPORT.Bellingham (left) and Yamal (right) are two of football’s best talents, and both have earned places in Bent’s world-class combined England and Spain XIGettyEngland and world champions Spain will meet in the competition for the first time since a clash in 2018, and two years after clashing in the final of Euro 2024.As the respective fourth and first best teams in world football via the FIFA rankings, each country has its own batch of world-class stars.Matchups such as this always spark debate over which players would be worthy of playing in a hypothetical collective starting XI.Bent has revealed who makes it into his side, where Spain narrowly wins by six players to five.The ex-Three Lions striker also has two right-wingers in Bukayo Saka and Lamine Yamal, but there is no room in the midfield for Declan Rice.Who is in Bent’s England and Spain XI?“Goalkeeper, Unai Simon,” Bent said and, when Drive host Andy Goldstein asked about the absence of David Raya, who plays for his beloved Arsenal, he explained: “I cannot pick him because he doesn’t play for Spain.”Bent continued: “Left-back, Marc Cucurella, Real Madrid, brilliant. Right-back, Reece James. I like Pedro Porro, who I thought was outstanding for Spain (at the World Cup), but Reece James is better.“Pau Cubarsi, Barcelona, he’s a serious footballer by the way. Now, the other centre-half, I wasn’t quite sure because I like (Aymeric) Laporte, I like (Ezri) Konsa.“But I went with Marc Guehi. I think he’s better than Laporte, I think he’s very, good.”When discussing the midfield, Bent said: “Holding, Rodri. The best holding midfield player. I’ve gone, in the no. 8 role, Fabian Ruiz. No. 10, Jude Bellingham.”Bent went through each position and named six Spain players, with the other five coming from EnglandHowever Rice, who has started in 75 of his 80 matches for England, is not able to make it into the teamGetty Images - GettyOn the exclusion of 80-cap man Rice, he explained: “I love Declan, but Fabian Ruiz over the last few years… he’s made massive contributions, this is what he’s done. “He’s won the Nations League, World Cup, Euros, two Champions Leagues back-to-back, Super Cup, Coupe de France, Trophee des Champions, and four Ligue 1 in a row.”In attack, Bent revealed: “Down the middle, I’ve gone Harry Kane. I like (Mikel) Oyarzabal, I think he’s good, but he’s not Harry Kane.”“On the left-hand side, I’ve gone Bukayo Saka,” he said, but Goldstein wasn’t having it and replied; “I see, you’ve got to get your boy into the team. He doesn’t play on the left.”“But I’m playing him on the left,” Bent insisted, before revealing: “On the right, I’ve got Lamine Yamal.”Goldstein protested the use of two right-wingers again, and asked what Kane is meant to do if each wide player has different roles.Bent explained why PSG star Ruiz was worthy of starting in his team, with his extensive list of accolades giving him the edgeGetty Images - Getty“You’ve got one of each,” Bent clarified. “He knows on Lamine Yamal’s side, he’ll probably cut in and shoot, so he won’t make his movement as dynamic. “On the other side, Bukayo Saka will get to the byline, cross it in, and he’ll score the goals.”