DANNY WELBECK is adamant his stoppage-time effort in England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain should have been allowed to stand.

Welbeck prodded home what he thought was an equaliser in injury-time at Wembley, finding the net from close range after David de Gea spilled the ball at his feet as he attempted to claim a sliced clearance from Sergio Ramos.

Welbeck did not touch de Gea as he dropped the ball on the edge of the six-yard box, although he did make contact with Sergio Busquets as the pair tussled.

Referee Danny Makkelie ruled out Welbeck’s strike, but the Arsenal striker feels it was the wrong decision.

“I didn’t intentionally touch the goalkeeper,” said Welbeck. “He’s kind of dropped the ball on my head, the ball’s landed for me and I’ve put it in the back of the net. But it’s the referee’s decision at the end of the day that stands.

“It was the end of the game and we were getting a few more opportunities on the ball and some more openings. Unluckily, we didn’t put them away. It would have been nice to crown the night like that.”

Skipper Harry Kane was more forthright in his post-match protests, claiming the Dutch referee had lacked the bravery required to award a goal.

Match officials always tend to protect goalkeepers in a crowded penalty area, and de Gea certainly appeared to make the most of any minor contact once he realised he had dropped the ball.

“In those big moments, you need the ref to stay strong, but unfortunately, he’s just bottled it,” said Kane. “In the big moments, you need a firm referee who doesn’t get decisions wrong under pressure.

“Danny Welbeck’s just stood there. De Gea went up, he caught the ball, but, as he went down, he fell on Danny – no foul or anything – and the ball dropped. Sometimes, goalkeepers get better treatment than the rest of us, and that’s unfortunate.”

Southgate was equally convinced that Welbeck’s effort should have been allowed to stand, and the England boss was uncharacteristically furious after it was chalked off. That said, though, he accepts Spain were deserved winners.

“The two defenders tried to block Danny out of it,” said Southgate. “De Gea came over the top and just dropped it. It should have been a goal, but over the 90 minutes, Spain were better than us for long periods of the game.”