Spain 2-1 England

Euro 2024/Final

MOTM: Nico Williams

Notable Stats:

• England have played 45 games at the UEFA Euros in their history, 19 matches more than any other nation that’s yet to win the trophy.

• Since the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, Spanish teams and the Spanish national team have played in 23 major finals (Champions League, UEFA Cup, Europa League, World Cup, European Championship) against non-Spanish teams and won the trophy on all 23 occasions.

• England have become the first nation in UEFA European Championship history to lose consecutive finals.

• This was the first UEFA EURO or FIFA World Cup Final to see two different teenagers start the match (Lamine Yamal and Kobbie Mainoo).

Match Stats:

• xG: 2.55 - 0.92

• xThreat: 1.59 - 0.81

• Possession: 65.2% - 34.8%

• Field Tilt: 69.8% - 30.2%

• Penalty Box Shots: 12 - 5

• Deep Completions: 12 - 7

• PPDA: 8.7 - 11.8

• High Turnovers: 5 - 4

• 10+ Pass Sequences: 24 - 10

Spain’s Superb Team Performance

England setup with their mid-block in the first half which was well organized. They limited the space for the midfield of Spain. Also reducing the threat had on the wings as Saka and Bellingham with drop deep when needed. Williams still found himself in some excellent positions during the first half and could have scored if it wasn’t for Kyle Walker and John Stones.

Morata caused some issues by dropping deep for his layoffs before England adjusted to prevent those passing coming into him. With Bellingham and Saka deep. England lacked the ability to threaten Spain in transition.

England worked well to limit Spain but at the cost of their own route to goal.

Rodri came off at half-time in what looks to be a hamstring injury. Replaced by Zubimendi.

Despite that blow Spain turned it up in the second half. Zubimendi dropped in and fitted seamlessly. They used a double pivot in the buildup which pulled Foden to one side, after doing a great job to cover Rodri in the first half and forcing Mainoo to move higher up the pitch. Opening up the space centrally between those two and Rice.

Watch the two midfielders in the double pivot for Spain in the video below to see their movement which caused England problems.

Spain found their opening goal shortly after the second half started and it’s no surprise both of their wingers played a key role. Carvajal had been continuing to get space down the right side of Spain since Shaw was unsure whether to press and Bellingham caught tucked in.

Pass by Le Normand into Carvajal who passes first time to Yamal. By-passing the England midfield.

Yamal then turns and drives into the middle, pulling England players with him. John Stones tracks the run on Morata into the box. Kyle Walker tracks the run of Dani Olmo into the box. Nico Williams hangs back wide in space.

Yamal eventually finds Nico Williams (47’) on the left side free in the box to finish.

England get back into the match with their goal. Pickford playing a ball into Jude Bellingham, he receives and turns under pressure from Cucurella. Able to lay it off for Cole Palmer to pass up the right flank to Bukayo Saka in space.

Saka then drives down the right side, getting past Laporte to find Jude Bellingham with the cutback.

Bellingham lays it off Cole Palmer (73’), making his late run into the box and curling the ball into the far bottom corner.

England provided Spain the space to score their second goal. You have to go back to this point to see it play out with their setup out of possession. Allowing Laporte/Le Normand time on the ball. Not being compact vertically. Look at the space between each line.

Spain turn and play through that central space England left by not being vertically compact. Pass played into Olmo. You’ll notice just how far back Cucurella begins his run from and isn’t tracked by Saka until too late.

Dani Olmo plays this pass into Oyarzabal which he passes first time into space for Cucurella to run into. Walker got caught between two players and then had to get out quickly to close off Cucurella.

Cucurella times his low cross into Oyarzabal (86’) perfectly for him to finish low into the goal. Great run after passing it out to into space for Cucurella but England should have tracked it let alone closed off the central space earlier.

After Spain found the winning goal England rolled the dice with some balls long to Ivan Toney whilst Spain brought on Merino to see out the game. Nothing stuck for England in the final few minutes as Spain closed out the added time to secure the Euros trophy.

Rodri picking up player of the tournament and Lamine Yamal young player of the tournament. Both well deserved.

England’s passing map included below tells it’s own story from the match. Having a dominant midfield that find one another between the lines, rotate positions and find solutions for the team in/out of possession is something England struggled to find throughout the tournament.

As Manchester City fans will know all too well, Aymeric Laporte is a fantastic central defender and if you provide him space on the ball he’ll cause as many problems as a midfielder can with his passing. The approach of England in the first half in particular, blocking off the midfield options in their mid-block meant Laporte and Le Normand had the space to get on the ball and try break down England.

There were a number of players in the Spain national team that either play in or grew up in the Basque Country. Zubimendi, Merino, Oyarzabal, Le Normand and Remiro all play for Real Sociedad. Unai Simon, Dani Vivan and Nico Williams all player for Athletic Bilbao. Aymeric Laporte is of Basque descent through his great grand-parents.

Spain were fantastic throughout the tournament and with those performances deserved to win the tournament. Perhaps the most entertaining national team of recent times but it’s certainly the most balanced one. Players with quality rather than popular names. Clear and simple tactical concepts. Players that found solutions on the pitch tactically and a group that came together for one another. Credit to Luis de la Fuente for what he’s built in a short space of time.

Moving forward for England the conversation will turn to whether the manager is the right person to get England over the line in a final. In terms of the squad dynamics and culture within the group, compared to how England looked before he took over is incredible. The progression in major tournaments, to consistently go deep in the knockout rounds is undeniable. The questions remain whether the style of play for this group of talented players in the team and coming up is the right fit.

It’s an appealing position where you get to work with very talented players, you are backed by the FA that leave you to do the job and you’re not in the daily pressure cooker that is club football. Plenty will be interested but there is no point moving on from Southgate if it’s going to be a step down.

Spain always split their central defenders from every goal kick. Spain played short. Spain pressed high. Regardless of the situation or opposition it’s ingrained into them. England always looked like they were caught between the two worlds. The old school English praise for athleticism over technical ability and IQ. The young players coming through with the technical ability to play in the way Spain do.

If you haven’t read through our thread on Dani Olmo then you can check it out below. Joint top scorer (3) for the tournament and joint with Lamine Yamal for total goal contributions (5).

Euro 2024

Individual Stats From Euro 2024

Team of the Tournament

Young Team of the Tournament (U23s)

Now that Euro 2024 has come to an end it’s time to switch back our focus to Manchester City who begin their pre-season next week against Celtic, 23rd July. We will be covering those games with reviews along with any transfers in/out of the squad over the summer.

Here is a thread on Alex Baena the third choice for Spain at #10, assist leader for La Liga 23/24 and a player Manchester City could look to sign if De Bruyne departs in summer 2025.

If you enjoyed our coverage of Euro 2024 then please reach out through email reply or the comments below to provide feedback.

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