Before the EURO 2024 final , Spain was the team that was rated higher thanks to its playing style and convincing performance. Luis de la Fuente's team is the only team that has won all 6 matches and has never once had to enter a penalty shootout to determine victory or defeat. Meanwhile, England's journey to the final often relies on individual moments of brilliance rather than tactical marks.
La Roja will be the most difficult challenge for the "Three Lions" for their ambition to win the European Championship for the first time. How should Gareth Southgate approach the match to avoid falling behind his opponent in the EURO 2024 final?
According to statistics, Spain has an average of 57% of control time after 6 matches at EURO 2024. Meanwhile, this number for England is 58.6%. Even though the team has a better ball control rate than the opponent, the Three Lions will likely choose a cautious and tight style of play against La Roja. Southgate should let England lie in wait, choosing the right time to apply pressure and recover the ball, instead of stretching himself to attack and getting caught up in the opponent's playing style.
At EURO 2024, the 53-year-old captain once shared that the England team often had difficulty launching attacks from the middle area. In particular, experiments using Trent Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder, alongside Declan Rice have not shown effectiveness.
The "Three Lions" are likely to focus on attacking Spain's wing area, similar to how France opened the scoring in the semi-finals of EURO 2024. Bukayo Saka will be a real counterweight to Marc Cucurella on the wing. left wing. The two faced off in Arsenal's 5-0 victory over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium. This is considered a more feasible option than attacking the Spanish right wing, when Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand both played very solidly and were rated higher than Phil Foden.
One of the constant threats to England in the final comes from the wing striker pair Lamine Yamal - Nico Williams. Both have the ability to skillfully dribble the ball before releasing a pass to create opportunities for their teammates. Not only that, Yamal and Williams are also very dangerous with their dribbles to cut across the penalty area and shoot. The 16-year-old talent's super goal against France in the semi-finals of EURO 2024 is one of the typical examples.
In addition to controlling disruptive factors, the England team needs a plan to exploit the Unai Simon position - the vital point of the Spanish team at EURO 2024. Despite being the number one choice in La Roja's wooden frame in 3 recent major tournament, but the 27-year-old goalkeeper often makes disastrous mistakes.
At EURO 2020, Unai Simon made an elementary mistake to help Croatia score the opening goal in the round of 16. At the 2022 World Cup, the 1997-born goalkeeper's subjective catch caused Spain to lose to Japan. At EURO 2024, Unai Simon continued to make mistakes, causing La Roja to receive a penalty against Croatia.
In particular, the midfield area will be a hot spot in the EURO 2024 final, where Southgate needs to find a solution in blocking the duo Rodri and Fabian Ruiz. Both are considered central to La Roja's gameplay at EURO 2024 thanks to their remarkable ability to regulate and control the ball. If one of these two names is separated and isolated, England will likely make it difficult for Spain to develop their playing style in the final.
