Spain looks to double down on England’s final nightmares – Sportsnet.ca

The last two teams standing at Euro 2024 could not be more opposite.

Although both teams have displayed relentless attitudes in getting to the final, Luis de la Fuente’s free-flowing, dazzling Spain has its perfect winning record on the line against Gareth Southgate’s England, which needed to slowly build its confidence after scraping through its first six games.

The result of each team’s last final appearance is starkly different, too. La Roja won the European Championship in 2012 to seal consecutive titles. Meanwhile, the Three Lions have now reached back-to-back finals, but are looking for a different result after falling on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020.

As 74,475 spectators surround the players inside the historic Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, fans will find out which team’s approach will prevail in the end.

Spain’s youth cohort looks to take final step

La Roja topped the ‘Group of Death’ in style before dispatching debutants Georgia, hosts Germany in extra time, and second-ranked France on route to the final. They delivered the most fluid, entertaining soccer in the tournament and made history as the first team to win six straight matches in a single edition.

Spain scored a chart-topping 13 goals from a leading 108 attempts. Only France in 1984 scored more at a single tournament (14). They also lead the tournament in assists (10). Lamine Yamal — who turned 17 the day before the final — has emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest stars. He’s the youngest to grace the tournament, the youngest scorer and leads the assist charts (three).

The squad is nearly telepathic on the pitch, demonstrating a constant understanding of where to place the ball in anticipation of a teammate’s next move. This relationship derived from De la Fuente’s focus on uncovering and developing youth talent, as he managed Spain to U19 and U21 European Championship victories. Those tournaments featured players now delivering at Euro 2024, including first-choice goalkeeper Unai Simon, starting midfield duo Rodri and Fabian Ruiz, extra-time hero Mikel Merino and Golden Boot leader Dani Olmo amongst others.

“We can be very optimistic for the future because we have a large talent base in Spain. Many of the players we’ve seen today will be in the first division in a few years — and in the senior national team,” he said back in 2015.

Less than a year ago, he added: “We have a team for the future, it’s what I’m most excited about.”

Both those prophecies are being fulfilled.

There’s still a sprinkle of veteran experience in the Spanish squad. Thanks to expert game management, hosts Germany and France both fell short in the dying moments against La Roja. Jesus Navas (38), Nacho (34), Dani Carvajal (32) and captain Alvaro Morata (31) can still rally this young team when the pressure mounts.

England out to prove a point after Euro heartbreak

Meanwhile, England received heavy criticism for its play over the last four weeks, much of it directed at Southgate. Stars addressed the topic in the media, with Phil Foden admitting, “The players have got to take some of the blame.”

On paper, the Three Lions had a much easier route to the final than Spain. But they didn’t make it easy on themselves.

England’s tournament started out sluggish and dull. Despite immense ball possession, it failed to create threatening attacks or inspire individual performances. Against Slovenia in the group stage, England completed nearly three times more passes (745 to Slovenia’s 275) but the match still finished 0-0.

Yet, gradually, England began to find that missing sprinkle of confidence to demonstrate its maturity.

They topped Group C despite two draws before dragging themselves past Slovakia with a 95th-minute equaliser from Jude Bellingham and eventually an extra-time winner from Harry Kane. The nightmares from Euro 2020 then resurfaced, but England buried those demons by prevailing against Switzerland on penalties. In the semifinal, substitutes Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins combined off the bench as another stoppage-time winner stunned the Dutch.

Southgate admitted his current squad was less celebratory once the full-time whistle went in the semifinal.

“There’s a different feel [than 2021]. We’re now in a different moment as a team, two tournaments on and a lot more big match experience,” Southgate told BBC Sport. “I guess there was less of a celebration, perhaps less satisfaction at reaching a final … I wouldn’t say it becomes run of the mill but it’s a little bit more normal for us.”

Can that big-match experience lift England to its first European Championship?

The make-or-break tactics

Looking ahead to the theatrics in Berlin, everyone’s attention will narrow in on whether Spain can extend its run to seven straight games. So, how can England stop it?

First, England must contain Yamal, full stop. It should be Southgate’s top priority, as the teenager’s ingenuity and precision help other players thrive.

Building on that, England can’t give Spain any space in the attacking area. Individuals such as Declan Rice, John Stones and Kyle Walker will carry the brunt of that responsibility, but you can expect Bellingham and Kane to drop back defensively as well. When off the ball, England must position themselves tightly to its opponent and in numbers to neutralize Spain’s innovative forwards or darting attacking midfielders.

England are unbeaten in its last six European Championship games when conceding — something they did in all three knockout games so far this tournament. However, they have yet to overcome more than a one-goal deficit in the tournament so they can’t let Spain’s offence take control.

The pressure of potentially losing two finals in a row is the elephant in the room for England, and no manager has ever lost two finals in competition history. Spain can use that to its advantage and take the mental edge if they can strike early against England.

This subsequently opens the door for La Roja to lead with a physical approach both on and off the ball. If Spain’s backline of Nacho, Aymeric Laporte, Dani Carvajal and Marc Cucurella can neutralize England’s stars early in the game, frustration could boil over for the Three Lions. The experience of the veteran cohort within the Spanish team will be crucial here.

Much of that focus for Spain will be on limiting England’s attack on the right side. Against the Dutch — which was undeniably England’s best performance at Euro 2024 — Foden, Bukayo Saka and game-winning substitutes Palmer and Watkins all created the best chances from that half of the pitch. By neutralizing its somewhat predictable approach on attack, Spain will force England to look elsewhere for goals.

Speaking of the substitutes, that’s another area that La Roja must be mindful of. Pundits criticized Southgate for not utilizing the plethora of talent at his disposal when playing against the grain. Premier League stars turned understudies like Palmer, Watkins, Conor Gallagher, Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen now have a massive point to prove that they should have earned more minutes. If Southgate opts to shake things up for the final, Spain must take extra precautions with the standbys.

After all the glaring differences, what England and Spain have in common is their status as heavyweights in international football. While they took vastly different routes to Berlin, it’s hard to argue one approach is better than the other. Yet, only one can prevail.

Sunday’s final presents an opportunity for new names to cement their status in sport folklore inside an Olympiastadion which has served as a theatre for the best to perform. After a summer spent in Germany, will Spain’s youth cohort finally taste senior glory, or will England finally get its Euro trophy?