Euro 2024 Final: The key tactical battles as Spain and England chase glory

 

The Euro 2024 final is set. On Sunday, Spain and England will fight for the chance to lift that gleaming silver trophy - the one England came within a penalty shootout’s distance from winning last time out, the one Spain became so acquainted with just over a decade ago, but have longed for its company since.  

 

It feels very much like a battle of opposites. England have been justifiably criticised for their performances this summer, while Spain have been widely praised for theirs. Their styles feel very different and it should make for an intriguing final clash. 

 

Here, we analyse the key tactical battles and topics that will go a long way to deciding this matchup. 

 

Dealing with Rodri 

 

Rodri doesn’t often lose games, so his mere presence is often enough to inspire confidence in a Spanish win. Intriguingly, though, he’s set to square off in midfield against Kobbie Mainoo, who was on the winning side against Rodri just six weeks ago in the FA Cup final. He scored a goal that day too. 

 

There’ll be part of Gareth Southgate that wants to man-mark Rodri, therefore limiting his influence as much as possible, but France manager Didier Deschamps manager tried that with N’Golo Kante in the semi-final and it didn’t really work. Rather, it just took Kante away from the areas he does his best work, and he only totalled one solitary tackle on the night. 

 

 

It’s highly likely that this role - the one of scrambling Rodri’s influence as much as possible - will be given to Harry Kane, dropping deep from the forward line to pressure him on the ball and block passes into him. Whether it works is another question entirely. 

 

Kane the Pressure Relief Valve 

 

Kane also stands to play an important role for England in possession too. He won’t be able to offer a run in behind, but he can offer himself as a relief point when Spain are pressing England’s buildup, which will likely be fairly often. 

 

La Furia Roja have stood out as one of only a handful of teams willing to press high at Euro 2024, often from a 4-4-2 shape, and they’ll chase right up to the goalkeeper, evidenced in that they have won possession in the attacking third at least 18 more times (44) than any other team at Euro 2024. They’re aggressive with their jockeying and have picked up a fair few yellows from it. 13 to be precise, with only Turkey (19) receiving more, and a series of those came in a post-match brawl with Czechia. 

 

England may be wiser to drop the ball over that press rather than try to play through it, so Kane’s hold-up play - which will need to greatly improve from where it’s been this summer, as he’s averaging a measly 8.8 accurate short passes per game - becomes vital here. The ball has to go forward and it has to stick, otherwise England will be overwhelmed. 

 

Nico, Yamal and the Fallout 

 

Speaking of getting overwhelmed, Spain’s wing wonders Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal have put six full-back combinations to the sword so far and will be looking to make it seven here. They are the focus of their team’s attacking play, constantly running and driving at their markers until they cave in. 

 

England’s back five setup out of possession could give them a nice security blanket in dealing with this, as the wing-backs can engage wide knowing they have a centre-back just inside of them to help. On the right that will be Kyle Walker, who is a particularly strong and fast one-on-one defender. 

 

Still, the danger isn’t solely with Nico and Yamal. Spain’s central midfielders ghost into really good positions inside the box as opponents frantically try to contain the wingers, which is why Dani Olmo (3) and Fabian Ruiz (2) have scored more goals than striker Alvaro Morata (1), while Mikel Merino and Rodri have the same amount. Even the shot totals tell a story. Yamal, Olmo and Fabian Ruiz have all out-shot their No.9 by three or more; they are the ones getting into good shooting positions. 

 

 

Cucurella’s Big Test 

 

To many people’s surprise, Marc Cucurella has had an incredibly solid tournament. He leads Spain for interceptions (6), has won the second-most tackles (11) and, frankly, looks nothing like the player who has toiled so often for Chelsea in the Premier League. 

 

This final test is a big one, though. He’s first in line to try and deal with England’s new-found right-sided combination of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Mainoo.  

 

It’s a triangle that’s only been in place since the Switzerland game, yet it looks like a seasoned one. Saka will take Cucurella down the line and twist him around, creating room in the halfspace for Foden. Mainoo will support them and feed their runs into the box. Foden is yet to score at Euro 2024 but has now hit the woodwork twice from this part of the pitch, while Saka cut in and scored against the Swiss from this area too. 

 

Cucurella, along with his close colleagues, will need to be perfect to stop England posing serious danger here.

Euro 2024 Final: The key tactical battles as Spain and England chase glory