Once there were 24, but now there are two. England play Spain in the European Championships final in Berlin, a match between two teams who have taken wildly different routes through the tournament to reach this final showdown.
By Ian King
Spain have already set a tournament record by becoming the first nation ever to win six games out of six while receiving widespread plaudits for their progressive expansive football. Their star player only turned 17 yesterday, and is already being hailed as a generational talent.
England, on the other hand, have scrambled there, requiring a stoppage-time equaliser and a penalty shootout to get through their quarter-final and a last minute winner against the Netherlands in the semi-final, all set to a deafening din of criticism at their style of football.
In truth, Spain aren’t quite as good as they’ve been hyped up to be and England aren’t as bad. Spain needed a goal a minute from the end of their quarter-final to beat the host nation Germany, while the way in which they took their foot off the gas during the second half of their semi-final suggests that they could also be suffering some degree of the same fatigue that has been so evident in England’s performances in previous matches.
There has been an inherent contradiction throughout this tournament, regarding Gareth Southgate’s team this summer, in that cautious play has come about while they have something of a patchwork defence. This, it seems, is the most likely way in which they lose, with wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal tormenting their defence.
Yamal already has more assists to his name than anyone else. Williams has been helping out in both attacking and defensive positions. Rodri has been one of the players of the tournament in the heart of midfield, controlling the tempo of games and demonstrating a boundless passing range.
Is there any hope for England? They start as underdogs, but this is a team of talent and it is reasonable to say that they have incrementally improved as they have progressed. The first half of their semi-final demonstrated a sharp upward step in their improvement trajectory, and if the psychological benefits of late goals and shootout wins are worth anything, then the mood of the players themselves should be buoyant.
This is a daunting challenge for a team that has lost five and won just two of their last eight meetings. England may take some heart from the fact that they won 3-2 in Sevilla, but they may take a little less from the fact that this was almost six years ago.
If the match is tight, then England definitely have a shout. They have plenty of players who’ve already demonstrated that they can do this, but whether they’ll get another opportunity to do so this time around is a different matter altogether.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.