Analysis: Road to the UEFA EURO 2024 final
Saturday, July 13, 2024
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UEFA's team of technical observers in Germany analyse the key tactics that have helped take Spain and England to Sunday's showpiece.
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England will have their eyes on a first UEFA EURO title when they meet three-time winners Spain in Berlin on Sunday. Here, UEFA's technical observers examine some of the key tactics seen by the teams en route to the final.
England
Gareth Southgate's side have threatened more down the right, with Phil Foden's move inside increasing that threat.
Saka right on time
It was from the right wing that England's first goal of this campaign was sourced: the deflected Bukayo Saka cross that Jude Bellingham headed in against Serbia. From the right too came the long throw for Bellingham's acrobatic equaliser against Slovakia. And, after cutting in from the right, Saka curled home the Three Lions' late leveller against Switzerland.
These snapshots reflect a bigger picture, namely that England have found a greater attacking impetus down that side. This is no surprise given Southgate's search for balance on the left, where Luke Shaw, the squad's only naturally left-footed full-back, has yet to start a game as he regains full match fitness.
It was with Southgate's switch to a back five – out of possession – for the quarter-final against Switzerland that Saka caught the eye of UEFA's observers for his work in a right wing-back role. He had a defensive brief but crucially provided England's main attacking threat, taking on defenders and looking to make things happen.
The performance data underlines his impact that day. He produced the most ball carries into the final third (25) as well as the most crosses (nine). He was active without the ball too, posting the most runs in behind (15) of any player on the pitch. To highlight the extent to which England relied on their right flank that afternoon, 63% of their passes into the final third went to that side of the pitch, with Saka receiving 25 of the 45 balls played there.
His most significant contribution, of course, was his equalising goal. Declan Rice played his part by drawing Steven Zuber away to the right, giving Saka more space as he stepped inside past Michel Aebischer and, from outside the box, curled the ball beyond the unsighted Yann Sommer.
Foden's impact inside
That match against Switzerland was also notable for the sight of Foden drifting across the pitch to receive passes. Having begun the tournament on the left, the change of formation allowed Foden to operate inside, in the pockets.
He continued in that vein in the semi-final [against the Netherlands], when he and Bellingham played a key role with their movement between the lines and attacking runs. "I really liked their willingness to run in behind," said technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
As a measure of Foden's movement, he received the ball between the lines on 15 occasions in Dortmund – in contrast to eight in the opening 90 minutes against Slovakia, and an example of England's game-by-game improvement.
Spain
Nico Williams' individual brilliance and his partnership down the left with Marc Cucurella have helped inspire Spain
Williams 'a constant threat'
If the spotlight has shone brightly on teenager Lamine Yamal, the youngest scorer in EURO history after his outstanding semi-final strike against France, Spain's work on the opposite wing has been a central feature of their impressive performances, which have brought six straight wins en route to the final.
Left winger Nico Williams sits in the top three players for take-ons at the tournament – with 35, behind only Jérémy Doku of Belgium and Germany's Jamal Musiala – and his Player of the Match performance in the 1-0 victory over Italy in La Roja's second group stage fixture earned rich praise from technical observer Fabio Capello. "He was a constant threat every time he had the ball and positive in every one-v-one situation," said Capello.
Williams' total of 12 take-ons that night was the most by any player in a group stage game, while the crosses he delivered included the ball for the decisive Riccardo Calafiori own goal.
A winger who always looks to beat his man, Williams ranks first in the Spain squad for attempted one-v-ones. Aside from his individual contribution, he has combined impressively with the full-back behind him, Marc Cucurella. The video below shows how they attacked in tandem, often with an underlapping run from the left-back. In this particular action, Cucurella drew a defender with him, meaning that Williams had only one man to beat when stepping inside to launch a shot against the crossbar.
According to technical observer Aitor Karanka, Williams sought to mix his approach, and having Cucurella attacking with him allowed for even more variation. "Sometimes Nico, being right-footed, will come inside and leave the wing to Cucurella, and other times it's the opposite as Cucurella will come inside and Nico stays wide," Karanka said.
Perfect partnership
The pair later caught the eye for their defensive work in the semi-final against France, with Williams dropping back to support Cucurella and limit the threat of Ousmane Dembélé down that flank. As technical observer David Moyes said: "Dembélé had a couple of runs, but Spain doubled up with Cucurella and Williams."
To underline this point, the average distance between Spain's left-sided pair that evening was 8.7m – compared with 13.5m in the previous fixture against Germany.
To give another measure of Williams' defensive discipline, he made 13 pressures against France – the second-highest number among Luis de la Fuente's players – and also produced three ball recoveries to add to the four that Cucurella registered on that side of the pitch. In short, as on-field partnerships go, there have been few better at EURO 2024.
Technical observers at UEFA