They have won every game, something never before achieved. 7/7. They have beaten all the European teams that have won the World Cup (Italy, France, Germany, England). Probably the hardest road to the final. The highest scoring team in history, 15 goals, they have only conceded 4 goals. Lamine Yamal has broken some records held by the incomparable Pele. Probably the most epic Eurocup ever won in history. And Spain wasnt even favourite. FOOTBALL smiles happily
Agreed. A worthy european champion although one has to admit neither Italy, France nor England played anywhere close to what they could do. Only Germany was putting Spain to the test and this game was 50/50...
@@mzamomahlangabeza semifinal was also a draw (precisely against Spain, which didn't lose any game in 2 eurocups either). This is actually the 2nd euro in a row where Spain doesn't lose a match.
Even though Rodri won MVP of the tournament, to me the most standout player in the entire tournament was Dani Olmo. This guy was supposed to be a sub and no one expected ANYTHING from him, and yet, he was pretty much the reason why Spain was able to dominate so flawlessly. Once again, the Spanish midfielders and wingers prove just how dangerous a well coordinated attack can be.
Dani Olmo was a sub because Spain have incredible quality. And maybe because he plays in Gerrmany and is not so much seen in Spain. Lucky the coach who has him on the bench.
Spain were the best team. They played the equivalent of 4 finals to win the tournament in playing Italy, France, Germany and England and beat them all comprehensively. If this was a league they would have won with maximum points of 21 compared to England with less than 15 points.
If this was a league, Spain would have scored 19 points. There are no extra times in regular tournaments. That being said, it does still count as a win if in this tournaments if you don't go to oenalties
Forget about the debate of attacking vs defensive football. Simply put, in England you have a team with individuals who got to the final through luck and individual moments of brilliance. In Spain, you have a team that plays like one, players know their role and when one player's down, the next one steps up.
football is all about luck no matter what tactics they use. you could play like spain and still lose on a bad day this time spain is just lucky, they minimize opponents chances by holding the possession and not giving opponent a single chance to breath, trap them in their own zone
@enzoescola Football has never been about luck. 7 wins out of 7 games, and you're talking about luck and having a bad day LOL Spain scored with 10 different players: That's talent galore. They had the most number of line breaking passes of all teams, and only allowed 4 goals: That's talent and strategy. Any player got hurt, the substitute would make a key pass or goal: That's talent and strategy. And only a talented manager can channel and lead this kind of team.
@@enzoescola You even say yourself that Spain minimize opponents chances by holding the possession and not giving opponent a chance to breathe... Yes, luck plays its role, but it is easier to be lucky with 20 chances to score than with 3 chances to score... It is easier to be make your opponent "less lucky" when you don't let them reach your box , and that is where tactics, strategy and talent come in to play. Luck has to be helped with good work or it will never kick in.
Spain's counter press is probably the most underrated part of their game. It's why they can push players so high up the pitch because they know if they lose it they'll try their best recover it and usually do
This is quite true actually, was the reason we lost the ball so much after we had just won it sad that people are blaming Jude, Mainoo and rice for it though
Es cierto, todo el mundo habla de la capacidad de España de crear juego con balón, pero apenas reparan en que España sin balón también es una maestra en la presión alta sobre el rival, incluso en el minuto 85 de partido, los jugadores españoles tienen automatismos que no poseen el resto de selecciones del mundo, basta observar los movimientos tanto con o sin balón de la selección española para darse cuenta de esto que digo... ES una selección diferente al resto de selecciones del mundo ...
Rodri said it clearly after the match: "You have to play like a big team with the ball (attack), and play like a small team without the ball (pressure)"
Bruce Lee lo diría pero para las Artes Marciales .''Hay que dar las patadas como puñetazos y los puñetazos como patadas'' Al fin de al cabo eso lo puedes extrapolar a cualquier cosa en al vida . Gasta cuando tengas y cuando no tengas ahorra.
Spain’s greatest asset is the exceptional technical level of all their squad. This allows the team to lose Rodri, a key player in the middle of a final, and his absence goes unnoticed due to the extremely high level of subs. Zubimendi. The same can de said when Pedri comes off from injury against Germany and the substitute turns out to be Olmo, one on the outstanding players of the tournament. The high technical skills of the players and the tactical and strategic wisdom of the managers led Spain to win the tournament.
The Spanish were absolutely relentless in their counter press. Every time the ball turned over they were all over England. That's just pure effort and energy that likely comes from the coaches.
It comes from controlling possession so that you can get more players further upfield and closer together so that when (or in Spain case if) you lose possession you have multiple players able to close down and pressure the opposition immediately. England's best counter press was in the first half against Netherlands when we were dominant in possession.
España ganó a Croacia, Italia, Alemania, Francia e Inglaterra. No creo que exista un precedente similar en una fase final de una Euro. Derrotó a cuatro campeones del mundo y de Europa con mucha soltura. Desplegó un futbol precioso de control de juego, posesión de balón, presión al contrario y juego vertical de ataque. El control del juego fue total en muchos minutos de sus partidos con un medio del campo impresionante (Rodri debería ser bota de oro). Récord en una fase final con 7 victorias consecutivas. Récord de goles marcados por un mismo equipo, 15, y además fueron marcados por 10 jugadores distintos... Increíble. En definitiva, el mejor equipo del torneo con diferencia. Ganó el fútbol, ganó España. Es la realidad.
y aqui se meten algunos escocidos a decirnos que Brasil es mejor. Comparando copa del mundo de hace años con Eurocopas. Eurpa tiene 12 mundiales, America 10. España es la seleccion mas ganadora de Europa. Tiene solo un mundial si pero pronto tendra 2 o 3.
"While you may not have the best players in each individual position, team chemistry and structure is by the far the most important thing. Just cramping talented players into the starting eleven with no regard for overarching team structure is only to get you so far." 👏👏👏. A lot of people who think England should win because of the players they have should consider this.
Exactly. I think that individually, England had better players, but then the way Spanish players understand their role and how they don’t let anything slip is just amazing, and it’s what ultimately makes a great team. Proper management and chemistry and you get yourself a Euro winner
90M Mcguire, 75M Darwin, 100M Anthony, etc. Do they become stars? In football, as in life, things are not what the FIFA envelopes or the Maistream say.
Spain outplayed everyone they faced in the tournament besides Germany. Utterly brilliant to watch. The English can make all the excuses they want. Spain were the best from start to finish of the entire tournament. Best in Europe. Period.
No Englishman is making any excuses, we were dog shit the entire tournament except the first half against Holland and the first 20 minutes against Serbia.
@@Daniel-bb7rv there's plenty making excuses "These players should be winning" etc etc. In the end it doesn't matter what they "should" be doing. It's what they do. I agree with you though .. England were boring to watch. I don't really know if a new manager will make it any better either
I love your analysis on this. Maybe it's so obvious that it is often forgotten, but football is a team sport. A great team with good players will always beat a good team with great players. TV pundits keep complaining about English players not performing at club levels on the national team. It blows my mind that they can't see the difference.
muchos aficionados no conocían a la mitad del equipo porque juegan fuera, yo tampoco tenía gran confianza, pero el seleccionador hizo muy bien su trabajo técnico y de cohesión de grupo. Sin grandes figuras funcionaron como un gran equipo. La unión hace la fuerza
Exacto, es triste que cracks como Rodri, Cucurella o Dani Olmo hayan pasado desapercibidos en España hasta ahora. Yo apenas sabía de ellos lo poco que los había visto con la selección y poco más. Por eso muchos no teníamos grandes esperanzas, pero nos han demostrado de lo que son capaces bajo las órdenes de una bestia como De la Fuente.
This Spain reminds me most of 2019 Liverpool. Same formation. Counter pressing, looking for counter attack and direct passing, full backs used in build up and as wingers constantly. Dribbling and scoring reverse wingers, striker dropping to make plays. Strong holding midfielder.
Exactamente. España fue el mejor equipo en un deporte de equipos, dónde por bueno que seas estas supeditado al equipo y desde el primero hasta el último integrante son importantes, incluido todo el personal asistente. Sin ese aspecto da igual lo buenos que sean algunos jugadores.
Spains's passing speed was incredible, on top of that, their relentless pressing to win the ball back nullified most counter-attacks. By far the best team with the most entertaining football style. A joy to watch.
In my opinion, being spanish, the disruptive approach is the professionality of Coach, Luis de la Fuente. He has done ALL of his work, technically and psychologically to build a solid team. He has developed a 'plan'. Spain has shown they have a clear idea of the way they wanted to play, and this has been interiorized successfully by each player. So the professionality of Luis de la Fuente is the key aspect that has left Spain with no rivals. De la Fuente has done his job in a such competitive way that Spain has had no rivals. Southgate, Koeman, or Deschamps are former players, which normally includes some kind of 'privileges' which relax the minimum exigence for them. Luis de la Fuente, former player as well, but not 'star', has done ALL the work needed to win, and he has been the only one in doing it. That's the reason behind the 7 wins out of 7 matches. Against Germany, France, England. The only reason to explain that Spain won all of them being better in the field, deserved wins in all cases, is this. The spanish coach did ALL his job in a solvent and professional way. Spain knew what to do in every moment, and was clear that they had worked previously all the possible scenarios in each match. The great difference was him. He have done a professional job, and the other ones haven't. It's more deficit from the others than excellence from de la Fuente. But in comparison, reveals to be an excellent work. England had 'no plan'. France had 'no plan'. Netherlands had no plan. The only plan was to align 11 great players. With no strategy, and no scenarios. Wait and try to avoid spanish plan to be developed. No more.
Y mira que la gente desconfiaba, pero ha cerrado muchas bocas, y las que no ha callado, son simplemente bocazas. Nos ha hecho disfrutar e ilusionarnos mucho, se merece lo mejor. El trabajo psicológico me parece muy bueno también, con Morata haciendo de pegamento en ese grupo. Pero no se venían abajo en las pocas situaciones que se pusieron en contra, se manejaron con tranquilidad, con confianza... yo creo que ha sacado el 110% de cada uno.
He has built up a winning team. They all play for each other. Luis Enrique didn't help this great team to reach the final hence the reason they lost on penalties to Italy in 2021 in that semifinal. Luis Enrique is an arrogant. De la Fuente is a humble man.
Actually, I'm surprised England made it to the finals. They barely passed the group phase and struggled hard against Slovakia, Switzerland and Netherlands
You only needed to actually watch this game to accept Spain style of attacking and boldness was the upper hand vs the English defensive and low block set up Thankfully Football won last night.
I am reading and listening to opinions from journalists, fans and even players of the English team about this match against Spain, and I think they are starting from a mistake, I am referring to the fact that many people in England are blaming the English players and coach for that they were not braver, that they were more about playing to take the ball away from Spain, to suffocate it, etc. And I think it is a mistake to think like that. Since they were little, Spanish players are preparing for possession and also for pressure without ball, ..De La Fuente is a master of it, in fact he has been a teacher of the Spanish Football Federation's coaching course, for example DE La Fuente has been a teacher and mentor of Scaloni, the Argentine coach and current champion of the world, etc... He is a football savant, he knows and applies both offensive and defensive systems to perfection. If we observe and analyze the Spanish team at a technical level, we see that it is a different team from the rest of the world's teams, it has combinative automatisms of association and pressure that no team in the world has, what's more, Spain is good with and without the ball, it dominates both facets, it can subdue the rival with the ball, but it can also allow itself to subdue the rival without the ball and pressure it until the rival loses control. ball and the Spanish player on duty makes the precision deep pass that breaks the rival system, we are seeing this in De La Fuente's Spanish team... I think England used their weapons, if they had gone out to play against Spain, England would have been beaten by at least 5 or 6 goals. For example, Germany played a friendly with Spain not long ago and lost 6- 0 against Spain, because Germany came out to play face to face, and when they tried to back down in the middle of the match, Spain was already in a winning dynamic... For this reason, I think we must congratulate Southgate and the players of the English team, because they did what they could, but in front of them they had a football-playing machine, which dominates practically all facets of this sport, with many automatisms. .. The only real possibility that De La Fuente's Spain loses is that several starters and a substitute who also has the level to be a starter are injured and that De La Fuente is not inspired that day, otherwise, this Spanish team is very very complicated to beat, in addition, most of their players are young and have at least 1 or 2 more World Cups ahead of them and 1 or 2 more European Championships at least..
Also add Spain wasn't afraid to adapt to 2 young wingers with pace, vision AND technical skills to now attack, attack, attack, instead of just pure possession.
Spain is not good out of possession they don't know how to suffer we seen it against Germany when Spain went defensive subbing off morrata yamal and nico we saw them struggling without the ball
Not really the problem under conte (counter attack ball) kane and son had amazing link up with Kane doing a bit of play making having the best duo season ever right?
"Just craming players into the started eleven ... its only gonna get you so far", yeah you can tell that to Argentina from 2008 to 2018, we could not win despise having the best player in the world in his prime, and arguably the best forwards
You do know. You have a good bunch and a good mind running the show. Last night was proof Argentina can absolutely win without Messi. I think your full backs and center backs did a particularly good job. Above all, every si gle man on that pitch wanted to WIN, U can't teach that instinct, that fire. (aside from Julian who I think has lost himself a little because of how guardiola plays him at city :(
Great analysis. Totally agree. Spain in a virtuous cycle with the team/manager/staff combo now. Rodry looks to me like a Schweinsteiger *and* a Kedira in one player. To be fair, England again got the luck of the draw and weren’t worthy of a place in the final. Going forward, England have lots of work to do to win tournaments in the future. Only character imo that understood the job in hand was Cole Palmer.
Happy to see people and journalist giving credit to Rodri. A Holding midfielder hardly gets recognition from mainstream fans and media. As everybody is praising Spain´s counterpression with the impressive performance of Cucurella and Carvajal, Rodri was the man that held them go and press high up the pitch. Spain has only received one gol in transition, and it was on the final game with Rodri injured outside the pitch. That´s the difference between a good midfielder as Zubimendi (who couldn´t made Rodri´s defensive job on the final) and a world class generational player as Rodri. You can see in Rodri a mix of all the tops spanish CM of the last 20 years (Guardiola, Xavi, Busquests and Xabi Alonso). I wish they let Rodri win the Ballon D´Or.....and he was playing center back on last Worl Cup!!!!!!
@ignacioortega8235 take what ?? England lost 2 euros in a row. No way chiellini was going for England. No chance. The only people going for England are drunk english fans
In spain, we always had the feeling that the tactics of english(epl and national) teams are primitive. I do not know if justified or not but results seems to show that.
I wouldn't say primitive. Just England can't adapt to real athletes who can play with ball at their feet. Before you had one Thierry Henri in EPL w/ pace + technical skills. Now their are so many players w/pace + ball skill. Even Pep had had to adapt from possession tiki taka Spain also adapted going with 2 wingers w/ pace, vision, ball skills.
Which was surprising because Saka was otherwise one of the bright spots on the England team, playing very aggressively and skillfully on offense. He and Palmer kept them in the game.
@@AC_Milan1899if you didn't notice, England actually played a back 4 and when in attack phase Saka was a winger. Cucurella was way ahead of Saka for the second goal, Saka could not have caught him. Blame Walker for not closing down Cucurella and allowing the cross to slip under his feet.
They are just too good what we most people don’t notice is that if de la Fuente coaches England they will be incredible with the amount of talent they got
England doesn't have Rodri, Luiz or even pedri. England's midfielders are not technically better than Spanish midfielders. The spainiards are far better off. England just has a bunch of overrated players.
@@patrickorone1149 About time more people start telling this fact. Not one of the English central midfielders would get into the Spanish squad. It's pathetic how people ignore that Rice is technically bang average while it's there in plain sight game in game out. Bellingham and Foden at club level are both carried by central midfielders.
England should be winning this tournament. You have the two best managers in England, pep and klop. This makes Southgate job easy. Just copy pep's and paste in euro. This means England midfield should be dominated by man city players or ex players . It means less coaching also. Just replace rodri with stones,kdb with foden, bernado with grealish. Cole palmer ask to imitate doku & sterling to mimick sane A ball playing keeper , maybe arsenal ramsdale ahead of Everton No1 , then watkins plays more like Alvarez. He can then Sprinkle the squad with Bellingham, kane , walker and rice.
Germany were easily the 2nd best team in this Euro after spain What nageslaman did with german team within 8 months after a disastrous 6-7 years in internet football for Germany is truly appreciable
I’d say they were the best but got unlucky with their match against Spain. They sorely need a number 9 like Klose - if they had one, I’m quite certain they would’ve beaten Spain.
@@thecrimsondragon9744 They definitely weren't the best, Spain coach self sabotaged by taking their most potent attacking threats of the pitch in Yamal and Williams which gave Germany the right to lead an all out assault to get the equaliser and even with Spain best forwards off the pitch they still managed to lose😂
I watched every game of the euro and would say overall that germany vs spain was overall the premature final it was the only game were spain needed extra time despite the other side playing attacking football for the most part. One can also see it in possession and other stats and that they got a red card at the end.
I wholeheartedly agree. The bracket was unlucky, Germany and Spain were absolutely the best teams in this tournament and that game would have made for a magnificent final.
Here in Spain we indeed had a feeling of premature final against Germany in quarters. Most people believed that defeating Germany that day basically opened up the path to win the tournament
I think the role of Zubimendi is under appreciated. Yes, he's not like Rodri, but that's what made him standout; his ability to carry the ball, instead of deep-playmaking really opened the second half & just coincided with Foden pressing higher. It was a risk that paid off. As for Southgate his decision-making is highly questionable. 1) Why bring only one unfit LB? 2) When Trippier wasn't playing well in that position why not play another player or give the player a different role? 3) What was your entire approach, cos I don't understand why Wharton couldn't have come from the bench?
@@jxswu3224 Foden could have played as a F9, Palmer in 10, Saka & Eze as the wingers, especially as they're hardworking. Rice & Bellingham in 6 & 8. Gomez in LB, Trippier in RB (as he can cross well), any CB pairing is fine. Wharton, Gordon, Mainoo, Watkins, Kane, & Toney, can all come on as impactful subs.
There isn't a single Spanish midfielder who hasn't starred in this competition: Ruiz was immense in the group stages, then Pedri/Olmo, and Merino/Zubimendi from the bench... English media focus on Rodri is baffling.
I’m old enough to remember England not qualify for the World Cup and not making it out of the group in the Euros. England did great they were just up against a machine that was the Spanish team. From watching both semis I knew the Spanish were going to win they were just too good. All the post match pundits and analysts can say whatever but remember the fool is always wise after the event. There is no shame for England we played well and literally had a goal cleared of the line and have reached 2 euro finals in a row. We are getting close Let’s not give up. Well done England and much respect to Spain who were out of this world. PS in order for England to ever win a major competition we might need to look a bit deeper. The premier league is the problem it’s filled with the best foreigners from all over the world which stifles the English young players. Although it does create superstar English individuals but we don’t need Superstars we just need a strong cohesive team. Let’s go again…. It’s coming soon
Couldn't agree more! I don't get off on all this negativity: 'They didn't do this...' or 'They didn't do that...' or 'They didn't do the other...'. England got to the final of a major competition and that's to be applauded. They did better than Germany, Italy, Scotland, Denmark...I could go on. I couldn't be more proud of those lads and I look forward to seeing how they get on in 2026...with some younger legs of course. 🤣
Also, I thought England contained the Spanish quite well in the first half and were very well organised. They came out half asleep in the second half and got caught out! There were periods in the game when England had Spain pegged back a bit although to be fair, they didn't look like scoring. I've always believed that if we in the UK expect to play football like the Spanish, beat everyone convincingly and with flair we are kidding ourselves! England don't do that. We still play the Don Howe 'Let's not lose...' football and then wonder why we never do well. And that's why I say, for the kind of football we do play, we did well. Roll on 2026! ❤
Couldn't agree more. I'm also old enough to remember Spain never passing quarter final rounds. In fact, for the first 38 years of my life we didn't even make it to a final. I thought we would never win anything. England has made it to 2 finals. I think they deserve more respect than they are being given.
As Spaniard i was delighted to see Spain playing well, as a team, being effective. It hasn´t always be like that... I remeber the atrocious 1990s. Quarter finals and back home. The early 2000s winning two euros and 1 World Cup were amazing, another great team, very solid. It seems coach De La Fuente is doing a good job. Will see in 2026 how we will do. 🙂
@@bonglesnodkins329I've heard that some time ago in England, the Spanish were constantly referred to as "underachievers" and when I say, constantly, I mean constantly. Their press made a lot of insults towards Spain before the quarter finals game between England and Spain at Euro 1996. Some years have passed since then. Who's the underachiever now?
@@Fiucha8893 It's not really an insult, though, right? When you call someone or something an underachiever, you're saying, "They have the talent to do more than this; why haven't they done it so far?" That's how everybody felt about Spain - great players, yet mediocre tournament outcomes prior to 2008.
After scoring the equalizer, Southgate pulled the players back, which was a mistake. They should've gone for the 2nd goal. Spain was a little disorganized at that time.
Lol. Had they kept pushing, Spain would have countered anyway. This team has BEEN through that type of pressure already against better teams in this very tournament. It was theirs to lose and they didn't, Thank God.
Southgate is awful, he never learns and I’m genuinely shocked as to why. Does he not speak to other professional coaches and ask what they think. It’s so weird we saw a perfect print from Germany how to make Spain suffer and we even had players with higher ability to make it work more yet he sticks to his weird half press thing.
A team with proper setup and the right lineup made Cucurella look like he's worth the money CHE paid for him. A team with no identity made Bellingham look like an average player. It's the manager's job to hide a player's weakness and put him where he can shine.
I suspect a key problem was that Southgate felt he had to play his two biggest name players - Kane and Bellingham - despite both of them having questionable fitness.
@@bonglesnodkins329 I understand that, but a manager's job is to win football matches, not make friends (which is what Southgate has been doing). Southgate not only played Kane & Bellingham, but he played them in a position or system that doesn't suit them. I agree with your point, which mainly says, Southgate didn't have the big character that can manage such high profile players.
Cucurrella clase trabajadora, si los Tecnicos ingleses np saben sacar lo mejor de sus jugadores, no es culpa del Jugador, De la Fuente ha demostrado saber de Futbol y saber sacar lo mejor a los jugadores, se fue Rodri en la Final y entro Zubimendi rindiendo perfecto, se Fue Pedri contra Alemania y entro Olmo siendo de los mejores jugadores de España sino el mejor, no es culpa de Cucurella que no sepan sacar lo mejor de el.
@@fcjose31 Ese es precisamente mi punto, el trabajo de un entrenador es ocultar las debilidades de su jugador y ponerlo en una posición y un sistema que le permita brillar. Cualquiera puede elegir a 11 de los mejores jugadores de Inglaterra, pero ¿eso los convierte en un equipo? España ha demostrado a lo largo del torneo lo que el trabajo duro, la capacidad técnica, el sistema y los jugadores adecuados pueden hacer
@@elleonken7599 Yo no creo que oculte debilidades, lo que creo es que sabe elegir, jugadores de equipo, jugadores que juegam bien en equipo, De la Fuente ha sido profesor de Tecnicos, el Fue Profesor de Scaloni el Tecnico de Argentina que gano el Mundial y la copa America, yo Creo que De la Fuente ha elegido a gente quiza no tan conocida pero que son muy buenos jugando en equipo y sobretodo aplicando el estilo de juego que quiere el Tecnico.
I love how English analysts think it was all Harry Kane's fault and that England would be playing attacking, free-flowing football if he wasn't a part of the team. The problem is way deeper than that. Somehow Bellingham has gotten a get-out-of-jail-free card by scoring a couple of goals, and the midfield of Mainoo and Rice is awesome despite losing control in almost every single game at the tournament.
Bellingham play well he has the hardest job on the pitch and still delivers where as for mainoo and rice there isn’t really much they can do when they win the ball back deep Kane is deeper than them Spain is so high up they can’t pass to anyone. People at fault for the poor attack are Kane, walker partially foden and shaw and Pickford for launching balls to be 50:50 under no pressure. He even did it at kick off
@@Jesiahxd No one in the England team played well. Every single player was outperformed by their Spanish counterparts. This mentality of trying to find scapegoats when the entire team was pants is doing my head in.
@Max-ve5tu Bellingham is a super star, he clearly has an X factor. Get used to it. I find him alright, but he was not great at all in that match. Olmo, though..
@@Jesiahxdthe part where he couldn't do shite to make England win A good player =/= a great player. Bellingham is good, not great. And Spain had good players too, more than England had on the pitch
@@dxabier No way he meant Spain, its probably England, we probably would have scored +3 goals in every match if we had gone againts teams like Switzerland, Slovakia, etc... Imo England got a little lucky againts opponents but, Southgate be playing anti-football with such a good team.
England needed some creative flair like Sancho And great to see Germany go out after snubbing Mats Hummels, And England after snubbing Sancho Spain on the other hand picked the best team available and gave respect to their talented as well experienced players, their oldest player Jesus Navas also doing his job well at ripe age of 39 despite playing in the wings - and Spain were promptly rewarded for showing faith in their players Becoming the first team team to win all matches in the Euros including the final
@@nudisco7882 The industrial revolution that transformed the entire planet was built upon individual creativity. And the UK has been disproportionately successful in the arts, particularly literature and music. So your comment is clearly nonsense.
It's clear to everybody that SPEED is real issue for England. Rest of the world transitioning to real athletes w/ pace + ball skills. Even England passing is slow.
@@pablogats4627 Tactics and decent coaching is mostly what was missing from England all tournament. Mindset too defensive, only looking half decent when chasing the game. That's the manager's fault. Every game was painful to watch as an England fan. I would have loved England to win, but it would have been a robbery of massive proportions.
The Spanish players have more game intelligence than the English players. Look, England have tried loads of managers over the years, Venables, Robson, Capello, Eriksson, McLaren, Hoddle, Wilkinson, Taylor, Keegan, Hodgeson and none of them could elevate England from the second tier international football level. That's just what they are, 2nd tier. A big country who always has some decent, individually talented players but a bit clueless into the bargain. Southgate has arguably overachieved getting to a couple of finals and a semi but to be fair, he's had the easiest draws in tournament football history. As soon as they face a decent side, they're out. Proper first tier footballing nations are Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil. England are constantly rocking the tier below with the Netherlands, Czechia, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Croatia. There's a reason why England rarely beat high level opposition in tournaments....they're not really that good. This 'England expects' is just nonsense. I find it hard to believe that the media and pundits have not learnt by now that their team is constantly overrated. Stuff like "the EPL, best league in the world" doesn't help either. What does that even mean? If you take the foreign players and coaches away from the EPL, what does it leave? A lot of substandard players, coaches and managers. You cannot say the same for Spain, France, Germany etc. Money has bought some good players and good coaches for EPL clubs but the average of English players is lower than that of comparably sized nations. Number 1 and 2 coaches in the EPL last year were Spanish. No English manager has won the EPL. And could the media and fans spare us the nonsense of "Foden stars for City", yeah, when he's got Rodri, De Bruyne and Silva pulling the strings. In that final, Spain could have won 4 or 5-1. I had to laugh at the arrogance and ignorance of guys like Ferdinand getting all excited because Rodri was going off thinking that the guy replacing him would be useless. Zubimendi is an excellent footballer but Ferdinand wouldn't have a clue as all he watches is the EPL. You note how the English comms highly rate foreign players who show up well in the EPL and underrate players who show up well in Spain etc. Pure arrogance and ignorance. They sit there after the latest failure, wondering why they've lost again. Because they're clueless.
Very good analysis. " I find it hard to believe that the media and pundits have not learnt by now that their team is constantly overrated. Stuff like "the EPL, best league in the world" doesn't help either. What does that even mean? If you take the foreign players and coaches away from the EPL, what does it leave? A lot of substandard players, coaches and managers." Totally agree. But it is a thing that Spain has to learn. English tend to overvalue their team and players. Spain, in fact, undervalue them, maybe is one of our sins as spanish. Cause a good marketing and that overvalue makes in the other to fear the other team even knowing it is not better than you. We had a WC, one Nations League, 3 Euros and 6 wins in the euro (vs Germany, Italia, France, all of what you said st tier) and lot of people was fearing about England was to make us. And finally if you are playing better as a team and impose your weapons in the match probably you'll win. Not sure, but probably yes. Now, with 4 euros and a serious team for fighting to get a second star I think the spanish team deserve to be recognized of one of the teams of the first tier. The problem with Spain is that before the XXI century its number of championships was poor compared to its talent. Maybe 2008 was the time when the spanish team started to thing the weren't worst than the others.
Totalmente de acuerdo contigo.Cuando Inglaterra deje de pensar de forma arrogante y solo por creerse Inglaterra y no bajen de las nubes, esto , les estará pasando una y otra vez como un ratón en una noria.El ego les ciega la vista y no ven nada.Venden el Oso , antes de ser cazado.Hay que ser más humildes , trabajar y ganar , no hablar, hablar y hablar.
@@gonzalovelazquezgonzalez8227 El problema es que además el palmarés es bastante pobre y su actuación en la eurocopa no anunciaba nada bueno pasando eliminatoria tras eliminatoria con un juego rácano intentando ir al empate. Va a hacer 60 años en los que no ganan nada y aún van de favoritos. Los alemanes en Europa también llevan tiempo sin ganar nada, pero en el Mundial, excepto el último, suelen rendir bastante bien, de ahí sus 4 estrellas.
Yet here are the teams held up as "the first real test for England": Colombia 2018 Croatia, Germany, Denmark 2021 Switzerland, Netherlands 2024 But that status is altered retroactively as soon as England get past them.
Really enjoyed your perspective in the euro24 vids and learned a lot about football, wich I’m normally not super interested in. Thank you and keep up the good work!
"Spain is the wise Greece, the Imperial Rome... England the turkish privateer." Erasmus Darwin (English physician and philosopher) An english man said it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I won't say to english folks whatever Southgate is a good or a bad coach. But as someone that does not watch the Premier regularly and only see english players in international football I don't think you guys have better players. Jude maybe? Harry Kane goals are something to behold but Morata at least defends and is notorious for a high pressing team like Spain when he is not on the pitch. Our midfielders take risks that either Southgate does not allow to take to his players or they themselves are not capable to do, fact remains Olmo and Fabian did break lines on a regular basis all competition long. Not sure who I'd compare our wingers with but neither Nico or Lamine are worse than Saka or Phoden. Same deal in defense, every single one of our players are on par with the English ones. With the only type of player we don't have being Trent probably. Pickford vs Unai? No idea who I'd put as better shotstopper, but those long kicks are because he is awfull with distribution or because Southgate forces him to do it? All in all, I don't personally buy this "on paper we had a better team".
One of the main reasons this statement is said is that England's squad is literally worth $1.5 billion compared to Spain's ~155 million... literally 10x the value of Spain and they play like a camel with a pegleg
@@NemesisCOD Granted, and I fully believe a different coach could had done better and maybe win the whole thing. Regarding value, not sure how relevant it is. The Premier has such a massive inflation thanks to their TV rights in comparison to us farmer leagues that any player that gets in it becomes way higher in value than our average joes. And I don't mean what I say as disrespect to English players. Rather they simply faced a well oiled machine, with a system they beleive in thanks to the 2008 EURO and honestly good players. Is always going to be difficult, but the new generation of players in Spain walk on the shoulder of giants since those six years of domination. In my opinion England needs a similar breaktrhough, a Luis Aragonés guy that decides "fuck the media, we ball" and if it works, it works.
@@NemesisCOD But that's... wishful thinking. The correlation between the price of a player and the actual performance or quality of that player is tenuous at best. English still think that just because the Premier League generates more money than La Liga (true, MUCH more money, and more evenly distributed between clubs), they have a more competitive league or more competitive teams (arguable at best, since the record in european competitions, I don't have the numbers, but it favours spanish teams both in Champion's League and UEFA Europa League). I was seeing another channel in which they disregarded completely the spanish reserves because they didn't know their names, saying that the english reserves were far better. Based on a comparison on paper, by value, and just because I think they never saw any match from these reserves in Spain. It's arrogance like that that costed them the match, thinking that once Rodri was out they were going to win the match automagically, only to be crushed by reality. That is the same story most of the years at club level, as well. And here we are, they assuming that their players are better on paper than the Spanish team, after the spanish team won, showing much better performance against harder rivals than England against not so good teams. England has a wonderful and talented team, MAYBE at the same level than the spanish players, MAYBE better, but so far they haven't proved absolutely anything. I am sure they would have performed better with an actual coach instead of Southgate, and I think it probably would have been a 50%/50%, but with statistics and numbers in your mind, they didn't perform well enough to deserve that "our team is better position by position". As a spaniard, it's good to see how Southgate will stay another 2 years, wasting more time of current's England golden generation.
If you watch the Premiere League you'll understand why everyone is upset. Cole Palmer balled out & saved a terrible Chelsea Mainoo balled out & was a bright spot on a trainwreck Man U. Ollie Watkins, Foden. World saw their capabilities playing for real managers with real tactics to put players in position to succeed.
@@nudisco7882 Their capabilities WITHIN the english premier league in comparison to other players of the EPL are amazing, yes. When they leave the english premier league? Not so successful. Because, you know, in the rest of the world we also play football, and systematically underestimating players from other countries just because "dude! if they were any good they would be playing in the English Premier League" (that is never said explicitly but is the underlying message in most analysis and videos from english channels, less intensely in this one though) keeps bringing lots of frustration on english fans when their preconceptions meet reality. I don't know, based on purely sport statistics, I would say that, maybe, just maybe, the players are not so good and the EPL is not as competitive as english fans believe? Nah, it must be the coach, the bad luck, the referee or some other concept. For 60 years.
Walker is world class player no doubt about that, but his Euro was far from perfect, and they still went with him for the Euro team ahead of Carvajal! 🤯
6:00 this part is important.. 1st time shaw gets caught out of position after a stellar 1st half and yamal was clinical. Thats the type of player that keeps you up at night
People continue to moan about England sitting back, but the problems this video highlights as leading to Spain's goals come from the main problem they've had all tournament - an unstructured block height. A high block tactic needs high block players and if you don't have those (and England don't) you're far better going for a consistent mid-block or low-block. It amazes me how so many tv pundits fail to see this and were clamouring for a high press. The other thing, though, is that English fans massively overstate the quality of the English squad, and under appreciate Southgate as a result. The 2002 world cup was a genuine "Golden Generation" and we got knocked out in the quarters.
@@nudisco7882 the things that Southgate did during this tournament are pure horro. It honestly felt like a random fan from the pub with no coaching experience managing the favorites of the Euros. Just putting up the most popular 11 without coaching his team and leaving everyone out of position. It's a miracle they got to the final, even while having the easiest route to final of all time
Spain really could demolished England, they were very smart in the first half getting in with that defensive plan, in the second there was a lot of lack football positional knowledge, Southgate left his midfielders back uncovered all the time by pushing Foden forward, it was a poor decision without a B plan, Spain won it fair and could have scored more. Palmer also came too late in the game, he really is an amazing opener and chance creater, bright future if coached well.
💯 Olmo misfired on a possible goal. Yamal missed one definite and another possible that we've seen him make before if he went upper corner instead. Morata had a chance even though it's well...Morata 😂
i was disappointed that England were not able to break the counter-press, especially in the first half. And the long ball just turned possession over more often than not. Your observation that England held back and did not press for a second goal was spot on, a tactic that literally infuriates me, be it for the EURO's or regular EPL play. I was also not pleased with the roster, and thought the team would have benefited from the young guns at numerous mid-field and forward positions. Although Kane was a prolific scorer in Germany this year, I never thought the England supporting roster and setup fit his style of play.
Spain was overall a better team than England . so for the England fans who dont want to accept the truth and blame it on "they should start toney or watkins , or start this one or that one ". No matter who they start ,spain wouldve beaten them
I don't 100% agree with the whole England should have tried to continue attacking. Spain is much better than England on the ball- so much better. It's night and day. Spain had to regroup and get on the ball which they did. Of course England did drop back a bit but the fatigue of players like Jude and rice and others was very obvious (that's why the team was split at the end of the game). Spain regained their possession and pushed England back further than they wanted. Add to that fatigue and a team that has been playing with minimal structure going forward and you have the deserved lose by England.
I bet for Spain the entire tournament and made good money and laughed at all the comments 😂 from the first game with Croatia. The problem is that most don't know how much quality Spain has overall. You English and French media have no idea about Spanish players. I've been a fan since the 90s of Spain and seen the transformation. You will see more talent coming soon. We have amazing midfielders and upcoming defenders. Eventually we will find another Raul or Villa and that will be the cheery on the cake. You always underestimate us, but we beat all your hyped teams 😂 and reign with 4 crowns in Europe!
After England got the equaliser..the momentum shifted in their favor and i was screaming on my sit hoping they put pressure on Spain but they sat BACK! That was the Nail on the coffin for me. spain weren't so invicible when palmer scored and England should have continued to hammer on it but its what it is
England's individual players are very good but they don't click together and the tactics are just average in comparison to their opponents. Individual brilliance is not going to win you a tournament! Hope we can see better football from them in the future
As an amateur of football this is what I saw: Spain was very accurate in Passing. Spain fought hard to possess the ball. Spains game had a clear connection from defense, midfield, to attack. England game often looked like random passing of the ball. Some players showed individual athletic abilities. It's questionable a team like that valued in billions its really heavily inflated. So, inflation among English players is much, much higher than the general inflation. I'm not a specialist. Just a random spectator. I was rooting for England for the sole reason they have a very lovely domestic Ligue, high class. Disappointed beyond belief.
Your last comment is spot on, the spain team played with great chemistry and a plan, england just predictable and 'winging' it- and i think it all comes down to the manager- players, no matter how good, need a well ingrained system. The england boys looked like they were just reacting and sometimes bewildered
Spain actually looked troubled at the start when England took the game to them, but Spain's experienced defenders and bossy midfielders calmed things down
They started a little shaky against England and even much more against France. They were clearly nervous until they got a few possesions and started feeling their place on the field.
Watching this video and knowing that in most countries they still don't understand football well. Spain won and will continue to win because they understand and interpret team football better. Without having the best individuals, it makes the difference. It's hard to believe that in most national teams they work so poorly on combination play together with the mobility of the players.
Agreed. To effectively counter attack, you need an outlet option. Either over the top, target man, link play, or carrying into space. England had no threat over the top, Kane was winning no long balls and couldn’t hold play long enough to develop, so they were one dimensional.
Foden can only play the Man City dynamic passing and moving system linking up with Silva, De Bruyne etc. He hasn't adapted to the England system after all the caps
@@AC_Milan1899 he likes to come deep for the ball and dictate tempo. I don’t think Southgate gave him specific instructions to stay wide with the ball and make the runs over the top. I think it’s a coaching issue rather than player issue. I’d have agreed with you if foden attempted to receive long balls but failed due to lack of tactical knowledge.
You hit the nail on the head my friend. Spot on. Not much to add to your brilliant analysis. All I could say is that Southgate should have understood why two Spanish managers in the Premier League have maintained the two top positions in two consecutive seasons. England had one of the best squads in the tournament. Give those high quality players to either Pep, Arteta or Klopp and see what would have happened 😯 Attacking football is the way forward (pun intended).
You should have stressed Cucurella's poor judgement on the England's goal, when he pressed high in the midfield leaving his side completely free and the team off balance with nobody picking Palmer who was completely unmarked. It was a big Spanish mistake
definitely but at the same time, it was his task all tournament and all match. Press high and lead the Englishmen to errors in their buildup (he mentions it). The one mistake he did, the one goal England scored. I think this is the kind of proof that tells you enough of what their potential could've been...
En cuartos de final el pragmatismo alemán fue mucho más allá del juego limpio. Una vergonzosa estrategia premeditada de violencia y falta de respeto al rival; 2 jugadores alemanes debieron ser expulsados antes del minuto 60. Triste retirada de un gran jugador como Kroos que quedó como un cerdo.
England meeds a Luis Aragones to start leaving underperformance and start using their potential. England has the gem but a mentor has to reach it and put it on the floor. Spain did not win so easily even if they deserved winning.
Oh please, the development of the way Spain plays goes back to Cruijff managing there. England 10 years ago was still a kick and rush league following a 2004 trend.
Stop pretending that bunch of other countries don't have a better midfield baller than Rice and Mainoo in their starting 11. Football is easy to read: if your central connection in your network is bang average, your distribution has severe limitation.
English fans were thinking their team would turn up for the final is optimistic to say the least, it's not a button, that Southgate flicks on and england start Playing better in the finals🤣
