The Euro 2024 final between Spain and England was a showcase of two distinct philosophies on how to win big games and tournaments. Spain, true to their identity, focused on controlling the game through offense and high pressing. On the other hand, England prioritized minimizing mistakes and avoiding risks, unless they were trailing. This conservative approach, also adopted by other top teams like France and Portugal, suggests a belief that safety-first strategies are the key to tournament success, even with squads full of talented players. Spain, however, proved that you can triumph by playing assertively and sticking to your own style, rather than merely trying to neutralize the opposition.
Pre Game performance comparison
Spain and England reached the final through contrasting journeys. Spain cruised through their matches, winning all of them with relative ease. Their biggest challenge came against Germany, another strong team, where they were seriously tested but still managed to prevail.
England, on the other hand, faced considerable difficulties despite being on an “easy” knockout path. They relied on moments of late-game brilliance to keep their hopes alive and progress through the tournament.
When comparing these two teams head to head, Spain holds the advantage in nearly every significant category. A quick look at the finishing rankings highlights Spain’s offensive prowess and England’s struggles.
A Slow First Half to a Blazing Second: Spain’s Triumph
As expected for a final, the game began cautiously, with both contenders feeling each other out. After the initial 10 minutes, Spain started to slowly gain control and tried to create offensive opportunities, but nothing significant materialized.
The second half was a different story. It kicked off with a bang as Nico Williams scored from a Yamal assist, once again showcasing the magic of Spain’s young talents. Spain intensified their pressure in an attempt to secure another goal, but their shots failed to find the target.
In response, Southgate made some changes in personnel and strategy, and England began to assert themselves, becoming more aggressive. Their efforts were rewarded when Palmer scored with a superb finish from outside the box. However, after equalizing, England’s momentum waned, and De La Fuente’s side regained the initiative. Spain’s persistence paid off when Oyarzabal scored the winning goal with a striker’s finish from an excellent low cross by Cucurella.
England had one last BIG moment when Olmo cleared the ball off the line, but they couldn’t prevent Spain from claiming the championship.
Passing networks and offensive structures: The absense of Strikers
Spain’s passing network and structure – Starting lineup
Spain maintained a solid structure and distribution throughout the first half, playing more cautiously than usual with only four players positioned above the midfield line. Yamal and Williams played higher up, while Le Normand and Laporte stayed close to the midfielders to provide support, creating a robust setup in the center of the field. However, one notable disruption in their first-half performance was Morata (7), who struggled to connect with his teammates and failed to pose any significant threat.
England’s passing network and structure – Starting lineup
If Spain were cautious, England were outright defensive. In the 60 minutes with their starting 11, they managed only 20 passes into the opponent’s third and just 5 into the box. Their overall positioning was very deep in their own half, with only Saka receiving the ball higher up the field. A big eye test for you: can you spot Kane (9)? He was practically invisible throughout the game. Despite playing for 60 minutes, he completed just 5 out of 11 passes, marking a disastrous performance.
Shot Creation
Spain’s shot map was well-balanced, with the vast majority of their attempts coming from inside the box. Their overall xG (expected goals) value was 2.1, while their xGOT (expected goals on target) was 2.8, indicating that their offensive performance was rewarded as expected in the game.
England’s shot map highlights their poor offensive performance, with only 5 attempts coming from inside the box, three of which were from their one big chance late in the game. With an xG of 0.8, primarily from this last chance, their single goal was the most they could realistically achieve in the match.
Field Control
Spain’s Dominance Through Aggressive Play
Spain controlled their games by being aggressive and active in high pressing, with the final serving as another prime example. By visualizing the high recoveries (recoveries in the opponent’s half) and the low losses (losses in their own half), we can observe Spain’s high positive rate. They achieved nearly 2 high recoveries for each loss and showed an almost complete absence of losses in their defensive third. This was due to both their quality and the lack of high pressing from England.
England’s Performance Under Pressure
Examining England’s performance in this area, we observe a closer to 1-to-1 ratio of high recoveries to losses. They made fewer recoveries, with most occurring in the middle third of the pitch. Despite having more losses in their own half, they managed to avoid these in the critical areas very close to their goal.
Spotlight Performance: Fabian Ruiz – Spain’s Unsung Hero
Fabian Ruiz might not possess the world-class status of Rodri or the stardust of Yamal and Williams, but he undoubtedly had a fantastic tournament and a solid final game. Let’s take a closer look at some of his contributions:
- Duels: Ruiz was highly effective in his duels, winning 9 and losing just 3.
- Recoveries and Interceptions: He consistently disrupted the opposition’s play and regained possession for his team.
- Progressive Passes: Ruiz excelled in advancing the ball, making 17 successful forward passes with 10+ meters length that progressed the ball at least 5m towards the opponent’s goal.
Ruiz had another outstanding game, showcasing high activity and solid performance for his team.
Conclusion
Spain was, without a doubt, the best team of this tournament. They played their own style, showcasing an expressive and offensive approach to their games while introducing new stars to global football. Winning all their matches, they conquered Euro 2024 with a flawless victory.
England, on the other hand, had their worst on-field display under Southgate but still managed to reach another final thanks to their ability to score crucial goals and a bit of luck. However, Spain proved to be an obstacle they couldn’t overcome.
The final was a clash of two football philosophies: the creative versus the protective. Ultimately, the creative approach dominated, and for that, we can be thankful.
REPORT PREPARED BY THE STUDENTS OF SPORTS DATA CAMPUS:
Dimosthenis Koukias
www.linkedin.com/in/dimosthenis-koukias-football-data-analyst
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