This Spain is hard to defend, can England stop it?

The most formidable thing about Spain at EURO 2024 is that they have nothing special! They just play simple, reasonable football, and play... very well - that's all. How to stop Spain? The question is posed to coach Southgate and the England team.

England team reached EURO final twice in a row: Gareth Southgate's mark

Shedding the halo of the past

The last time Spain reached a major final, when they beat Italy 4-0, the whole world immediately talked about the "best team in history". Yes, everyone knows that they are the only team to have ever won 3 major tournaments (EURO, World Cup) in a row. 4-0 is the biggest score ever in a major final. The Spanish squad at that time was filled with Real Madrid or Barcelona stars. And of course, everyone had to talk about the philosophy, the legendary tiki-taka style of play.

Spain (10) proved to be a very difficult team to beat.

Reuters

But football only has different philosophies and playing styles, but no philosophy or playing style can guarantee victory or titles. Just 2 years after that magnificent EURO 2012, Spain lost 1-5 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the 2014 World Cup. Losing 0-2 to Chile, the "best in history" Spain was eliminated from the World Cup before they even finished the group stage. Because the Netherlands was too weak at that time (compared to what people knew about Dutch football before), coach Louis Van Gaal had to abandon all the principles that had made the "brand" of this famous football. For the first time, the "orange whirlwind" took the field with 5 defenders in the squad, adding 3 more defensive midfielders than attackers in the midfield. They played as simply as possible. Prioritizing defense - counterattack. Preventing each specific situation and being confident because according to the principle "defense is easier than attack, destruction is easier than construction". The 5-1 result said it all. Spain faded from there, eliminated from World Cups by Russia or Morocco, and no one considered them a serious contender before this EURO. The current coach, Luis de la Fuente, is not a big name. And he has a team with almost no star players. After all, they are the most formidable team at EURO 2024.

"Playing simple football" is the hardest thing!

When beating France 2-1 in the semi-finals, Spain's starting lineup only had two representatives from Real Madrid or Barcelona. One was the youngest player in EURO history, Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. The other was veteran Nacho, who had actually expired his contract with Real and had just moved to Saudi Arabia's Al Qadsiah club... right in the middle of EURO. The "El Clasico" quality of the French team was even stronger, with Aurelien Tchouameni (Real) and Jules Kounde (Barcelona) starting, and Kylian Mbappe would join Real right after the tournament. Because center-back Robin Le Normand was suspended, coach Fuente had to use veteran Nacho. Right-back Dani Carvajal was also suspended, and Fuente replaced him with another veteran even older than Nacho: Jesus Navas, who was 38 years old, about to turn 39! It cannot be said that this Spanish team was a group of stars. And because they don't have any outstanding stars, and aren't influenced by "super clubs" like Real and Barcelona, ​​Fuente's Spain doesn't need to follow any philosophy. When they beat Croatia with star Luka Modric 3-0 in their opening match, Spain kept the ball less than their opponents. They also kept the ball less when they beat hosts Germany. Just play reasonably, simply. And Spain won all 6 matches on the way to the final. Croatia, Italy, Germany, and France were crushed one after another. This Spanish team is formidable not because they possess any special talent. This Spain is too strong, even though they don't have anything too special. That's what makes it truly formidable. Because, how do you deal with this "simple" strong team?

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tay-ban-nha-nay-moi-kho-chong-do-anh-ngan-can-noi-khong-185240710225949075.htm