Sarina Wiegman’s 3-4-1-2 system carried them to the final but was undone by one moment of miscommunicationOne instance. One rush of over-enthusiasm. One split second of miscommunication. That was enough to see England’s World Cup dreams lie in tatters. It was a moment that caused the holes to appear in the Lionesses’ new-found tactical formation, a system that had been a huge key to their success in Australia but also, on this occasion, led to their downfall.It all happened in a flash with little under half an hour on the clock. Lucy Bronze, a forward-thinking wing-back, surged ahead on an inverted run. Whether she needed to go at that particular moment is a separate debate, with the game firmly in...
Country that also holds the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups triumphed in spite of Jorge Vilda and could dominate for yearsHow Spain managed to win the World Cup amid so many layers of complexity surely must be the subject of a documentary. On the field, their triumph is an enormous win for youth football and a celebration of the country’s enviable depth of talent. In addition to this magnificent World Cup title, Spain are also the holders of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup and last year retained the Under-17 equivalent.One player has won all of those trophies – the young player of the tournament, Salma Paralluelo. In a sense, that makes the 19-year-old sensation the embodiment of Spain’s success at...
The Lionesses face a different kind of challenge against La Roja and I’d vary the approach in their pressing to disrupt Bonmatí and coAt last year’s Euros quarter-final in Brighton, Spain gave England the biggest scare of the tournament they eventually won. In 2019’s World Cup, Spain narrowly lost to the US, who won it in the end. They may very well have been the second-best team at both tournaments.A year on from the Amex, and for differing reasons, both teams feature different players but they still go into Sunday’s World Cup final as the two best teams in the tournament. I don’t think it makes sense to speak about the missing players (those who walked out for Spain and...
England’s performance against Spain was far from perfect but European Championship glory is now only two games awaySix minutes into extra time, and for the first time all evening, Georgia Stanway had room to breathe. It had been a taut and suffocating night, in many ways a horrible night, a night when the tension knots itself in the stomach like a tumour. But finally, a little after 10pm, the angst and the doubt and the foul throws and the blur of substitutions had sharpened to a single moment of clarity.All game, Stanway had found her way blocked and thwarted by a forest of legs, by a barbed‑wire fence of red shirts. All game, Aitana Bonmatí in midfield had clung to...
Spain will be a different challenge in the Euro 2022 quarter-final but England have the attacking talent to beat Jorge Vilda’s sideEngland’s momentum is growing and they will not be worried about facing Spain in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals on Wednesday. They have played them before and know what it takes to get the better of one of the best sides in Europe.At Euro 2017 I was in the England squad that beat Spain 2-0 despite having only 22% possession during the match. England will be happy to let Spain have the ball as long as they themselves are organised and disciplined, which they have shown to be thus far. Sarina Wiegman’s side have dominated possession in the group stage...