Euro 2024: Spain embrace change to claim record fourth crown
July 15, 2024
Sometimes, football is a simple game. As Alvaro Morata hoisted the European Championship trophy on the Olympic Stadium pitch, there was a feeling that this was how it was always destined to end.
Spain were at their furious best throughout Euro 2024, head and shoulders above the competition for most of it, and now they are champions.
"I think Spain were the best team in the tournament," vanquished England coach Gareth Southgate admitted in his post-match interview.
Few who watched over the last four weeks would disagree. Spain won all of their seven games, an unprecedented achievement at a European Championship.
A record fourth European title looked to be on its way right from the first half of their opening game. They scored three goals before the break against Croatia and then never looked back.
Although England put up a spirited fight in the final, with Cole Palmer canceling out Nico Williams' opener, Spain hit a deserved winner with time ticking away as the inevitable title followed.
A different brand of football, but the same outcome
Spain have now won three European crowns in 16 years, with their golden generation claiming back-to-back trophies in 2008 and 2012. But this side plays a different brand of football from the teams of old.
Where Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets would pass opponents into submission, starving them of possession and forcing them to chase shadows for 90 minutes without respite, Luis de la Fuente's team slices its way through defenses with raw pace and intensity. Forget about the siege; get the battering ram out.
Key to this strategy are the two wide players, Williams and Lamine Yamal. They impacted the final before they had even stepped onto the pitch.
Southgate admitted he changed England’s formation to a back four in an attempt to counter the duo. At 22 and 17 years of age, respectively, having both celebrated birthdays in the build-up to the final, the rapid threat they pose is already giving coaches sleepless nights.
"People are getting to know me and have more respect for me," Williams said after the game. That respect will only grow now he is a European champion.
Spain's dynamic wingers always a threat
The opening goal perfectly shows how the two players drive Spain’s new-look tactics.
With England seemingly still digesting their halftime team talk, Yamal, who won the Young Player of the Tournament award after a series of standout performances, surged across the edge of the box before picking out Williams.
The Athletic Bilbao forward did not hesitate, smashing a first-time effort past Jordan Pickford. Fast, direct, and fearless. Gone are the days of pulling teams apart for minutes on end. The new generation are comfortable taking the quickest route to goal.
Why not, when they have all that pace, all that trickery, all that talent? There's no need to try and craft the perfect passing move when Dani Olmo can pick his spot from the edge of the box, or Yamal can bury a shot from 25 yards out.
Old and new ways combine for success
It's not that Spain is unable to play the old way. They still dominated possession and have midfielders who can keep the ball as well as anyone in the world.
Rodri, a winning machine for club side Manchester City and now his national team, was easily replaced at halftime by an equally capable Martín Zubimendi.
In the 71st minute, their fans even started cheering as England struggled to get anywhere near the ball. A couple of minutes later, though, the scores were level, with Palmer placing a crisp effort past Unai Simon.
There was no need to panic, England were tiring, and marauding left back Marc Cucurella found space out wide.
He could have stopped, turned and passed to a more technically adept teammate. Instead, he gambled, sending in a cross hoping that Mikel Oyarzabal could get to the ball first. It paid off in spectacular style.
Olmo a surprise rescue act at the death
With time ticking away, one of Spain's key players stood tall once again, although this time, it proved to be at the other end of the pitch.
Olmo started the tournament on the bench, but an injury to Pedri brought him into the starting lineup after the quarterfinals.
His three goals made him the joint top scorer and Golden Boot winner at Euro 2024, while his ability to keep the ball under flawless control in a crowded box has been one of the most enjoyable sights at this tournament.
Adding goal-line clearances to his repertoire was an unexpected development but a welcome one from a Spanish perspective.
England came within millimeters of equalizing once again as Marc Guéhi's header beat Simon and looked destined for the back of the net until Olmo popped up to keep Spain's lead intact.
When the World Cup rolls around in two years, this new golden generation from the Iberian peninsula will be ready. As a delighted Rodri quipped: "We made history, but it doesn't stop here. We have talent, and we'll keep going."
Edited by: Kalika Mehta