England are about to face the hardest challenge in international football, maybe at any level of the game. They are going to try to score against Spain. Spain conceded one goal in eight games on the way to winning the World Cup while allowing their opponents 2.37 expected goals, a mere 0.30 per 90 minutes played.
Thomas Tuchel has said he hoped his side “became for 10 minutes more like Spain” to comfortably dominate possession when the heat was on. A fine aspiration for those situations, but it is not an approach that will help England unlock the Spanish backline. The pass masters cannot be toppled that way.
The solution may lie elsewhere within the same Tuchel press conference. Tuchel spoke of how English fans and players prefer chaos. Let’s do a deep buildup and then bring them out’,” he said.
Let’s kick the ball into the opponent’s box and fight with them’.” And this is how England can beat Spain. Granted, it requires a little more nuance than Tuchel’s simple summation. The two defeats Spain have suffered in the Luis de la Fuente era help prove the point.
The first was in Euros qualifying at Hampden Park in March 2023, with Scott McTominay scoring both goals in a 2-0 win for Scotland. No, pal, and that is why it worked. Nobody can out-football Spain; alternate methods are required to win.
McTominay’s second saw him crash the penalty box to fire home after David García failed to clear a Kieran Tierney cross. When Colombia beat Spain 1-0 in a friendly at the London Stadium 12 months later, it was again a delivery from the left flank which did the damage. And again, there was a Premier League past-and-present vibe with Luis Díaz crossing for Daniel Muñoz to score.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
