How England can solve Spain problem to seize Euro 2025 glory

Independent

2 days ago

The last few hours before a major final always have that strangely charged serenity. If that sounds like a contradiction, it only fits with the mood. At England 's Dolder Grand base, there's also one question left hanging in the rarefied air. Will Sarina Wiegman come up with something different for the Euro 2025 final - the team's third in a row, and her fifth?
The route to Basel's St Jakob-Park has been tumultuous, with the England manager arguably getting her starting approach wrong in at least three games. There is nevertheless another crucial element. This is the sixth time that Wiegman's England have faced Spain in three years, the third in a major tournament, and the fourth since Spain evolved into this imperious team that dominates every game they play.
England have lost two of those last three, but that has at least given the manager and her players a deeper understanding of how the Spanish work, the little details. So, does she do anything special? Can she surprise them?
The suggestions so far are that there won't be anything radical, but that's only so far. Epiphanies can arrive in the tense final moments. That's the thing when two sides know each other as intimately as this. Such challenges come down to the intricacies, the little movements.
That level of familiarity speaks to the fact that these have become the two powers in the women's game, as well as the wider game. They are intertwined in many other ways.
Both are going for doubles. For Spain, it's the opportunity to become just the third side to be world and European champions at the same time, after Norway 1995-97 and Germany 2003-11. For England, it's the chance to become just the second side to retain the Euros, after Germany 1989-91 and Germany 1997 through to 2013. The latter admittedly involves a lot of successive victories, which is what many in the women's game feel Spain could now be capable of.
That only accentuates the challenge for England, especially to put down a marker of their own.
That touches on another area where there's empathy between the two squads. They both appreciate the social power of the other. Spain's 2023 victory ultimately forced an overhaul at their controversial federation, and the players now want a victory to stand on their own.
'They probably could have had more respect,' Keira Walsh said this week. 'I think the way our league jumped after we won the Euros and everything in and around it, if you compare it to Spain, it probably wasn't the same and they won the World Cup. They probably could have had more support.
'It was all about the other stuff that had gone on. As a professional, that was disappointing to see. I have a lot of friends in that team and I think they probably deserved a little bit more than what they got.'
The Spanish players have meanwhile marvelled at what England's Euro 2022 win meant for the country. That significance has now gone to greater levels with this tournament's stand against the racist abuse that Jess Carter suffered.
In other words, there's a greater value to either victory. England's semi-final brought ITV's highest audience this year, at a peak of 10.2m. Spain's semi-final brought 40 percent of the national audience share.
Whoever loses, the women's game still wins. As regards who lifts the trophy, Spain are the clear favourites.
It's not just about their status as world champions, or the fact that they have largely cruised through this tournament. The consensus in women's football is that they just play to a higher level than anyone else. Opposition sides find it exhausting, as if they're constantly fighting to stay in a game.
That is down to an ideology and coaching structure that amplifies the profound technical quality of the players.
You can see it in one of the main storylines going into the final. While England have been concerned about the fitness of Lauren James, the reality is Spain have about six players of James' calibre, with Aitana Bonmati then above all of them.
She naturally offered the necessary brilliance to decide Spain's one testing game in the tournament so far, Wednesday's semi-final against Germany.
Against that, there's yet another profound contrast in the journeys here. Where Spain have looked the best team in Switzerland, England have generally played way beneath their level. Four of their five games have required desperate rescue acts, that came from utter chaos. FA staff and players like Walsh have insisted that it is not just 'luck', and there's an obvious spirit and resolve, but it's clearly not any kind of sustainable game plan.
And they now face a team where a game plan is more essential than ever. This is why Wiegman's thinking is so specifically important.
Because, as the manager and her staff will be poring over in these final hours, there are a lot of obvious logical problems to solve.
The key with Spain's entire ideology is that they play the game on their terms, taking the ball and playing high up the pitch. Their strongest area is in midfield, and especially the more advanced part of it. That is exactly where England have had the most problems, since every opposition side has realised an obvious blueprint is to press Walsh.
The Spanish are at least susceptible to pace due to the calculated risk that their high line represents, but this is an England squad badly short of that exact quality outside Lauren Hemp. Spain are also better than in 2023. England are worse.
When you break all that down, it's hard not to see a Spanish win. Or, at least, that's probably what would happen in four games out of five.
This is just one game, however, which is also the biggest game you can have outside a World Cup final. It's exactly why the argument about finishing first in the group and when you play Spain was misguided. Yes, champions have to face anyone, but it's clearly better to face the notional best team in a final.
Sure, if everything goes normally, Spain should win. But a final is not a normal game. If it gets to 70 minutes at 0-0 or an unexpected score, the tension from that ticking clock can have a pronounced effect on the world champions. Abnormal things can happen. England's own resolve is all the more important there, except Spain aren't exactly short on resilience themselves.
As the defending European champions, England are also much better than having to rely on freak occurrences. Or, at least, they should be better. They beat Spain 1-0 as recently as February. None of the performances in Euro 2025 have yet matched that.
It's why they do need to dramatically up it, why there's never been a greater need to seize the moment and step up from the first whistle, which is something many have bemoaned this tournament. They need a performance they haven't offered in months. The squad is at least filled with Arsenal players, not least tournament stars Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly. They faced exactly these dynamics when beating Barcelona in the Champions League final. Arsenal won.
Logic suggests Spain. Tournaments don't often work on logic. Wiegman still has to find new solutions. We know what Spain will do, after all. The question over what Wiegman does will consequently be the key determining factor in who delivers another transcendental moment. That's for their team, for their country, for the game.